SQUIRES AND CLU WELL-PREPARED FOR OPENER.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

Two days before his team's season opener, Cal Lutheran University football coach Scott Squires sat in his office and pondered the last three weeks.

During that time, Squires and his team practiced, poured over film and scrimmaged in preparation for today's 1 p.m. nonconference game at Menlo College.

Squires considered every possible angle. And then some.

``It got to the point where I started to wonder how tall the grass was at the field up in Menlo,'' Squires said, confirming he left no detail unexamined. ``We're about as prepared as we're going to be.''

The Kingsmen can attest to that. And after weeks of banging into the same players day after day, they're anxious to finally hit somebody in a different uniform.

``It will be nice to get the season on the road,'' said safety Mattias Wikstrom.

Cal Lutheran enters 1997 young but confident after finishing 3-7 last year, Squires' first at the school. He predicted dramatic improvement in his second year as early as last November, basing his entire recruiting effort on that very pledge.

The fact that he hasn't backed down from his promise indicates his satisfaction with the infusion of talent the offseason yielded.

``We're a new program all the way around,'' Squires said. ``From the coaching staff to the players. The returning players make up the minority of the team.''

Even the loss of star tailback Fredrik Nanhed to a season-ending knee injury last week hasn't diminished optimism.

``If we lose Fredrik all of last year we're dead,'' Squires said. ``This year we feel good about the depth. We've got players who can step in and get the job done.''

Dorian Stitt, a freshman from Royal, is expected to replace Nanhed.

Although Squires anticipates improvement, he still hasn't settled on a starting quarterback. He was dismayed that no one emerged during practice, and will use today's game to determine the starter. Returning junior Zack Hernandez will open against Menlo, with senior transfer Derek Brown and junior transfer Eric Jensen seeing time.

Hernandez played quite a bit last year behind Ryan Huisenga. Brown played last season at Northridge and Jensen was at Pacific Lutheran.

Quarterback is the only real question mark offensively. The Kingsmen have depth, experience and young talent at wide receiver and the offensive line. Squires expects Stitt to be a star at running back.

Defensively, new coordinator Jud Keim will take advantage of the Kingsmen's increased speed, depth and athletic ability with an up-tempo, attacking style.

Wikstrom, a first-team All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, free safety Ryan Babcock and cornerback Anthony Sullivan lead an experienced defensive backfield.

``We'll be much improved defensively,'' Squires said.

Cal Lutheran defeated the Oaks 59-41 in the final game of the year last season. Menlo has a new coach (Ken Margerum) but the same wide-open, passing offense that gave the Kingsmen fits.

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