2002 PREVIEW SMALL SCHOOLS: PARACLETE `EXCITED' ABOUT PROSPECTS SPIRITS WANT 6TH CONSECUTIVE DIVISION TITLE IN ROW.

Byline: Julio Cortez Staff Writer

During the offseason, the talk at Paraclete High was more about who will be filling in at key positions on the football team than keeping a streak alive.

The Spirits, who enter the season with a 25-game winning streak and five consecutive Southern Section division titles, had no trouble filling in for the spots left open when Curtis Brown, Erick Jackson and Joe Martin graduated and went off to Division I colleges.

``The idea of a sixth (division title) is not farfetched,'' coach Jeff Cortez said. ``We have a good chance to do it and we are pretty excited.

``We don't talk about the winning streak, as far as it being at 25 games. We concentrate more on personal improvement. We just want to improve day to day, week to week. We don't talk about Sept. 13 being our 26th in a row. We don't focus on those things.''

Paraclete, which opens the season Sept. 13 at Chaminade of West Hills, will look to returning All-Division XII inside linebacker Keith Lambert, one of 19 returning seniors.

Other key seniors include Tommy Caton, James Minidis and Andy Watts.

Caton will use his cornerback experience from last year to know what the defense is thinking when he starts this year as a quarterback. He played QB at the junior varsity level and set school records - in yards (more than 1,200), touchdowns (12) and completion percentage (62 percent) - but played defense as John Taylor, now at College of the Canyons, played quarterback.

Cortez said Watts has the best hands on the team. The 6-foot-4, 195- pound senior was named to the All-Alpha League second team last fall.

Top newcomers to the team are Mark Mann and Zach Harris, who were named co-sophomores of the year for the JV team last year.

--Rosamond: New coach Lin Parker walked into an empty office and began setting up a football program in June. By last week, the former Highland High of Palmdale coach was ready for the season.

``I've put down some roots and look out, I am a roadrunner,'' said Parker, who is in his 31st year of coaching football. ``I wanted to coach in the (High Desert) league because it's where I started - with Boron. I wanted a school here to be my last stop. I figure four or five more years and that's it. I wanted to coach in a place where there is one community, one school.''

Although Parker's new office had no stats or information on last year's team, Parker, who got the job after Tim Cox took a job at Gridley High in the San Joaquin Valley, was delighted to find a residue of talent from last season's 3-6 team.

Senior quarterback Travis Hunsaker will start. Parker said Hunsaker (6-2, 200) will probably be a statistical leader in the league.

The offense will also look to senior Ricardo Azua, who rushed for 680 yards last year. Hunsaker and Azua will have good protection with senior Chance Tapia (6-0, 280) and sophomore Tobias Murray (6-2, 300) at tackles.

Mojave: Coach Larry Fatterfield knows he has a good chance to get over the quarterfinal hump in the playoffs this year.

Fatterfield, who has coached the Mustangs for 11 years, has taken the team to the playoffs in three of the past four seasons but has never been past the quarterfinals. Last year, the team went 9-2 to win the High Desert League and beat L.A. Baptist of North Hills in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Twentynine Palms in the quarterfinals.

This year, the team returns 25 players, including five with all-league nominations.

Ronald Downning - who earned an All-CIF selection and was co-offensive player of the year in the league with Rudy Burgess of Desert - rushed for 1,600 yards and 17 touchdowns last season and looks to be the leader of the 38-player team.

Desert: The Scorpions have made the playoffs the past three years and reached the Division XII quarterfinals. Coach Joel Sweitzer believes the team has a good chance to go further this season and win the school's first division title since 1981.

Desert, which went 9-3 overall and finished second in the High Desert League behind Mojave, lost only two players from last year - QB Justin Dion and fullback/defensive end Christian Watkins, who are both now at Antelope Valley College.

Nick Gava, who started at wide receiver the past three years and was a backup quarterback, has earned his dues and will lead the offense this year. Last season, Gava started two games at QB and played a total of five quarters as the lead offensive guy.

Gava is not the only four-year starter on the team. Jason Napolean, Rudy Burgess - who was the league's co-MVP last year - and Aaron Briesmaster will be leading the offensive backfield.

Junior Milt Davis and sophomore James Cook both were varsity starters last year and give the team depth.

--Bethel Christian: The Eagles will look to returning running back Drew Newton to erase the sour taste of last year's 0-9 record.

Newton, a senior, will get reinforcement from newcomer Mark Green (6-0, 170).

Senior Jeremy Baeza (6-0, 240) will start both ways on the line.

``The team is young and inexperienced,'' coach James Vondra said. ``Not big, but quick.''