FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: PALMDALE, A.V. NOT SO GOLDEN.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne Staff Writer

There are still two games left before Golden League play, but it's not too much of a stretch to predict that, by then, Antelope Valley and/or Palmdale - the two strongest teams in the league during the past five years - will have a losing record.

As it stands now, the best two-time defending league champion Palmdale can do is 3-2. Antelope Valley, which won three league titles in a row before last year, can only finish 3-1-1. But each has two very difficult games ahead. Antelope Valley plays defending Southern Section Div. I champion Loyola of Los Angles this week and Barstow in Week 5. Palmdale hosts Dominguez of Compton, the second-ranked team in Div. III this week and plays at Upland in Week Five. Upland is ranked in Div. IV.

Lancaster and Quartz Hill, traditionally middle-of-the-pack teams in the Golden League, could enter league at 5-0 and 4-1 respectively with two lesser opponents on their schedules.

``Man, that would be weird,'' Lancaster coach Jeff Cortez said. ``But I still think those teams have to be favored to win the league. Palmdale lost to Notre Dame in the last 22 seconds last week. Any team that does that has to be the favorite to win the league.''

It should be noted that Palmdale and Antelope Valley have played the two toughest schedules in the league. Four of Palmdale's nonleague opponents are ranked in their respective Southern Section polls. Only two of Antelope Valley's five opponents are ranked by the Southern Section, but two more - Oakland Tech and Bakersfield - are ranked by their respective sections.

--Bounce back: Quartz Hill was one of the biggest surprises of the early season by opening 2-0. But the Rebels lost 42-3 to Barstow on Friday and have only a week to regroup for a scrappy Rosamond team.

``It's going to be like their Super Bowl. I'm sure they'd like nothing better than to beat a Golden League team,'' Quartz Hill coach Pat Degnan said. ``We can't take them for granted at all. They're a good football team and I'm sure they'll be 5 feet off the ground to play us. Plus, it's at their place.

``We have to rebound from last week. This'll help us find out how much character we have because last week was a big ego blow for us.''

--Road trip: Quartz Hill lineman Jaren Harrell found a quick way to take his mind off the loss to Barstow. Harrell hopped in his car Saturday morning and drove six hours to watch his older brother, B.J. Harrell, play for Weber State against Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Saturday night.

``It was good for me to see him and to watch all the college players so I see what I need to do over the next year to get ready for college,'' Harrell said. ``They're a lot bigger and stronger and that's what I'm going to work on over the next year.''

Harrell, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound offensive and defensive lineman, probably will be a Division I-A college recruit next year.

Ramona Shelburne, [phone]

ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com