FOOTBALL BEAT : SECRET OF GELT'S SNAKE-LIKE MOVES.

As long as he can remember, Canyon High School tight end Brian Gelt has been attracted to exotic things. He also has long liked reptiles. Four years ago, those interests came together.

Gelt has a collection of exotic snakes, fish and lizards, including two six-foot boa constrictors, three corn snakes, a chameleon, a baby California king snake and 12 exotic South American fish. He once had an octopus, but it died.

``We're trying to breed snakes. This is our first year,'' Gelt said. ``You can make some money breeding them.''

Feeding time is a hit with his friends, especially when Gelt slips a rat into one of the big snakes' cages at home.

``It's fun feeding the big snakes, watching the rats squeal,'' he said. ``Sometimes, they squeal and their eyes bulge and their tongues stick out. It's fun to have people come over and watch. They say, `Call me over when it's feeding time.' ''

It might be no surpriseto know that Gelt is leaning toward a career as a herpetologist, one who studies reptiles and amphibians, or a veterinarian of exotic animals. And he wants to keep playing football.

Too many quarterbacks

A quarterback controversy has erupted at Chatsworth (3-1), and it's not going away quietly. Coach Myron Gibford decided on Monday to switch starting QBs, benching senior Travis Winn (581 yards, five TDs) in favor of junior Ryan Martinez, who has completed 5 of 6 passes for 149 yards. Martinez is the son of offensive coordinator Ron Martinez.

Winn's father, David, is accusing the coaching staff of nepotism, especially because the switch comes after a 34-0 Chatsworth victory over Granada Hills.

``I think my kid is getting screwed,'' Winn said.

This is not the first time Winn and Gibford have clashed. His son transferred from Chatsworth to Taft for three weeks in the summer of 1995 when he feared he'd never get to play QB. Then he transferred back to Chatsworth. He started all four games for the Chancellors this season.

Gibford insists he made the decision to change QBs, not Martinez. ``We evaluate players every week and based on our evaluation, we decided we needed a change of quarterbacks,'' he said. ``We're going to see what happens.''

Averaging 67.5 yards a carry

St. Francis offensive guard Dave Moore is living out every lineman's greatest fantasy. Twice in the past two weeks, Moore has scored touchdowns. Both came on fumblerooski plays, where the ball is snapped, hidden under the center's legs, then picked up by the guard running the opposite way of the intended play. Moore has scored on runs of 70 and 65 yards.

``It's great fun,'' said the 5-10, 180-pound Moore. ``I have a 67.5 (per carry) average and 100-percent touchdown ratio. It's pretty awesome.''

St. Francis coach Bill Redell said his linemen have scored six touchdowns over the three years that he has used the play.

``It's something you can't adjust to because it goes against all your rules,'' he said. ``It's outlawed in college and pro football and should be in high school. But we're going to keep running it.''

Moore's parents can't believe how their son has turned into a scoring machine. ``They're loving it,'' he said.

Brother to brother

With top receiver Patrick Reddick out of the lineup last Friday night, area passing leader Chris Czernek of Newbury Park needed one of his other receivers to come to the forefront and become the go-to guy.

Answering the call was a sophomore wideout with whom Czernek shares a set of parents and a last name - his brother, Nick.

Nick Czernek, who like Chris has cracked the Panthers starting lineup at an early age, caught nine passes for 95 yards.

``He kind of stepped up,'' Chris Czernek said. ``We called a lot of audibles and he happened to be in a place where he got a lot of balls.''

The younger Czernek said he enjoys his roles as a receiver and safety this year. Next year, however, he hopes to succeed his brother at quarterback.

Practice makes perfect

Almost every day during the summer, best friends Joe Borchard and Mike Anger would play catch with a football, Borchard the quarterback and Anger the receiver. ``I can't tell you how many times,'' Anger said.

They practiced and practiced. Finally, they were rewarded for their hard work when Camarillo upset Newbury Park last week.

``It seems like all his frustrations came out,'' Anger said of Borchard. ``You could see it in his eyes. He scored a touchdown and he was ecstatic. He's been landing on his back too many times.''

The 6-foot-2 Anger leads the area with 32 receptions for 445 yards and four touchdowns. Borchard has passed for 823 yards and seven TDs. These two best friends are enjoying every minute of their senior year.

ETC.

The next Harry Caray: Crespi defensive tackle Anthony Banovac serves as the public address announcer for Crespi sophomore football games. And he's no dummy, either. ``How about those cheerleaders?'' Banovac said repeatedly over the P.A. system. Could he have been lobbying for a date or two?

Dancer in Valencia: Valencia assistant coach Rick Hawn told a student assembly before the season began that if the Vikings go 5-0 in the preseason, head coach Brian Stiman would do the Macarena at an assembly.

Stiman's response: ``Hey, I already know it.''

But he won't demonstrate unless his team defeats Littlerock on Friday.

Future watch:Sylmar's frosh-sophomore team is grooming a future star at linebacker in sophomore Cedric Anderson, who's 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds. He had 12 tackles, including three for losses, and caused two fumbles last week. ``He's awesome,'' frosh-sophomore coach London Woodfin said. ``It's great to have a guy who intimidates kids.''

Dogs forgot to howl: Burbank had just broken an 18-game losing streak with an 18-10 victory over Santa Paula.

But instead of celebrating wildly on the bus ride home Friday night, the Bulldogs puzzled head coach Gary Willison by sitting quietly in their seats.

``Coach said, `Hey, you just won a ballgame, why are you so quiet?' '' said senior wide receiver Jason Edwards. ``So we'd get rowdy for a few minutes and then we'd get quiet again.

``This was something new for us. I guess we didn't know how to react.''

Knowing how to pick 'em: Defense was a major reason the Bulldogs were able to end their losing streak.

And Edwards was a big contributor with a school-record four interceptions in the game.

But reflecting the new team attitude Willison has instilled at Burbank, Edwards was quick to share the credit.

``The line put a lot of pressure on their quarterback,'' Edwards said. ``He was always throwing on the run. That's the reason I got four picks.''

Air Francola: Kennedy quarterback Calvin Zinck attempted 37 passes last week, an all-time high in coach Bob Francola's 12 years as coach. Could offensive coordinator Fred Grimes be influencing the run-minded Francola? ``It made me a little nervous,'' Francola said. ``He calls a pass play, I call run.''

AREA PASSING LEADERS

Name, school Att Com Int Yds. TD

Chris Czernek, Newbury Park 143 83 7 1294 9

Casey Preston, Westlake 100 57 4 1009 9

Travis Carroll, Hart 107 66 2 908 8

Camy Smith, Highland 126 70 3 895 9

Peter Dirksen, L.A. Baptist 99 49 7 835 7

J.K. Scott, Burroughs 101 55 1 834 11

Joe Borchard, Camarillo 139 61 5 823 7

Calvin Zinck, Kennedy 97 46 2 787 9

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Chart

Photo: (1) No Caption (Nick Czernek)

(2) No Capti on (Brian Gelt)

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News

Chart: AREA PASSING LEADERS (see text)