ANTELOPE VALLEY COLLEGE FOOTBALL: INEXPERIENCE, BAD LUCK DERAILED AVC.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

LANCASTER - The season began with players beaming with confidence. Talk of contending for the state championship bowl series was the clubhouse buzz, an exciting 2-0 start and a rise in the state rankings validating those sentiments.

Many things had to go wrong for the Antelope Valley College football team for the wheels to come off of their season the way it ultimately did - losing six consecutive games to close out the season, culminating with Saturday's 30-15 loss to Desert of Palm Desert.

They all did.

There was a deflating 55-7 loss in Week 3 to Chaffey of Rancho Cucamonga.

And then there was the season-ending illness to their starting quarterback, Justin Dion, and injuries to several other key players.

``It was disappointing,'' AVC coach Brent Carder said. ``We started out the season legitimately feeling we were going to have a competitive team and then things happened to us that we couldn't control.''

Dion (Desert High) was lost for the last six games after suffering what was eventually diagnosed as Valley Fever, a rare illness that's mostly contracted in desert regions and which produces pneumonia-like symptoms and caused him to lose 30 pounds.

An already inexperienced offense never recovered from the loss of Dion.

AVC scored its season high in points in its season-opening 20-17 victory over Reedley. The Marauders averaged just 12.7 points per game and averaged fewer than 10 points over their last eight games. They scored more points in their season finale against Desert than in any game since a 19-16 victory in Week 2 over Pierce of Woodland Hills.

``I think after the Chaffey game we kind of got deflated,'' sophomore defensive back Richard Newton (Littlerock High) said. ``You go from being 2-0 and then you get beat 55-7 and then you start thinking, 'How good are we, really?' You start questioning yourself and you start questioning your ability.''

After losing Dion, AVC started three different quarterbacks: Ron Hamilton (Quartz Hill), Michael Woods and Kyle Jensen (Vasquez). Hamilton wasn't a regular starter for most of his prep career, and Woods and Jensen played at small schools that don't replicate the size and speed of the community college game.

AVC's two leading rushers, Juston Freeman and Aaron Wilson (Antelope Valley High), were both freshman.

``The inexperience definitely showed up against the more talented teams,'' Newton said. ``It was hard for a lot of the kids (just out of high school) to adjust. It's a much faster game.''

The good news for AVC is that a significant portion of the team's starting skill players and four of its five starting offensive linemen are projected to return next season.

Freshman linebacker Ngaluma'a Ikahihifo and his older brother, John (Highland), a freshman defensive lineman, were among the team's defensive standouts and are projected to return.

--Champions: The women's basketball team won last week's San Diego Mesa tournament, its first tournament title in school history.

The Marauders (3-0), who are ranked ninth in the state and are tied for sixth in Southern California, were led by tournament MVP Shalonie Hutchinson, a sophomore guard.

``It was a big deal for us,'' AVC coach John Taylor said.

--For openers: The men's basketball team opens its season against Saddleback College of Mission Viejo today at 3 p.m. in the first round of the Fullerton tournament. Saddleback is ranked No. 2 in the state. The Marauders are ranked ninth in the state and tied for fifth in Southern California.

Gideon Rubin [phone]

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com