BIG-TIME DREAMERS; ZARAGOZA, TRENT ON THE VERGE OF SETTING KENNEDY RECORDS.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer

The looks on their faces prove Kennedy High's Ruben Zaragoza and Sanders Trent know statistics aren't as important as victories.

Zaragoza and Trent are on pace to break most of the 28-year-old school's passing and receiving records, respectively. As usual, they performed exceptionally well in a Valley Mission League game against San Fernando on Friday: Zaragoza completed 26 of 42 passes for 345 yards and five touchdowns, and Trent caught nine passes for 54 yards.

However, Kennedy (3-3, 0-2) lost 36-33, its third straight close defeat. It's starting to look more and more as if the Golden Cougars will have to wait yet another year to reach the City Championship, an elusive milestone for a program recognized as one of the region's best.

``We need to keep our spirit up,'' said Trent, sitting with his teammate at a restaurant down the street from the school.

``It's still a young season,'' Zaragoza said with a shrug.

They chatted about Kennedy football for an hour, and Zaragoza, who leads the City with 1,575 yards and 16 touchdown passes, never mentioned he needs just 601 yards to break Calvin Zinck's 1996 school record of 2,175.

Trent, who has 47 receptions and has had no fewer than six in any game this season, didn't even realize he's 12 receptions shy of Aaron Lewis' career mark of 119 and 18 short of Lewis' 1996 single-season mark of 65.

``The important thing for us isn't records,'' Zaragoza said. ``Our opponents are getting harder and harder, and we have to be prepared for them. When we lose a football game, I feel responsible. I think about what I could have done.

``You lose a game 36-33 and it takes a lot out of you. It's been two days since that San Fernando game, and I still keep running the game over and over in my head.''

The City Section was reformatted this year, and Kennedy moved from the eight-team Northwest Valley Conference to the six-team Valley Mission League. There are no easy games on the schedule, especially the next two weeks. Kennedy hosts Monroe (5-1, 0-1) on Friday and Sylmar on Oct. 29.

Kennedy won its first three games and now the team is in survival mode. However, with its high-powered, four-receiver offense, the Golden Cougars certainly have the ability to beat any team, which would make them a serious contender in the playoffs - if they make it.

``We have gotta make the playoffs,'' Zaragoza said over and over again. ``If we make the playoffs, it's a whole different season. Nobody will care if we lost three games in a row, because at that point everybody is 0-0.''

Their losing streak hasn't stripped Zaragoza and Trent of their ultimate goal, which of course is to play their final football game at the L.A. Coliseum for the title.Big dreams are a theme with these players even though they aren't big themselves. In an era when many high school players are as big as NFL players were a generation ago, Zaragoza is 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds; Trent is 5-7, 148.

In fact, Kennedy's other key offensive players - receivers Daron Taylor, James Norris and Paul Holefield - are also 5-10 or shorter.

``It's not how big you are, it's how bad you want it,'' Zaragoza said. ``We all have big hearts. We're not scared of getting hurt. If you're scared, then you will get hurt.''

Trent said defenders have been pointing at him and smiling since he started in Pop Warner football.

``That's OK,'' Trent said. ``Being the smallest player on the field is a basic motivation for me. They're starting to know who I am now. I try to make up for my size by being a technician on the field. I want to be a total package.''

Can Kennedy overcome adversity and turn around a season which is shifting, week by week, from awesome to awful? How well the team rebounds will determine if the accomplishments of Zaragoza and Trent are the stuff of folklore or footnotes.

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PHOTO (1 -- 2) Kennedy High quarterback Ruben Zaragoza needs 601 yards to break Calvin Zinck's 1996 school record of 2,175. Teammate Sanders Trent is 12 receptions shy of Aaron Lewis' record 119 and 18 short of Lewis' 1996 single-season mark of 65.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News