PREP FOOTBALL ’92 / EMPIRE LEAGUE

LOARA

1991 RECORDS OVERALL LEAGUE 7-5 3-2

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COACH RECORD AT SCHOOL John deFries 14-10

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RETURNING STARTERS OFF DEF 4 2

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TOP RETURNERS OFF DEF YR Les Cobb, 5-7, 225 -- NG Sr. Denison Dawson, 5-11, 180 TB -- Jr. Paul Diaz, 5-9, 155 WR -- Sr. John Hernandez, 6-1, 215 -- DT Sr. Thomas Price, 6-0, 225 OL -- Sr. Floyd Talley, 6-0, 165 WR -- Jr.

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TOP NEWCOMERS OFF DEF YR George Hernandez, 6-0, 205 FB LB Jr. David Manu, 5-11, 170 -- DE Jr. Bill Milligan, 6-0, 170 QB -- Sr. Vince Pla, 5-9, 155 WR -- Jr. Anthony Skinner, 6-2, 210 -- LB Sr. Tony Valentin, 6-1, 250 OL -- Sr.

OUTLOOK

It’s a rebuilding year. That’s Loara’s upcoming season in a nutshell, according to deFries. The Saxons are young, untested and don’t figure to make much of a dent in the ultra-competitive Empire League. “If we get out of this thing without any injuries we’ll be OK for next year,� deFries said. “With Los Alamitos back as CIF champs, they’ve got to be No. 1 in Orange County. They should be No. 1 in the Empire League. Esperanza is probably No. 2. El Dorado and Katella have got some pretty good people. I’m going to be fighting to stay out of the cellar this year.� It sounds rough, but most league coaches would agree with deFries’ assessment of the league race. “We’re playing with a lot of young kids,� deFries said. “We’re keeping five sophomores up on the varsity.� The good news is that future Saxon teams will have some experience. The bad news is that they’ll have to struggle through the ’92 season.