PACIFIC LEAGUE: PACIFIC CROWN SEEMS UP FOR GRABS : C.V., THREE OTHERS FIGURE TO CONTEND.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

Say this about the Pacific League: The coaches can't make up their minds. Just ask them who will win and they'll mention four different schools.

They all agree on one thing: Except for the offensive lines, the league is down this year. There isn't a team like Muir that is a preseason favorite to go to the Southern Section Division III final.

Rather, this league is full of teams like Crescenta Valley that, while thought of as a contender, nonetheless came from below to win last year. The coaches know it will happen again, which is why Muir, Pasadena, Crescenta Valley and Arcadia have been mentioned as possible league champs.

You want to win the league this year? You need big linemen, and Muir, Arcadia and Crescenta Valley have them.

To say Muir is down is misleading. So the Mustangs graduated seven players to Division I colleges, have just five returning starters and will have just 30 players on the varsity. So what? That's standard.

In addition to the line, they still have the speed to wreak havoc on the league and win their third title in four years.

To begin with, there is QB/FS James Samuels who ran a 10.67 100 meters, which hardly anyone noticed because Sultan McCullough was closer to 10.0.

Still, the 6-foot, 185-pound Samuels has the protection of an improved offensive line keyed by 6-3, 250-pound Jonathan Clinckscale and the similarly sized Edwin Fullove.

If Samuels decides to hand off, there's senior RB Roderick Thomas, who rushed for more than 100 yards in his only game last year, and FB Teron Brown, a 5-8, 240-pounder who reminds coach E.J. Johnson of Kirby Puckett.

The option remains an option at Muir.

Defensively, linebacker Greg Hawkins was hurt most of last year but has healed his knee and ankle and will produce.

Pasadena definitely isn't down. Not with 18 returning starters. But the question for coach Jack Loos is: Can this group produce? It went 4-6 and missed the playoffs last year.

The Bulldogs don't have as much size as C.V. or as much speed as Muir, but they do have the league's best FB in 6-2, 240 junior Tyrone Burwell and a solid QB in Rosemead transfer Victor Anderson (6-4, 190). Defensively, junior Daryl Towns (6-2, 245) is a strong candidate to be the league's best LB, and senior Sean Phillips (6-3-1/2, 248) is a three-year starter on the defensive line.

Arcadia has seven returning linemen, including 6-1, 260 Mark Balch, the league's defensive lineman of the year. But they're smaller than Muir or C.V., and that spells difficulty. It makes it that much tougher on junior RB Quincy Williams (6-1, 190) and QBs Jim Slater and Mark Carroll. Someone needs to be able to get the ball to WR Dexter Davis, who has good speed and leaping ability despite standing just 5-10.

Crescenta Valley also is down, and you would be, too, if you lost RB Kenny Pritchett, now at UCLA. But the offensive line, led by 6-6, 288 junior Ryan Morris and 6-7, 280 junior Rusty Colburn, is the league's best. Coach Alan Eberhart's problem is finding a runner to replace Pritchett. There's senior Derrel Furutani, who at 5-9, 180 will require defenders to wrap up on him to bring him down.

If Furutani doesn't pan out, the Falcons will struggle because it puts extra pressure on QBs Scott Vossmeyer (6-3, 190 junior) and Seth Santoro (6-2), who was the all-league kicker last year. Eberhart said his team is trying to convert from a run-oriented offense to a balanced one, but it won't be easy.

Glendale coach Pete Smolin and first-year Hoover coach Mark Bitetti are the only ones who believe their teams are playoff contenders. That provides the Dynamiters and Tornadoes with plenty of motivation, and they have some strong personnel.

With Glendale, a good place to start is with the three three-year varsity starters: WR Angelo Walker, TE Rami Burpee and LB Doug Choi. Plus, the team's numbers have increased from about 30 to 55 players.

Glendale has nine returning starters, Walker, Burpee, Choi, WR David Nguyen, LB Marquis Walker, QB Carlos Gutierrez, RB Luis Company and OL Jason Go.

Hoover has its top returning RBs in senior Jason Young and senior Demaris Jackson.

TOP FIVE RETURNING PLAYERS

Rami Burpee Glendale

Team-best 6 TDs

Clint Radenbaugh Crescenta Valley

Top tackler

James Samuel Muir

10.67 100 meters

Seth Santoro Crescenta Valley

451 yards passing, all-league kicker

Angelo Walker Glendale

Team-leading 23 catches, 305 yards

BIG GAMES

Sept. 18Bishop Amat at Muir

Early-season showdown with Div. I power

Sept. 25 Long Beach Poly at Muir

Mustangs host USA Today's top team

Oct. 16 Crescenta Valley at Muir

Early indication of eventual league champion

Nov. 6 Crescenta Valley at Glendale

The biggest rivalry no one knows about

Nov. 14 Muir vs. Pasadena

Annual showdown in the Rose Bowl

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

18: Number of years between Crescenta Valley's league titles (1979 to 1997).

COACHES POLL

Team Pts

1. Crescenta Valley 66

2. Arcadia 64

3. Muir 62

3. Pasadena 62

5. Glendale 40

6. Hoover 34

Final 1997 Standings

Lg Overall

Crescenta Valley 5-0 10-1

Muir 4-1 8-4

Arcadia 3-2 9-4

Pasadena 2-3 4-6

Glendale 1-4 3-7

Hoover 0-5 1-9

The coaches:

Crescenta Valley's Alan Eberhart: 6th year, 1 league title

Arcadia's Jon Dimalante: 4th year, 1 title

Muir's E.J. Johnson: 3rd year, 2 titles

Pasadena's Jack Loos: 6th year, no titles

Glendale's Pete Smolin: 2nd year, no titles

Hoover's Mark Bitetti: 1st year, no titles

DID YOU KNOW?

One day after a summer practice, Muir WR Jackie Long made the coaches and several players laugh with two hours of imitating his favorite comics, including Martin Lawrence, Richard Pryor, Slappy White and Eddie Murphy.

MISCELLANEOUS

Best comeback in '97: Crescenta Valley scored the final 17 points, including Seth Santoro's 42-yard field goal as time expired, to beat Franklin 17-16.

EXTREMES

Biggest: Ryan Morris, DL, Crescenta Valley

Fastest: James Samuel, QB, Muir

Strongest: Brendan Bowman, DL/FB, Arcadia

Best Arm: Scott Vossmeyer, QB, Crescenta Valley

Smartest: Rami Burpee, TE/DE, Glendale

Most Exciting: Dexter Davis, WR/RB, Arcadia

D-I Bound: Mark Balch, DL, Arcadia

Wackiest: Ian Sayer, Hoover. Sayer has several tattoos and piercings in the eyebrow, tongue and nipples.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box, Chart

PHOTO (1) While there is no clear choice to win the Pacific League, Muir, behind quarterback James Samuel, is a good bet.

John McCoy/Daily News

(2) RADENBAUGH

BOX: EXTREMES (see text)

CHART: GRADING OUT

We grade tough at the Daily News. Are we right? Time, of course, will tell, and we plan to re-issue marks at midseason. Grades are based on the degree of difficulty of each league.