DUO HAS S.C. CHRISTIAN THINKING BIG LARGE-DIVISION TITLE WITHIN REACH FOR CARDINALS.Byline: Sean Ceglinsky Daily News Staff Writer Batman had Robin. Bonnie had Clyde. Shaq had Kobe, or vice versa VICE VERSA. On the contrary; on opposite sides. . And Stephen Mercier has Orlando Pena. To those associated with eight-man football Eight-man football is a type of American football, generally played by small high schools. Rules and formations vary greatly among states and even among different organizations, but the one constant is eight players from each team on the field at one time, as opposed to eleven-man , the seniors are the biggest reason Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Christian of Canyon Country figures to challenge for the Heritage League title and possibly a Southern Section large division championship. ``Mercier and Pena make things happen out there,'' S.C. Christian coach Garrick Moss said. ``They're committed. They want to take this program to the next level.'' The hard work and determination nearly paid off last season, when the Cardinals advanced to the title game before losing 48-0 to two-time defending champion defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del título defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre Riverside Christian. The one-sided loss overshadowed a breakout season for both players. Mercier, a 6-foot, 205-pound quarterback, passed for more than 1,000 yards and rushed for another 1,000. Pena (5-9, 175) was equally important on both sides of the ball, totaling more than 1,000 yards on the ground while making 120 tackles from his linebacker position. Faith Baptist of Canoga Park contends every year for the Heritage League title. ``Just because we play eight-man football, we shouldn't be sold short. We do things right here,'' Faith Baptist coach Greg Weiss said. ``There's a lot of 11-man football teams playing out there that aren't that good, and we are capable of beating a few of them.'' The Contendors participated in the Pierce College In 2006 the Library won a national Excellence award. Academics Pierce College offers associate's degrees, mainly in the arts and sciences. There are also certificate programs in early childhood education, social services, dental hygienist, and others. passing league tournament in July and did fairly well in pool play, placing seventh out of 22 teams, a majority of which were 11-man teams. They ended up losing to Moorpark by a touchdown in the quarterfinals. Faith Baptist returns seven starters from a season ago, most notably TE Andy Terakchian (6-4, 265), an all-Southern Section selection who had 39 receptions - 12 for touchdowns. ``I haven't seen a kid like him in a long time,'' Weiss said. ``He has great hands, good speed and the size colleges look for. He's one of a kind, something else.'' Agape agape In the New Testament, the fatherly love of God for humans and their reciprocal love for God. The term extends to the love of one's fellow humans. The Church Fathers used the Greek term to designate both a rite using bread and wine and a meal of fellowship that included League opponents of Bethel Christian of Lancaster can expect to see plenty of Jamic Hamlin. He was the focal point focal point n. See focus. of the offense a year ago, throwing for more than 900 yards, rushing for another 500 and totaling 17 touchdowns. This season, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior will move to running back. ``He was running as a defense mechanism in the past. Now, he'll know when to run, and that's going to be all the time,'' Bethel Christian coach James Vondra said. Hamic, timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has received recruiting interest from Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. schools such as the University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California. The university's campus sits on 160 acres (0.6 km²) near downtown Redlands. The university was founded in 1907 and was associated with the American Baptist Church. and La Verne La Verne (lə vûrn), city (1990 pop. 30,897), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1906. La Verne, which began as a citrus-processing center, now has varied manufacturing, including electronic components, apparel, hand . First Lutheran of Sylmar moved from the Heritage League to the Omega League two seasons ago and has dominated ever since, winning back-to-back titles while compiling a 16-4 record. Expect more of the same, particularly if Michael Walker There are several people with the name Michael Walker:
``He's explosive and brings it every time,'' First Lutheran coach Alex Plascencia said. ``He's going to be a monster to stop.'' Hillcrest Christian of Granada Hills will be competing in its first year of organized football this season, and it has the unenviable task of doing so in the Heritage League, traditionally the best among Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, eight-man programs. ``We want to jump in with both feet and be competitive,'' Hillcrest Christian athletic director Joshua Kendrick said. Easier said than done. Wins and losses aren't necessarily important at L.A. Lutheran of Sylmar, which is hoping to turn things around after finishing 0-10 a season ago. There is reason for cautious optimism. QB Chaz Williams, WR Casey Arias and RB Adam Rey return along with lineman Thomas Pan (6-1, 227), Daniel Webber (5-10, 175) and Roy Heltly (5-9 170). At 6-3 and 170 pounds, junior QB Andrew Wheeler has good size, but lacks experience and will need to develop quickly if Westmark of Encino is going to be competitive in Omega League play. Sean Ceglinsky, (818) 713-3607 sean.ceglinsky(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, 4 boxes Photo: Santa Clarita Christian eight-man football players Orlando Perez and Stephen Mercier will be keys to the team's success in 2004. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer Box: (1) EIGHT-MAN (2) OTHER AREA HIGH SCHOOLS - Nathan Kurz and J.J. Bowman (3) Daily News TOP 40 LARGE SCHOOLS (4) Daily News TOP 10 SMALL SCHOOLS |
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