Esperanza Gets Its Inspiration From the Movies

With the exception of frenzied holiday shoppers or rock candy, it’s hard to imagine a more brutal force to reckon with than the Esperanza defense.

The Aztecs--6-0 and the county’s top-ranked team--have shut out five opponents this season.

Naturally, defensive coordinator Bill Pendleton declined to reveal his secrets. So we spiked his Slurpee with truth serum and got him talking.

“Well, let’s see now,” Pendleton said. “There was ‘Apocalypse Now,’ ‘Road Warrior,’ ‘The Wild Bunch’ . . . “

Yo, Coach. We said football secrets, not Siskel and Ebert picks.

“Oh, yes,” Pendleton said. “And ‘Black Rain,’ and ‘Glory,’ and one with Steven Seagal in it . . . “

When he finally snapped out of it, Pendleton broke down and admitted these were the films he showed his players on game day.

What, no “Pinocchio”? No “Beauty and the Beast”?

“We’re trying to psyche them up,” Pendleton said, “not warm their hearts.”

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Few brothers have as much in common as Brad and Brian Finneran of Santa Margarita. The Finnerans, 6-foot-4 identical twins, play wide receiver/defensive back, have 3.9 grade-point averages and prefer to keep a low profile.

Friday night, in their team’s 40-34 loss to Irvine, Brad and Brian each caught nine passes.

Sometimes, though, the Finneran twins forget just how identical they are.

“They were arguing once, calling each other names,” their mother, Burda, says. “Finally one calls the other a jerk, and the other yells back, ‘Oh yeah? Well you are so ugly!’

“I just laughed. I said, ‘Hey child, go look in the mirror.’ ”

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The situation, University volleyball Coach Lisa Mariotti said, was getting desperate.

Her players always played great in practice. But in competition, they continually let big leads slip away. Mariotti figured it was time for some psychological intervention.

“I keep saying my team needs a couch more than a coach,” she said.

Enter Dennis Davino, team psychologist.

OK, Davino isn’t a psychologist quite yet. He’s working toward a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, while working at University as an interpreter in the school’s hearing-impaired program. At Mariotti’s request, Davino volunteered to see what he could do with the Trojans’ choking tendencies.

After just two one-hour sessions--emphasizing better breathing, relaxation and visualization--the Trojans are finally playing to their potential.

“We beat Santa Margarita in five games Tuesday,” Mariotti said. “The first game we played flawlessly. Then we were very up and down. But a roller-coaster ride is a lot better than the flat line I was seeing before. I mean, they were dead.”

No word yet on whether Davino will try to revive the school’s football team--now 0-6.

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Last fall, Santa Ana psychic Madame Paula had the gall to predict that ever-woeful El Dorado would make it big in the Southern Section football playoffs.

We laughed. We scoffed. We pooh-poohed her prediction.

Well, psychic fans, El Dorado is now 6-0.

Obviously, Madame Paula was predicting the future future.

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Pardon Bill Hartman if he seems a little on edge these days. The low-key surf and cross-country coach at San Clemente High isn’t used to such controversy.

It started a few weeks ago, when Hartman read a newspaper report that he was leading a group of San Clemente High surfers on a trip to Da Nang, Vietnam, in December. Hartman said organizers of the trip had contacted him before the news report came out, but he hadn’t agreed to anything officially.

Two days later, a camera crew from Cable News Network showed up during the Tritons’ morning surf session. Hartman says CNN interviewed him, as well as some of the surf team members. Hartman told CNN the group would be going as goodwill ambassadors.

But when CNN aired its report--on National POW-MIA Day--it came with harsh reaction from Vietnam War veterans, Hartman said. Hartman and the surfers, the vets said, were unpatriotic and insensitive to the former POWs and their families. Ever since, Hartman has been deluged by the local and national media.

“CNN blew it out of proportion,” Hartman says. “Most of the reaction was positive--there was lots of support--but most of (the media) just wants to show the negative. And I do have empathy for the Vietnam vets and all the people involved . . . But I wasn’t planning on going in the first place.”

Organizers say the trip--which will feature 12-person teams from the United States, South Africa, Reunion Island, Indonesia and Japan--is slated to go on as expected, Dec. 14-Jan. 1.

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Consider: On Thursday, Rancho Alamitos (5-1, and the county’s No. 3 team) beat winless Bolsa Grande, 61-0. Bolsa Grande Coach Gary Stephens refused to shake hands with Rancho Coach Mark Miller after the game.

Friday, Costa Mesa, a 3-3 team, beat winless Laguna Beach, 65-19. Coaches from both sides exchanged unpleasant remarks afterward.

Blowouts like these happen every season. Coaches are accused of running up the score, only to say they played their second and third strings. What was I supposed to do, a winning coach will say, tell them to lay down on the field?

Let’s hear it readers. If a high school team is ahead by 30, 40 points or more, should the coach take steps to keep his players from scoring? If so, how? If not, why not?

The most thoughtful and/or creative responses will be awarded future space in this column--I know, whoopee--plus a complete “On The Prep Path Good Sport Halftime Kit.”

That’s right--a candy bar and a Coke.