PREP FOOTBALL ’99 : EMPIRE LEAGUE : FACTS AND FIGURES

A LITTLE HISTORY

With The Times All-Orange County football team marking its 40th anniversary this season, here is a selection of prominent all-county choices from Empire League schools:

Rick Parma

Kennedy, 1974-75

One of the most prolific pass catchers in county history, Parma was a two-time selection at wide receiver and caught 154 passes for 2,589 yards and 29 touchdowns in three seasons. He finished his career as the second-leading receiver in Southern Section history, trailing only J.K. McKay of La Puente Bishop Amat.

Craig Rutledge

El Dorado, 1980-81

Rutledge was one of the finest defensive backs from a county school, and went on to play for UCLA and one season for the Rams. A hard hitter and an exciting open-field runner, he returned for touchdowns four of the 13 passes he intercepted in his two all-county seasons.

1998 IN REVIEW

The League Race: Cypress won its first league title since 1978, rebounding from a 9-6 upset loss to Century in the seventh week to force a showdown with El Dorado for the championship in the final week. The Centurions won that game, 36-17, led by quarterback Jeff Crooks’ 263 yards of total offense and Darren Shorter’s four touchdown runs.

Game of the Year: Juan Martinez’s 20-yard field goal as time ran out capped a last-minute Katella drive in an 18-16 victory over El Dorado during the seventh week. Mitch Nord had given El Dorado a 16-15 lead, connecting with Byron Davis on a 54-yard scoring pass and then hitting Tim Fairfield with a two-point conversion pass with 3:31 to play. But Chris Haller kept Katella’s final drive alive with a four-yard pass to Brandon Jordan on fourth down with 30 seconds to play, then hit Bob Nita with a 28-yard pass at the three-yard line to set up Martinez’s kick.

Play of the Year: Katella’s Victor Espinoza blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone with 3:16 to play, breaking a tie and giving Katella a 13-6 victory over Kennedy in the 10th week. The victory put Katella in the playoffs.

The MVP: Crooks, who passed for 17 touchdowns and led the league in passing yardage.

Playoff performance: Cypress and Katella advanced to the second round before losing, Cypress to Irvine, 36-14, and Katella to eventual Division VI champion Woodbridge, 44-0. El Dorado fell to Villa Park in the first round, 41-14.

League

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Standings W L T Cypress 4 1 0 Katella 3 1 1 El Dorado 3 2 0 Kennedy 2 3 0 Loara 1 3 1 Century 1 4 0

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Overall

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Standings W L T TP PA Cypress 7 5 0 304 229 Katella 8 3 1 184 272 El Dorado 6 5 0 220 201 Kennedy 6 4 0 156 115 Loara 4 5 1 172 175 Century 2 8 0 84 245

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Leaders

Statistics include regular-season games only

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PASSING Att Cp TD Yds Crooks, Cypress 201 112 17 1,835 Nord, El Dorado 220 93 13 1,510 Je. Ellis, Loara 195 96 7 1,080 Cook, Kennedy 146 54 4 739

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RUSHING Att Yds Avg TDs Johnson, Katella 203 1,029 5.1 7 Wyatt, Kennedy 168 791 4.7 9 Chavez, Loara 125 632 4.8 3 Carasa, Century 132 615 4.8 5

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RECEIVING Att Yds Avg TDs Herrera, Cypress 53 781 14.5 8 Patton, Loara 35 407 10.9 5 Jones, Cypress 28 462 17.0 4 Nebeker, El Doardo 20 436 21.4 8

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SCORING TD FG XP TP Jones, Cypress 11 0 0 66 Wyatt, Kennedy 9 0 0 54 Herrera, Cypress 8 0 2 50 Johnson, Katella 8 0 0 48 Nebeker, El Dorado 8 0 0 48

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