LADY KATIE.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Staff Writer

When Camarillo High's Katie Bieniek caught a 3-yard pass two weeks ago against Channel Islands, it was the first time a female football player caught a pass in the region. But the 5-foot-8, 150-pounder was less concerned about making history than she was about dropping the ball.

A year ago, she got the same chance and bobbled it away.

``It felt good to do something,'' she said. ``When I didn't catch it last year, I was really disappointed. But this time I wasn't nervous because I had more experience and more practice.''

The moment wasn't lost on head coach Carl Thompson.

``A girl catching a pass is very rare,'' he said. ``She was really elated. It was the greatest thing that's ever happened. She's not real fast, but she practices every day and has a lot of courage. She wants to play football and in practice she takes shots just like everyone else.''

Bieniek also competes on the wrestling team. She said her schoolmates - boys and girls - support her 100 percent.

``The other girls think it's awesome,'' she said. ``They tell me they would play football, too, if they could.''

NOSE FOR THE FOOTBALL

How's this for tough: When Robert Ortega of Granada Hills got hit in the nose against Chatsworth, it was so bloody that almost everyone thought it was broken. Nevertheless, he refused to leave the game and eventually ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to cap a 27-20 comeback victory.

``All he did was change helmets to a lineman's helmet so he'd have a full faceguard,'' quarterback Bobby Baca said. ``He runs so hard that he gets banged up a lot, but he was wonderful. It was a good win because we showed some character. It was just what we needed.''

Co-coach Darryl Stroh, who's been with the Highlanders for three decades, calls Ortega ``the toughest kid I ever saw.''

Stroh said he was concerned on Friday because there was so much blood, but doctors on the sideline didn't think the nose was broken. Ortega finished with 126 yards on 13 carries.

``Then I talked to Robert on Saturday and he didn't even get it checked out,'' Stroh said. ``In all my years as a coach, I've never seen anyone go all-out on every play like he does. He was no regard for his body and so much fight. He just won't stop.''

UNSTOPPABLE

Cleveland's Matthew Clark notched his second consecutive 300-yard rushing performance on Friday with 309 yards and four TDs in a victory over El Camino.

Clark, who has committed to UCLA, injured his ankle in week two. But he obviously is at full strength, as the Cavaliers (6-1, 2-0) head into Friday's West Valley League showdown against visiting Birmingham (7-0, 2-0).

``Matt Clark is phenomenal,'' assistant coach Scott Reisbord said. ``He's faster than anyone on the field. UCLA is going to be getting a good player.''

LEAGUE UPDATES

VALLEY MISSION

Kennedy WR James Norris said he has never witnessed a spectacle like his team's showdown with Sylmar last Friday. ``It was the most people I've ever seen at a football game,'' he said. ``It was so packed that people were outside around the fences and even looking in from apartment windows. It was a good experience, but we lost by two points. I wish we would have won. That part was disappointing.''

NORTHERN

Eagle Rock's 42-33 loss to rival Franklin on Friday was nothing new. The Eagles (4-3) haven't beaten Franklin since 1990. ``We're just not real physical, and we need to shore up our defense,'' Eagle Rock coach Steve Wahl said. Wahl plans to move 220-pound lineman Leonard Golson to LB.

FOOTHILL

Hart's 5-foot-4 RB, Mickey Moreno, who has struggled since replacing injured star Tim Gregory, had a breakout performance against Valencia. He had a career-high 99 yards rushing, two receptions for 32 yards and a key fumble recovery. ``I finally stepped up. It feels good,'' he said.

WEST VALLEY

Will Savage's luck isn't getting any better. The El Camino Real QB broke his collarbone on the first offensive series of the year and didn't return until Friday's game against Chatsworth. He again injured his shoulder - coach Rick Hayashida said he wasn't sure whether it was the same injury - and lasted just a few plays, completing one pass for 14 yards. ``He's questionable now,'' Hayashida said. ``We want to take some precaution because he's a baseball player, too.''

SUNSET SIX

If Grant (4-3, 2-0) plays at least one playoff game, as expected, running back Perry Clayton is on pace to break Dante Clay's regional City Section single-season rushing record (2,278 yards, 1996). Clayton (1,481 yards) is averaging 211.6 yards per game. . .

After rushing for 341 yards and three TDs the week before, North Hollywood's Nathaniel Payne was a decoy Friday against Verdugo Hills. He carried just nine times for 97 yards - including a late 75-yard TD - as the Huskies won 29-0. ``The scouting report called for us to throw the ball,'' coach Brad Ratcliff said. ``That's why our QB (Derick Brill) threw for 261 yards.''

GOLDEN

Antelope Valley's Sean Wallace, a 250-pound sophomore DL, returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown in Friday's 42-6 victory over Quartz Hill. ``It was pretty fun to watch,'' assistant coach Brandon Newcomb said. ``Sean started going down the sideline and the quarterback had the angle on him and he cut back. Then (running back) Mychael Williams caught him at the 10-yard line, but Sean broke the tackle. It was one heck of a play. He can move pretty well for a big kid.''

Littlerock RB John Ford has gained at least 200 yards in four of the five games he has played, including 235 against Littlerock last week. Ford has 942 yards for season, a 5.9 per-carry average.

MISSION

Crespi (0-7) continued to take its lumps with Friday's 25-15 loss to St. Bernard, but the 10-point margin was the first time the Celts lost by less than two touchdowns. ``We're making improvement,'' coach Ron Gueringer said. ``We're just so young. We've got 10 to 12 sophomore starters, including three on the offensive line. Plus we're doing dumb things like fumbling inside the other teams' red zone.''

SANTA FE

Bell-Jeff (3-4) is hoping a difficult nonleague schedule, including a loss to perennial small-schools power Verbum Dei on Friday, will pay off in the long run. ``We've played a lot of tough teams,'' coach Rolando Aguirre said. ``We're gonna finish strong. That's our intention.'' . . Aguirre believes RB Steve Slaughter, who has 615 yards (7.2 avg.) and seven TDs, would be a standout in the larger Foothill League: ``You bet he would. He's a real tough kid.''

MARMONTE

Thousand Oaks, considered a league-title threat before the season but on the brink of disaster after an 0-5 start, has two critical victories over fellow contenders Royal and Agoura.

``Right now the league's wide open,'' WR/DB Dave Anderson said. ``When we lost to Moorpark, the league kind of looked down on us. `They're not going to do anything with all that hype.' But we turned it around after Moorpark.'' . . .

Royal DL David Lemos recorded a school-record six sacks in the Highlanders' win at Newbury Park. . . . Newbury Park is 2-5 and probably headed for its first losing season since 1991. . . .

Moorpark, 2-2 in Marmonte League play and one of five teams vying for three playoff spots, welcomed back original starting QB Aaron Garcia in last week's 49-7 win over Simi Valley.

Lost with a separated shoulder in week one, Garcia and Kevin Arbuckle were an effective tandem, throwing for a combined 153 yards and two touchdowns. . . .

When Westlake players ran through the traditional banner before Friday's game against Woodbridge, the inspirational message read: ``Watch Out For Cheerleaders.'' The previous week against Moorpark, an overzealous Warriors player bumped into and knocked down a Westlake cheerleader. She was not hurt.

RECORD RUN?

Montclair Prep's Gary Sonkur continued his torrid running with 154 yards and two TDs on just nine carries in Friday's 42-0 victory over Vasquez. The 5-10, 185-pounder has 1,458 yards - an average of 13.5 yards per carry - and 21 TDs. If Sonkur maintains his pace and the Mounties (7-0) advance to the Division XII final, he will finish with 2,916 yards and shatter Wilbert Smith's school record of 2,511 yards, set in 1993.

OPPONENT ATT YDS TDS

Clovis East 10 89 2

Santa Clara 8 271 5

Beaumont 15 208 2

SF Christian 31 298 3

St. Anthony 19 228 3

Kilpatrick 18 210 3

Vasquez 7 154 3

SEASON 108 1,458 21

THE ENGIL

Once again, as our version of the All-Madden Team, we award ``Engils'' to deserving players each week because Sylmar coach Jeff Engilman is so hard-nosed. Keep reading, you'll get the idea.

FOUR ENGILS

WILLIAM CARDENAS

Hollywood RB

His 2-yard TD run with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Sheiks (2-4-1) to a 27-26 comeback victory over Poly. We believe this is the first time Hollywood has won two games in one season since Carol Burnett was a cheerleader at the school.

THREE ENGILS

JOSH MARTIN

Sylmar TE/LB

Martin caught two TD passes, threw a 50-yard TD pass and had 12 tackles in Friday's 28-26 Valley Mission League victory over Kennedy. Engilman wouldn't want four Engils to go to Martin's head, so he gets three.

ONE ENGIL

ANDREW REES

Canyon DL

Rees had two sacks, a blocked punt and a fumble recovery in Friday's 49-22 victory. However, no one is allowed more than one Engil when Burbank is the opponent.

Staff Writers Chris Cocoles, Gideon Rubin and Keven Chavez contributed.

QUICK SLANTS

DAILY NEWS TOP 40

1. Westlake 6-1

2. Notre Dame 6-0-1

3. Sylmar 7-0

4. Crescenta Valley 7-0

5. Hart 5-2

T6. St. Francis 6-1

T6. Birmingham 7-0

T8. Kennedy 5-1-1

T8. Antelope Valley 6-1

10. Palmdale 6-1-1

11. Taft 5-2

12. Valencia 5-2

13. Granada Hills 5-2

14. Chaminade 5-2

15. Royal 5-2

16. Muir 4-3

17. San Fernando 5-2

18. Cleveland 6-1

19. Canoga Park 5-2

20. Camarillo 3-4

21. Thousand Oaks 2-5

22. Agoura 4-3

23. La Canada 6-1

24. Moorpark 3-4

25. Grant 4-3

26. Newbury Park2-5

27. Canyon 4-3

28. Littlerock 3-4

29. Eagle Rock 4-3

30. Highland 2-5

31. Saugus 3-4

32. Alemany 2-5

33. Reseda 2-5

34. Quartz Hill 2-5

35. Burroughs 2-5

36. Monroe 0-7

37. North Hollywood 3-4

38. Lancaster 2-5

39. Chatsworth 1-6

40. Hollywood 2-4-1

SMALL SCHOOLS

TOP 10

1. Montclair Prep 7-0

2. Paraclete 6-1

3. L.A. Baptist 6-1

4. Oak Park 5-2

5. Calabasas 3-4

6. Flintridge Prep 4-3

7. Village Christian 3-3

8. Campbell Hall 4-2

9. Bell-Jeff 3-4

10. St. Genevieve 3-4

INJURY REPORT

OUT

Cleveland LB Chris Kiwanuka (knee)

ECR OL Jose Zavala (knee)

North Hollywood KR Pablo Ramos (shoulder)

Hart RB Tim Gregory (knee)

Notre Dame DL Lou Ferrigno (knee)

Kennedy DL Juan Placencia (arm)

Valencia RB David Shipp (spleen)

Westlake QB Cory Miles (ankle)

DOUBTFUL

St. Francis LB Tim Zapanta (knee)

Thousand Oaks WR/DB Kevin Rex (knee)

Newbury Park WR/DB L. Ray Hawkins (ankle)

QUESTIONABLE

ECR QB Will Savage (shoulder)

Crespi OL Brian Decal (knee)

PROBABLE

ECR LB Andreik De Leon (ankle)

Crespi LB Jeff Asher (concussion)

RANDOM NUMBER

7

Camarillo linemen who weigh 266 pounds or more.

BIG-GAME JAMES

Royal coach Gene Uebelhardt calls Highlanders junior quarterback/free safety James Cox ``without question, one of the best athletes in (Ventura County).''

That's quite a statement, given the talent pool in not only the Marmonte League - led by Westlake's Ryan Foltz, Newbury Park's Marcus Crawford and Thousand Oaks' Dave Anderson - but in Ventura County as well, with St. Bonaventure's Lorenzo Booker, Ventura's Tyler Ebell and Buena's Freddy Keiaho having huge seasons.

Cox is Royal's unflappable leader on both sides of the ball. Against Newbury Park last week, he was responsible for five touchdowns, three rushing and two passing, in the 47-7 win. For the year, Cox has two interceptions from his safety spot.

``He could probably play four or five different positions for us,'' said Uebelhardt, whose second-place Highlanders host No. 1 Westlake in a Marmonte League showdown on Friday.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 6 boxes

Photo: (1) Camarillo High senior Katie Bieniek became the area's first female player to catch a pass in a varsity football game when she made a 3-yard reception against Channel Islands on Friday.

John Kennedy/Special to the Daily News

(2) ORTEGA

(3) Montclair prep running back Gary Sonkur, with 1,458 yards rushing through seven games, is on a pace to break Wilbert Smith's school single-season record of 2,511 yards, set in 1993.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

(4) PLAY OF THE WEEK

We wondered how Palmdale quarterback Terry Furlow would respond if we asked him to diagram the play of the day. We half figured he'd refuse. After all, he said, ``Don't you know my specialty is the broken play?''

After much prodding, Furlow came through with the ``Invert Zone Left Boot at 9,'' better known as ``somebody get open.''

(5) no caption (Cleveland's Matthew Clark)

Box: (1) RECORD RUN? (see text)

(2) The Engil (see text)

(3) DAILY NEWS TOP 40 (see text)

(4) Injury report (see text)

(5) RANDOM NUMBER (see text)

(6) BIG-GAME JAMES (see text)