SOUTHERN SECTION SOUTHERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW : Finally Under Control : El Toro’s Scott Ross Reins In Aggression, and the Accolades

To know Scott Ross, El Toro High School middle linebacker, is to simply take a look at his 1961 Volkswagen.

The red Bug sits in Ross’ garage, battered, beaten and broken from too many wild times on the town. His mother gave him two new fenders and a front hood for his 18th birthday last week, but the prospect of Ross driving the car these days isn’t good.

Ross estimates that he’s been in six accidents. He says that some of them weren’t his fault, but those who know him, well . . .

Which brings us to Scott Ross, the football player. He plays the way he drives--with reckless abandon.

“My mother is always saying I drive my car the same way I play football,� Ross said. “But honest, some of those wrecks weren’t my fault.�

Consider:

- There was the time Ross decided to do a brake job. During a test drive to “bleed� the brakes he had a slight problem. When he came to a traffic signal, he pushed the brake pedal but there were no brakes. He smashed into the rear of a van.

- Then there was the time Ross saw a friend walking down the street and decided to pull over into the bike lane. The two were engaged in a conversation when Ross looked into his rear-view mirror and saw a moped rider approaching. The next thing he knew, the moped rider was sailing over the top of his car.

“I don’t even want to talk about my insurance,� Ross said.

Seems there’s only one place where Ross’ style is suited--the football field. The three-year starter was unanimously voted the South Coast League’s defensive player of the year, which surprised some considering that All-American defensive end Scott Spalding is Ross’ teammate.

“He dominated the league,� Dana Hills Coach Don Douglass said. “No one ran against El Toro all year, and Scott Ross had a lot to do with that.�

Said Irvine Coach Terry Henigan: “Scott Spalding had a good year and is going to be a fine college player, but there was no doubt who was the best defensive player in the South Coast League. Scott Ross was awesome.�

It wasn’t always that way. Ross admitted that he had a temper and was a problem child growing up in Livermore in Northern California. He began playing football as a 9-year-old and had earned a reputation as a hothead by the time he enrolled at Granda High in Livermore.

“During my freshman year at Livermore, I was ejected from a couple of games for fighting,� Ross said. “People up there like that aggressive nature in a football player. Livermore is a cowboy town where a lot of people live on ranches.�

The Ross family was popular in Livermore. Ross’ father, Marshall, and his uncle, Tom Christensen, were sales representatives for a sporting goods firm. The garage was filled with basketballs, footballs, baseball gloves, baseballs, fishing gear and guns.

“I was the only kid playing Pee Wee football with five helmets,� Ross said.

The family moved to El Toro after Ross’ freshman season, when his father became general manager for a sporting goods company in Costa Mesa. The adjustment to life in Southern California was difficult.

“I was here for about a month and barely knew some of the guys on the sophomore team when Coach (Bob) Johnson asked me if I wanted to play on the varsity team,� Ross said. “I had to get to know a whole group of guys all over again.

“It was tough trying to play middle linebacker and earning the respect of the players as a new kid. Middle linebacker is the ‘stud’ position on any football team and here was this sophomore from Livermore trying to become a starter.�

Ross impressed Johnson with his aggressive style of play but quickly incurred the coach’s disfavor when he was ejected from a game for fighting.

“The coaches really came down on me,� Ross said. “They told me, ‘That’s not the way we play football at El Toro.’ I’ve learned to control my temper and play under control on the field.

“A lot of playing middle linebacker is reading the offense. I watch films all the time. You’ve got to play smart. If you’re overly aggressive, you defeat yourself.�

Ross tops the Chargers with 61 lead tackles and 53 assists going into tonight’s Southern Conference title game against defending champion Santa Ana in Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium. He sees the game as a personal challenge.

“Santa Ana is a great running team, and I love to defend against the run,� he said. “I’ve taken a different approach to this game. I got so pumped up for the playoffs the last two years, I couldn’t do my homework.

“I couldn’t do anything but think about the games. By the time we played in the semifinals against El Modena and Mission Viejo, I had nothing left. I was drained.�

The season will end for Ross tonight, and then comes decision time. The 6-foot 3-inch, 215-pounder is being recruited by every Pacific-10 college and has trips planned to USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State and Washington.

“If you had asked me as a freshman what colleges I would like to attend, those would have been the five,� Ross said. “I have no idea which one I’m going to pick.�

The coaching staff at El Toro agreed to cut down Ross’ playing time this season and feature him only at linebacker rather than platooning him at fullback. The idea was that Ross didn’t have much of a future as a fullback, but he was a major college prospect as a linebacker.

Initially, the move wasn’t popular with Ross. He said he went crazy on the sidelines when he came off the field but later realized that the decision was for the best. But it also meant that the Chargers’ equipment man would be working more repairing Ross’ equipment.

Ross is constantly breaking the clips that clamp his facemask to his helmet. He has a bad habit of tackling opposing players with his face, which often breaks the clips. He broke his helmet three times in a league showdown against Mission Viejo.

Last summer, Ross worked for security at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater with teammate Rick Mink. His memorable moments were getting cottage cheese in his hair when comedian Gallagher did his Sledge-O-Matic routine and keeping rowdy patrons on the grass area for the Depeche Mode concert.

“I got to see all the groups for free, but it got old after a couple of months,� Ross said. “You can expect about three fights a night. A lot of the people that go to those heavy-metal concerts are crazy.�

Sounds like the Scott Ross of old.

CHARGERS LEADERS

SCORING

Aly Diaz -- 110 points Scott Miller -- 84 points RUSHING

Aly Diaz -- 1,400 yards (8.4 average) RECEIVING

Scott Miller -- 65 receptions, 1,055 yards PASSING

Com Att Yds TDs Int Bret Johnson 165 256 2,350 25 6

El Toro Starting Lineup

OFFENSE

No. Pos. Name Ht. Wt. 29 WR Scott Miller 5-11 180 16 WR Chris McCarthy 5-8 155 85 TE Mike Hoelker 6-3 185 66 OT Rick Mink 6-4 230 79 OT Jon Barron 6-3 225 70 OG Pete Young 6-3 205 65 OG Daren Dudgeon 6-2 215 54 C John Shoffeitt 5-10 185 11 QB Bret Johnson 6-1 170 34 FB Ron Chocklet 5-11 190 32 TB Aly Diaz 5-7 150

DEFENSE

No. Pos. Name Ht. Wt. 77 DE Cory Wayland 6-4 225 55 DT Adam Demalignon 6-3 225 75 DT David Grisafe 6-0 200 63 DE Scott Spalding 6-5 250 33 LB Scott Ross 6-3 215 40 LB Davin Jackson 5-10 180 35 LB Craig Pyatt 5-10 180 47 LB Sam Weaver 5-10 175 21 CB Shane Brisbin 5-10 170 24 CB Phil Booker 5-9 170 30 FS Adam Brass 5-11 175

Santa Ana Starting Lineup

OFFENSE

No. Pos. Name Ht. Wt. 25 WR Darrell Bailey 6-1 175 83 FL Efrain Islas 5-8 160 42 TE Bobby Joyce 6-6 190 64 OT Basilio Sanchez 6-0 235 69 OT Enrique Pedraza 5-11 210 61 OG Jose Avalos 6-0 215 53 OG Lance Tayco 5-11 185 51 C Sergio Rocha 5-11 240 10 QB Richard Fanti 5-10 165 36 FB Carlos Garcia 5-10 205 32 TB Robert Lee 6-0 210

DEFENSE

No. Pos. Name Ht. Wt. 84 DE Stacey Coleman 5-10 185 61 DT Jose Avalos 6-0 215 75 DT Henry Takapu 6-0 210 33 DE Ed MateMate 5-11 180 14 LB George Tuioti 6-3 210 31 LB Bryan Thomas 6-0 215 88 LB Albert Ruiz 6-3 215 89 LB Tony Mosley 6-2 190 25 CB Darrell Bailey 6-1 175 27 CB Shawn Price 6-1 175 42 FS Bobby Joyce 6-6 190

EL TORO CHARGERS South Coast League (13-0) Whitehall, Pa.-- Won, 20-19 Fontain Valley -- Won, 31-12 Westminster -- Won, 21-0 El Modena -- Won, 37-14 Newport Harbor -- Won, 32-0 San Clemente -- Won, 49-27 Capistrano Valley -- Won, 17-15 Irvine -- Won, 56-15 Dana Hills -- Won, 36-8 Mission Viejo -- Won, 38-14 Canyon -- Won, 35-0 Paramount -- Won, 28-8 Mission Viejo -- Won, 34-14