Prep Review : Quarterbacks Are Thrown Into Another Line of Work on Court

As the football season fades into basketball season, some of Orange County’s top high school quarterbacks are switching physical and emotional gears as they leave the field to take their places on the court.

Capistrano Valley’s Todd Marinovich, Sunny Hills’ David Chisum and Mater Dei’s Mark Ramstack all were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, and all three were supposed to start practicing with their basketball teams the Monday after their final football games.

“Our season ended Friday and I was out there Monday,� said Chisum, whose football team lost to Newport Harbor, 31-21. “I was extremely disappointed about football, but it’s nice to have something new to look forward to.�

The other quarterbacks say that, although the transition between sports is tough, they’re happy to have something to think about besides dwelling on the football season.

Marinovich went through the emotional wringer of the Dick Enright/El Toro controversy during the last two weeks of the season, and he ended his high school career with a 21-19 loss to Villa Park in which he passed for 330 yards. Basketball Coach Mark Thornton gave Marinovich, a forward who averaged 15 points last season, and forward Randy Stark the week off to give them a chance to recuperate.

“But I went out and shot every day,� Marinovich said. “It’s totally different conditioning for basketball. I’m in good enough shape to go both ways in football, but basketball is nonstop. You don’t get those rests.�

Ramstack, too, is feeling the difference.

“I’m huffin’ out there,� he said. “I got shin splints from going on the court, and my legs are tired. The transition is hard.�

Ramstack is just starting to get his shot back. He sprained his shoulder in the final game against Long Beach Poly and watched the fourth quarter of his team’s 32-9 loss from the sidelines.

“It was a big letdown,� Ramstack said. “It’s nice to have a second chance (with basketball). But it’s hard going from one group of friends that is so sad after the loss, to the basketball team that is happy and looking forward to the season.�

Although Ramstack was impressive as a junior varsity guard, he’s going to have to earn a starting spot on the state Division I championship team, which has been conditioning all football season and already has practiced for a month.

“I have a lot of catching up to do,� Ramstack said. “Some of the guys on the team would see me going to football practice and wonder, ‘What are you doing out there?’ I only lost one basketball game in three years at Mater Dei, and some guys don’t understand why I’d want to play football if we don’t have a great, great, undefeated football team. But Friday night on the field is the best feeling of your life. I have no regrets.�

Notable Numbers:

270--Approximate number of miles Woodbridge High School must travel to its Desert-Mountain Conference semifinal game. The Warriors travel to Central California to play Atascadero High School, which beat Woodbridge, 14-7, in last year’s quarterfinals. The team will leave at about 10 a.m. and miss a day of class. “Last Friday was a holiday, so all they did before the game was lay around,� said Coach Gene Noji. “This week they’ll just be laying around in a different place. On the bus.�

205--Passing yards by Woodbridge’s Derrick Odum, who filled in as quarterback for injured Fred Schweer (bruised kidney). In the Warriors’ quarterfinal victory over Paso Robles, Odum completed 10 of 14 passes and also ran for 2 touchdowns. Look for Odum at guard on Woodbridge’s basketball team, last season’s Division II state champions.

23--Straight victories recorded by Newport Harbor’s 1987 girls’ volleyball team. The undefeated Sailors, who won both the Sea View League crown and the Southern Section 5-A title, swept Palisades High Saturday night in the state quarterfinals. Tuesday, the Sailors face Davis High from Northern California at 7:30 at Corona del Mar.

8--Straight victories by Fountain Valley’s football team, which dropped its first four games. Coach Mike Milner has been motivating his team with appearances and letters from the school’s “Hall of Fame,� including Mike Newton (1983, Stanford defensive back) and Matt Stevens (1981 UCLA and Kansas City Chief quarterback). The latest victim: previously undefeated Bishop Amat, which Fountain Valley whipped, 42-14, Friday. Semifinal opponent: Long Beach Wilson.

11--Straight games in which El Toro quarterback Bret Johnson threw touchdown passes, before his streak was stopped Friday against Hawthorne. The last time he failed to have a touchdown pass was in a 38-14 victory over Mission Viejo last season. But Johnson still makes his presence felt. In the 1986 Mission Viejo game, he rushed for two touchdowns. Friday, in the 26-20 victory over Hawthorne, he ran for one touchdown.

6--How many games Bolsa Grande’s football team lost last week. Monday, the Matadors had the Southern Section’s longest current winning streak, at 20 games. Wednesday, the team announced it had to forfeit five games for using an academically ineligible player. Friday, Bolsa Grande lost on the field, 36-33, to Saddleback. The Matadors, ahead by 20 at one point, gave up the winning touchdown with less than a minute to play. “They were emotionally drained at the end of the game,� Coach Greg Shadid said. The game was the last for seniors Damon Fisher, Ricky Lepule, Travin Lui and Shannon Valdez. Anaheim and Valencia , two Central Conference semifinal teams, may be breathing easier. Both lost in the playoffs to Bolsa Grande last year, Anaheim in the semifinals and Valencia in the championship game.

Strikes to soothe--The night before Saturday’s state cross-country championships, pre-race tension filled the Fresno air. Nervous runners paced the halls and lobbies of a local motel and nervous coaches scolded them back to their rooms.

But down the street at the Blackstone Bowl, the Newport Harbor girls’ cross-country team had nothing on its mind but strikes and spares. “We weren’t worrying,� said Sailor Stacy Pando. “We were just having fun.� Pando was the group’s top bowler with a 114 series. The next morning, Newport Harbor captured the Division II title and Pando was the Sailors’ top runner, with a ninth-place performance.

On the road--Bret Johnson, El Toro quarterback, has planned recruiting trips to UCLA, USC, Notre Dame and Penn State and is considering Washington, Arizona State, Iowa and Purdue for his fifth visit. Capistrano Valley’s Marinovich has accepted trips to University of Miami and Brigham Young University.

Prep Notes

Former Newport Harbor football star Dave Cadigan of USC has been selected to play for the West team that will compete in the Shrine East-West All-Star game at Stanford University in Palo Alto. Cadigan (6-5, 280) has been a three-year starter for the Trojans. . . . El Toro’s basketball team raised $650 for the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. off gate receipts from its alumni game Saturday night that featured former USC star Ron Holmes. . . . Former Servite defensive back Mike Hirou was named the defensive player of the year on Princeton’s freshman football team.