PREP FOOTBALL ’99 : SMALL SCHOOLS : FACTS AND FIGURES

1998 IN REVIEW

Standings

League:

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OLYMPIC LEAGUE W L T Orange Lutheran 5 0 0 Valley Christian 4 1 0 Ontario Christian 2 3 0 Calvary Chapel 2 3 0 Whittier Christian 2 3 0 Brethren Christian 0 5 0

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Overall:

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OLYMPIC LEAGUE W L T TP PA Orange Lutheran 9 2 0 479 193 Valley Christian 8 4 0 328 143 Ontario Christian 6 5 0 207 269 Calvary Chapel 4 5 1 216 254 Whittier Christian 6 4 0 251 171 Brethren Christian 4 6 0 190 246

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ACADEMY LEAGUE: St. Margaret’s 5-0, 5-4; Capistrano Valley Christian, 4-1, 6-4; Downey Calvary Chapel 3-2, 5-6; Los Angeles Ribet Academy 2-3, 3-8; North Hollywood Campbell Hall 1-4, 2-7; Southern California Christian 0-5, 0-9.

EIGHT-MAN PREVIEWS

HERITAGE CHRISTIAN

Heritage Christian will field a football team again. Last season, the school was forced to drop the program because of a decrease in enrollment. The Patriots will revert back to an eight-man program and will compete in the eight-team Express League.

Mike Blankenship steps in as head coach, with approximately 20 players on the team, most with little or no football experience.

Blankenship is taking over for Tom Caffrey, who moved on to Fairmont after the sport was dropped. Caffrey built the Patriots from an eight-man to an 11-man program, but the team was 3-6 and 2-5 in the Victory League in 1997.

LIBERTY CHRISTIAN

Liberty Christian, 6-4 overall, finished fourth in the Express League with a 3-3 record. That earned the Minutemen a playoff berth and they advanced to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Lancaster Bethel Christian.

The Minutemen took some big hits at graduation, losing quarterback C.J. Leeman and receiver Jason Gardner. Leeman set the school’s single-season passing record in 1998 with 1,747 yards and Gardner set the receiving record with 750 yards.

The Minutemen return a large portion of their offensive line, including senior Caleb Stephens (5-10, 160, 102 tackles) and John Linke (5-10, 225). They should help spring returning running back Mike Spagnola. As a sophomore last year he set the school’s single-season rushing record with 1,092 yards.

Coach Guy Wilson is predicting a third-place finish in the Express League, but an inexperienced defense and receiving corps could stand in the way.