COACHING ALUMNI:

(A look at people who, sometime in their careers, made a contribution to area athletics. Today, a look at some former area coaches who have moved on to other jobs and how they are doing.)

Gene Noji--A former head football coach at Poly HS, He’s now in charge of the program at Woodbridge HS in Irvine. After a 5-0 start, Woodbridge lost its first game last week, 23-7, to Orange.

Jim Barnett--The most recent football coach to depart Poly HS, Barnett is in his second year at Trabuco Hills HS in Mission Viejo. In only its second year of existence, Trabuco Hills is 3-3.

Steve Brinkley--Now in his first season at Newport Harbor HS, Brinkley formerly ran the football program at Norwalk HS. Newport Harbor has played unevenly this season. After losing last week the school is 3-3. Ironically, Norwalk is 5-1.

Dave Thompson--The former head football coach at Lynwood HS resigned over the summer as the coach at Marina HS in Huntington Beach. Thompson cited lack of administrative support for his actions. Marina began the season with five consecutive losses, before upsetting Huntington Beach Edison, 17-7, last Friday.

Tosh Nitta--Nitta led Bell HS to an 11-1 record and into the City Section’s football 2-A Division championship game last year. He’s now the coach at Sanger HS near Fresno. The Apaches are 2-4 on the year.

GAME PROGRAMS: With most schools charging at least $1 (at Servite’s homecoming recently at Hanford Rants Stadium it was $2), a real bargain comes from Poly HS. It sells its program for just 50 cents, but is comparable in quality and information to many of the slick, high gloss productions others attempt. According to activities specialist Bill Alexander Poly can offer the savings because it pre-prints its program before the season begins, then inserts a single sheet of paper with the rosters of the competing teams before each game.

CROWDS: BULLDOG STADIUM--Fresno St. expects its ninth consecutive sellout when it hosts CS Long Beach Saturday night in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game. The Bulldogs are averaging 34,548 fans per game. The stadium’s capacity is only 30,000. The overflow is seated behind each end zone, where general admission ticket holders jostle for space on a pair of grass berms. In its only home game of the season, CS Long Beach drew 7,000 to Veterans Stadium, which has a capacity of slightly more than 12,000.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

Mark Templeton--The CS Long Beach fullback leads the nation in pass receiving. He averaged 9 catches a game. In last week’s 38-7 win over New Mexico St. he caught 8 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Gaylan Sweet--The Whittier College fullback rushed for 100 yards for the second time this season in a 20-18 loss to Pomona-Pitzer. The Poets are 3-3.

RECRUITING: Bruce Roos--The Artesia HS DT/OL is on the Cal-Hi Sports “Should be Seriously Looked At� list. Roos (6-5, 210) ranks high in blocking percentage. He beats his opponent “nine out of 10 plays,� according to Coach Vince LaRosa.

WALKING ON EGGSHELLS: Phil Vala--The first-year Norwalk HS football coach is a full-time physical education instructor at Artesia HS. One of his teaching partners at Artesia? Pioneers football Coach Vince LaRosa. The two teams meet Friday night in Suburban League play. Artesia, a co-champion last year, has struggled to a 3-3 overall record, but is still favored to win the title. Norwalk, which has a history of finishing third in league play, enters the game at 5-1. Both won their league openers last week.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Tara Cross--The former all-Southern Section player from Gahr HS is a freshman at CS Long Beach. She currently ranks second in kills (spikes) in the PCAA. At a recent tournament at UCLA she averaged nearly five kills per game.

RUNNING: The Wilsons--The father-son team of Ken, 44, and Kenneth Wilson of Norwalk will compete in the Foot Locker Partners National Championship road race to be held at Griffith Park Saturday. The race covers 8-kilometers.

BASKETBALL: CS Long Beach and the locals--Coach Ron Palmer calls Duane Cooper (Lakewood) and Don Brotz (Wilson) the top area seniors this year. The 49ers, however, are loaded with underclassmen, so don’t look for either player to show much interest in the school, or visa versa. Palmer says he’s interested in “seven juniors,� but would not elaborate. “It’s a matter of when they become available,� he said.

Add CS Long Beach--Four former men’s players have left the team, three players formerly with PCAA schools have walked on to the program, and one recruit cannot play this semester because of the NCAA’s Proposition 48. Stephen Hamlin, Vince Jefferson, Reggie Wallace and Aaron Combs have left the team, a school spokesman said. LeRoy Brown of New Orleans still plans to attend the school, but did not meet the new NCAA academic standards. Mel Braxton, a 6-7, 195-pound forward has transferred from New Mexico St., Ethan Swenson, (6-8, 220 forward/center) formerly at UC Santa Barbara has transferred via Cypress College and Compton HS grad Rigo Moore, a 6-3, 180-pound junior guard, has tranferred from Washington State.

STREAKS: Santa Fe HS--A 55-20 loss to La Serna last week was the 16th consecutive for the Chiefs.

Whittier HS--The Cardinals snapped their 8-game losing streak with a 28-0 victory over Cal HS last week. Whittier meets Santa Fe Friday night.

Cantwell HS--Last week’s 15-7 Camino Real League win over St. Monica snapped a 16-game league losing string. Cantwell hosts Serra HS Friday night.

Lynwood HS--The Knights have won 32 consecutive San Gabriel Valley League games. Lynwood hosts Warren Friday night. The Southern Section record for most consecutive league wins is 60 by Carpinteria HS (1947-57).

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Willie Donerson--The third-year coach at Dominguez HS explaining why he feels the 5-1 Dons have been so successful this season after years of frustration: “Anytime a program wins two of its last 17 games and the kids hang in there with you, you know those kids have to be the greatest.�

(This feature appears weekly in Sportsbeat. Readers are encouraged to nominate players for Sports Shorts. Information is accepted Monday, 9-11 a.m., at 924-8600.)