Westside Story: New Challenges, Opponents Await Preps

Westside CIF-Southern Section football teams will encounter thorny problems this season, but coaches at the seven Westside schools are trying to persuade their players to look for roses instead.

St. Monica High, Culver City and St. Bernard will each move up a notch--perhaps several notches--in competition.

Beverly Hills and Daniel Murphy will try to overcome lackluster seasons last year and the difficulties associated with coaching changes.

Santa Monica will attempt to make up for the loss of last season’s starting quarterback, Bob Aylsworth, who moved out of state.

In eight-man football, Brentwood, which won a Southern Section championship in 1988 but had a .500 record last season, has a wealth of quarterbacks and receivers but a poverty pocket on defense.

A look at the teams:

Beverly Hills (Bay League, 3-7 last season)--The Normans might have done better last year, but they had to forfeit three league games when co-head Coaches Bill Stansbury and Dick Billingsley joined other striking teachers on the picket lines. Stansbury and Billingsley left for jobs at other schools after the failure of a proposition to raise funds for the school district.

But there might not be a long transition period. The new coach is Carter Paysinger, a Beverly Hills alumnus and former football player who has been an assistant and part-time instructor at Beverly Hills since 1980. Among his assistants will be his brothers, Vonzie and Donald, who are also former Norman athletes. Vonzie and Donald have been assistants at the school for much of the 1980s.

“So far it’s been a real smooth transition,” Carter Paysinger said. But he added that “the potential for disaster is still there.”

The quarterback will be junior Ziv Gottlieb, a defensive roverback and guard last season. Paysinger said Gottlieb “might be one of the best athletes we’ve had here since Robbie Countryman (a top athlete at the school several years ago).” He said Gottlieb, a good runner, will give the Normans the flexibility to switch from a pro set to a rollout or option offense.

Veterans on offense include running back Greg Holmes, wide receivers Darren Smith and David Saraf, tackle Tony Rosales (6-feet-2, 215 pounds), guard Felton Williams (6-0, 200), center-guard Arash Feydjou (6-1, 215) and fullback Brandon Woods. Also returning are linebackers Ed Ricketts, John Lee and Geoff Hutchinson.

Paysinger said he will platoon players as much as possible “so we’ll have fresh guys on both sides of the ball. We’ll also play more guys.”

He said the Normans should be quicker than most opponents and will try to “force the action a little bit this year to create something. We’ll try to dictate the tempo and style of offense we can run against other teams.”

Beverly Hills will open the season Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Lompoc, which is led by standout running back Napolean Kaufman.

Brentwood (Delphic League, 5-5)--With three players who can pass well and three who can catch the ball, Brentwood Coach Pat Brown said: “We expect to throw the ball more than run this year. We want to put the ball in the air.”

The passers are Craig Polin and Matt Stringfellow, who shared the quarterback job last season, and sophomore Jono Ohlgren, who started for the junior varsity. When not quarterbacking, they will probably play some at defensive back or linebacker.

The receivers are tight end Peter Sather (6-3, 200), wide receiver Marc Kuehbeck and junior slotback Brad Griffith.

Brown has switched from a power-I offense to a single-back set, and the single back most of the time will be returning starter Derrick Amey. Amey missed three games at running back with a hamstring injury last season. Brown said Amey is healthy and stronger and should be better this season.

The heart of the defense should be linebacker Eric Gronomeyer (6-5, 210), who will also play offensive guard, and linebacker Doug Buchalter, up from the junior varsity.

Brown said the Eagles should be strong on offense but will be inexperienced on defense. “On the defensive line, we just don’t have size,” he said. “There’s not one guy who has played a down on the defensive line, except Amey for one game.”

Brentwood will open at home against Big Pine on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Culver City (Bay League, 5-4-1)--Culver City moves from the Ocean League, where it was competitive, to the Bay League, where the Centaurs might have to take their lumps.

Coach Lou Lichtl, however, is undaunted. He said he doesn’t think that traditionally strong Bay League teams such as Hawthorne, Leuzinger or Santa Monica have “any better football players; they just have more of them.”

“I think we can play with any of them,” Lichtl said. “Injuries will be the key. If we can stay healthy, we should make it to the playoffs for the third year in a row.”

However, other coaches in Lichtl’s position might regret the loss of such top players as wide receiver-defensive back Greg Hooks, tailback John Haqq and quarterback-defensive back Troy Dunlap, who all graduated.

Returning starters include Rick Heinemen, who will play tight end, defensive end and punter; wide receiver Dameron Ricketts, who will probably play quarterback most of the time; wide receiver Chris Johnston; tailback Lamar Wilborn, who switches from fullback, and junior tailback Bao Hong, who rushed for nearly 2,000 yards on the junior varsity team last year.

Lichtl said the offensive line, anchored by two-way lineman Jason White (6-1, 290), will be bigger and probably not get worn down in the middle of the season. The Centaurs won their first five games last season but didn’t win another, and Lichtl thinks one of the reasons for the slide was fatigue on the offensive line.

The second-year coach said he thinks that the Centaurs will maintain the passing game established last season and won’t revert to relying heavily on the running game. He said the defensive line--three juniors could start--might be strong. A players such as top linebacker Mark Neave (5-11, 210) could get weary because he might also have to double on offense at guard, Lichtl said.

The Centaurs will start the season Friday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Bernard.

Daniel Murphy (Santa Fe League, 1-9)--Murphy begins its season with three returning starters, a new coach in Bob Tompson and prospects that are not very bright.

Most of the players will be two-way performers, including the three veterans: center-defensive tackle Oleg Zatsepin (6-1, 235), defensive tackle-guard Juan Morales (5-8, 210) and linebacker-fullback Herico Bueno, who will also punt and kick.

Tompson, who doubles as athletic director, expects that some former junior varsity players will give the team an infusion of talent. Newcomers include junior quarterback Hans Velasco, who is being converted from wide receiver, and tight end-linebacker Ben Stephens.

Senior Rafael Njoku (6-0, 185), who hasn’t played football since his freshman year, might prove to be a good tailback. Tompson said that Njoku “is a Christian Okoye type”, referring to the bruising runner for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tompson said the Nobles will shift on offense from the run-and-shoot to multiple sets and will probably stunt and blitz often on defense. He said Mary Star of the Sea of San Pedro will probably be the Santa Fe favorite since St. Monica and El Segundo have left the league.

Murphy will play its first game against St. Genevieve on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Birmingham High. The Nobles will play most of their home games this season at Jackie Robinson Field in Rancho Cienega Park.

St. Bernard (Mission League, 5-6)--St. Bernard moves from the Division VII Camino Real League to Division III competition in the Mission League, which includes such powers as Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, St. Paul and Crespi.

Second-year Coach Jerry Campbell said he thinks that the step up in competition will be good for the St. Bernard program. Before its last Camino Real sojourn, the Vikings spent a couple of years in the Angelus League, one of the Southern Section’s toughest conferences.

Playing in the Mission League will be a real challenge, he said.

“It’s going to be a real class league. Three or four years ago St. Bernard was in the Angelus League and didn’t win a league game for two years. I wake up often thinking about that, but I can’t imagine that happening to us.”

With 17 lettermen returning and a stronger offense, Campbell said he feels good about his team. “If we don’t do it this year, we’re going to be in trouble next year,” he said.

Among those returning is strong-armed junior quarterback Chris Keldorf (6-5, 220), whose accuracy is said to have improved. He’ll be throwing to all-league receiver Aaron Berryman and receiver Earl Gales, who may be the fastest man on the team. Tailback LaShon Earnest, the Camino Real League 100-yard dash champion last spring, is also a receiving threat.

The offensive line has huge tackles in Raul Alexander (6-3, 255) and Mark Sanders (6-2, 260) and all-league guard Curtis Miller.

Miller and Earnest will be linebackers as well, but Campbell said they should be the only players who will play offense and defense. A weakness might be in the defensive secondary, where everyone will be a newcomer. “We’re going to get tested there, definitely,” Campbell said.

St. Bernard will open at home Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Culver City.

St. Monica (Camino Real League, 8-2)--St. Monica, undefeated champion of the Santa Fe League last year, moves from Division VIII to Division VII without its best player: wide receiver-defensive back Albert Jones, who transferred to Westchester. The Camino Real League includes defending Division VII champion Serra, which was 14-O last year, Verbum Dei and St. Anthony.

But Coach Angelo Jackson, who has employed the Delaware wing-T offense to great advantage in his two years as coach (the Mariners were 9-2 in 1988) to help revive a faltering program, said he regards tougher competition as a challenge.

Jackson said his players have developed a winning attitude. “We’re not the same St. Monica (program),” he said. “Our kids know we can win, not that we can’t win. I think we will surprise a lot of people. We still have a lot of good athletes.”

Among 18 seniors are free safety-tight end Keith Walk-Green, a second-team Times’ All-Westside selection at defensive back. Also returning are all-league performers Brandon Price, a 6-6, 265-pound offensive tackle, and strong safety Dion Bergeron, who steps in at quarterback for Casey Sullivan, whose family moved to Laguna Beach.

Jackson said Walk-Green is being heavily recruited by colleges and “can do the same things that Albert (Jones) can do.” That means making thumping tackles on defense, where he had seven interceptions last season, and catching passes. Walk-Green played only defense last year, but Jackson said he could have been the starting tight end if he had been asked to do so.

Before he moved to defensive back last season, Bergeron was vying with Sullivan at quarterback until he hurt his shoulder and couldn’t throw the ball. Jones said he thinks that Bergeron will turn out to be “the best quarterback on the Westside. When you see him throw you’ll say the same thing. He can also run the option, one of the things in the past we couldn’t do.”

Other top players include running backs James White and Nail (pronounced Nah-EEL) Benjamin, a junior. White, a fullback last year, did well at summer camps he attended, Jackson said. Benjamin rushed for 1,500 yards and scored 26 touchdowns for the junior varsity last season.

The Mariners, who play their home games at Culver City High, will open at home against Division X power Montclair Prep and all-division tailback Derek Sparks on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Santa Monica (Bay League, 6-4)--Santa Monica Coach Tebb Kusserow is preparing three players to replace departed quarterback Bob Aylsworth, a proficient passer who will play his senior season in Texas.

The top two candidates are junior Zach Nishimura, up from the sophomore team, and senior Rashon Ivy, a defensive back and running back last season. Sophomore Lucas Harper is practicing with the varsity at quarterback, but he will probably spend the season on the sophomore squad.

Sean Smith, who took over at tailback last season when Mark Harper was injured, returns and should be a better player because he is experienced, Kusserow said. He will be backed up by Rob Johnson.

Kusserow said the offensive and defensive lines should be strong. The top performers include guards Chris Ziegler (6-2, 230) and Jamelle Scott (6-2, 244), a tackle last year, and junior tackle Luke Davis (6-4, 260), up from the sophomore team. Kusserow said Davis is a major-college prospect. The defensive line will be led by returning standouts Mario Benavides (6-0, 205) and Brandon Bilderrain (6-0, 209).

Santa Monica’s tight ends usually play defensive end also, and Jim Ramming, a strong safety last year, tops a list that includes juniors Damon Ernst and Casey Blinn. The wide receivers will be juniors: split end Tim Kusserow, the last of the coach’s three sons to play for him, and flanker Sheldon Phillip-Guide.

Ramming will probably spend most of his time on defense at the strong safety spot, and he will lead a secondary that should have Nishimura at free safety and Phillip-Guide and Kusserow at the corners.

The Vikings should be one of the Bay League’s better teams, but Kusserow said Hawthorne, which has 44 lettermen and 14 starters returning from a 9-2 team, should be the league favorite along with Leuzinger.

In its opener, Santa Monica will play host to Pasadena on Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Santa Monica College.