Seven Griffins Go to Head of Class

Ryan Hanson and Keenan Howry were so eager for Wednesday morning to arrive they could barely sleep. Bernard Riley, on the other hand, was calm and settled.

Riley, Hanson and Howry, who played football at Los Alamitos, were among dozens of county prep athletes who signed letters of intent for college Wednesday.

Seven Los Alamitos football players signed with Division I schools--defensive linemen Riley and Sagan Atuatasi (USC), wide receiver Howry and defensive back Adolph Keyes (Oregon), quarterback Hanson (UNLV) and defensive backs Stefan Merriweather (Nevada) and Brandon Cheri (Montana).

Football Coach John Barnes, whose team won the Sunset League and reached the Southern Section Division I semifinal (losing to eventual-champion Mater Dei), said this was the highest number of football players in school history to sign on the first signing day. The previous high was six in 1995.

“If all eight of them finish their four-five years of school, you’re looking at probably $900,000 in scholarship money today,” Barnes said.

“This is a special group of athletes. But what distinguishes them is they are all really good kids.”

The eighth athlete is volleyball player Bridget Merritt, who signed with San Diego.

The 6-3, 305-pound Riley, The Times Orange County lineman of the year and one of the country’s most sought-after recruits, said the day felt “like a new beginning, that I’m growing up. I’m ready to get out on my own and be responsible for myself.

“My first day at USC, I won’t know if I’ll try to take somebody’s head off or be happy and try to get to know everybody. But I do want to get into the program as soon as possible.”

Hanson and Howry, who were Times Orange County first-team picks, admitted they could hardly wait for Wednesday to arrive.

“This is the biggest signature of my life,” Hanson said. “I’m committing my next five years to UNLV. But it’s a good thing to be where people want you.”

Said Howry: “I wanted to sign [with Oregon] the day I committed. Growing up, I wanted to go to college out of state, to be on my own. I couldn’t wait for this day to come. I’m just real happy.”

Los Alamitos was not the only county school with multiple Division I football signings.

Esperanza had five players sign, led by Times Orange County first-team kicker Nathan Fikse (UCLA) and All-Sunset League offensive lineman Nate Steinbacher (USC). Mater Dei had three: quarterback Scott Lukash (Villanova), linebacker Kevin Mitchell (Oregon) and Times Orange County first-team offensive lineman Lenny Vandermade (USC).

Three Orange Lutheran players signed: All-Olympic League receivers Tim Fleming (Nevada) and Jeff Renevier, who accepted an appointment to Army, and Times Orange County first-team running back Dee Meza (Fresno State).

“Having three of our players sign is a great thing,” Meza said. “It shows the [football] program is only going up, that it’s getting respect.”

Three of the Southland’s top quarterbacks--Kyle Boller of Newhall Hart, Chris Lewis of Long Beach Poly and J.P. Losman of Venice--signed with Pac-10 schools.

Boller will play for California, Lewis is headed for Stanford and Losman will attend UCLA. All were chosen to the Parade magazine All-American team, as was Riley.

Boller, selected the state player of the year by Cal-Hi Sports, set a state record with 4,841 passing yards and 59 touchdowns. Losman, the City Section co-player of the year, passed for 3,512 yards and 48 touchdowns. Lewis, The Times’ Glenn Davis Award winner as the top player in the Southland, had a state-record 107 touchdown passes in his career.

Woodland Hills-based PrepStar magazine rated Texas as having the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, with UCLA No. 2 and USC No. 10.

Texas’ class is topped by 6-foot-5, 215-pound All-American quarterback Chris Simms from Franklin Lakes, N.J. Simms is the son of former New York Giant quarterback Phil Simms.

Times staff writer Eric Sondheimer contributed to this story.