SENDING SIGNALS; DEAF RIVERSIDE PLAYERS BOND AS THEY PREPARE FOR THE PLAYOFFS.

Byline: Chris Branam Daily News Staff Writer

This is an ordinary drill performed before most every football game, from Pop Warner to the NFL.

The coach stands on the sideline and watches as his players run backward, shifting from the right to the left. It is a test of agility and response.

This time, it is a test of sight.

The 18 players who have suited up for the California School for the Deaf-Riverside backpedal and watch as head coach Nick Bannon holds his hands up and points to the right. They go right.

He suddenly points to the left. They go left.

As coach of a deaf football team, Bannon cannot simply yell the direction in which he wants the players to go.

The groups of four shift in unison, their shadows following them on a Friday afternoon.

``Their awareness is better,'' Bannon would later say.

Now the team gathers in a huddle around Bannon. A few yell, most do not.

Bannon frantically moves his hands, using sign language to talk about the importance of a win. If the 4-5 Cubs could beat Arrowhead League opponent Sherman Indian, they will earn a Southern Section playoff spot just a year after going 1-9.

Right before kickoff, the home stands suddenly becomes crowded with students who have just gotten out of school.

It is quiet. There is no public address announcer, no music blaring.

An observer notes all these differences. Then the game begins, and it is simply the same.

CSDR no longer uses the beating of a drum to synchronize the snap of the ball. The players could feel the drum's vibration and would start off the ball when it was sounded.

It was a disadvantage for the Cubs, since the opposing players would hear the drum and know exactly when the ball was being snapped.

Bannon decided to have his players memorize the cadence. It is literally a silent snap count.

``The linemen just really have to be alert,'' he said.

From the opening series, it is obvious the Cubs are faster and stronger than the Braves. Jesus Delgado, the Cubs' 6-3, 190-pound quarterback, scores on two touchdown runs within the first 4 minutes as CSDR takes a 16-0 lead.

Delgado, a senior, transferred to CSDR from a deaf school in Tucson, Ariz.

Between most offensive plays, Delgado runs to the sideline and signs with Bannon. Bannon works as hard as his players, jumping around on the sideline to get their attention.

``I have to be really vibrant on the sideline,'' he said.

Bannon, 30, is originally from Buffalo, N.Y. He attended hearing high schools and then went on to play football at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Gallaudet is the nation's largest university for the deaf.

From 1985-88, Bannon was a receiver and kick returner for the Bison, which compete in Division III.

Bannon was CSDR's head coach from 1991-93. He moved back east to get his master's in education from Buffalo's Canisius University, but returned after just one year away.

``I knew I wanted to come back,'' he said. ``The year off made me realize what I was missing, the yearning to come back and coach again.''

Bannon, a proficient lip-reader, said he has thought about coaching at a hearing school.

``I'd rather stay here,'' he said. ``They benefit from me being here. There's a level of understanding.''

CSDR, one of the largest residential schools for the deaf in the U.S., which serves ages 3 to 22, has an enrollment of 500, of which about 200 attend the high school. Founded in 1953 by a hearing man with deaf parents, it is state-funded and public, drawing students from all levels of economic and social standing.

The Cubs have a tradition of athletic success. CSDR has won national deaf championships in football (1965), baseball ('92, '94), wrestling ('94) and softball ('94).

Zibby Boyarsky, coordinator of CSDR's outreach resource center, says the Cubs are drawing fans from the deaf community.

As CSDR builds a 22-0 lead against Sherman Indian, deaf adults begin to line the stands. Most have no sons on the team and no affiliation with the school, just there to support the team.

Unfortunately for most of the players, their parents do not come. Ninety percent of the high school students come from out of the area and live on campus.

Many parents also feel alienated when they attend high school events because they have hearing and do not know how to sign.

``They don't take the time (to learn sign language),'' Boyarsky said. ``A lot of the kids are isolated.''

Rick White, whose son Jesse is a sophomore lineman with CSDR, is the exception. White and his wife, Meta, are among the few parents who attend school functions. ``We've been to parent-teacher days where we were the only ones there,'' he said.

The Cubs end up winning handily, 53-16. They even their record and qualify for the playoffs as the third-place team from the Arrowhead League.

The Cubs will travel to Boron, Division XII's No. 1 seed, Friday night for the opening round of the playoffs.

David Nguyen, a senior running back who surpassed 1,000 yards during the game, said the players' common bond - being deaf - makes them closer.

``We really care about each other as brothers,'' he said.

Bannon, who said he wants to establish a ``tradition of success, excellence and accomplishment'' at CSDR, looks ahead to the future.

``The challenge for this week is to step up to a higher level,'' he said. ``To realize that we are capable of more.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1--color) no caption (CSDR football player with hand signal)

(2--color) California School for the Deaf-Riverside head coach Nick Bannon communicates with his players during a timeout.

(3) CSDR linemen David Rangel, left, and Brad DeLoye signal each other before a play.

David R. Crane / Daily News