HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

You’ll never guess who’s the leading rusher in the Foothill League. He also maintains the best per-carry average and has scored more touchdowns than any other Foothill running back.

No, it’s not Valencia tailback Manuel White, who has 353 yards in 58 carries.

It’s Burbank’s Alan Gutierrez, a 6-2, 210-pound senior who rushed for 277 yards in 30 carries last week against Cathedral. He has 389 yards and five touchdowns in 44 carries.

According to first-year Coach Frank Childress, Gutierrez has plenty of big games left.

“We expect over 1,000 yards from him this year,” Childress said.

At this rate, he’ll be closer to 2,000.

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There’s renewed strength in numbers at Santa Paula.

The Cardinals’ roster swelled from 25 to 41 players in a year.

“We’re really blessed to have all these kids,” Coach Hoppy Mumford said.

A more strict practice attendance policy during the summer is the only difference from a year ago. Players who missed summer football had to run an extra 20 miles during preseason workouts.

The ultimatum appeared to encourage players to stick with the program.

Having a larger roster has been nice for Mumford. Santa Paula (2-0) is the only team in the region which has not been scored upon.