Sinsheimer Seeks a Royal Rebirth

When Chris Sinsheimer looks toward the 1987 football season, he doesn’t see himself inheriting the gaudy numbers left by his predecessors. And when you’re the new quarterback at Royal High, that’s more than news, it’s heresy.

Sure, Ken Lutz and Shaun Christensen, each three-year starters, combined for nearly 10,000 career passing yards. But don’t talk to Sinsheimer about offensive records and loads of passing yardage. He won’t hear of it.

A senior, Sinsheimer has seen what those kinds of marks have done for previous Highlander teams. Practically nothing.

Despite exceptional talent at quarterback for the past six years, Royal has been a Marmonte League doormat. During the Lutz-Christensen years, the Highlanders qualified for the playoffs only once, in 1983, then were eliminated in the first round. A strong arm doesn’t necessarily mean a strong record, or even a winning one.

Christensen directed but one league win in 18 games in his three-year tenure--last season’s 31-18 upset over crosstown rival Simi Valley.

Joining Christensen in the Royal backfield last season was Ralph Blanks, who earned a scholarship to Cal, primarily as a defensive back. The high school ego, however, can be fragile, and the successes of Blanks and Christensen inadvertently may have caused a Royal upheaval.

“There were a lot of stars last year,” Sinsheimer said. “And I think that may have gone to their heads a little bit. This year I don’t think there are any stars.”

Sinsheimer intends to be a leader, something he said the team has lacked since Royal’s trip to the playoffs.

Royal Coach Tom West said the absence of an established quarterback will make it easier to fight tradition--a negative tradition--at Royal. The offense will have to be more honest and versatile, he said, albeit less explosive.

“It boils down to a team game,” West said. “And I think one problem with great athletes is that sometimes your team can have something of a star complex. And if that is established, that can create some animosity.

“It’s in a lot of respects out of the coaching staff’s hands. We can say we’re a team, this is based on a total commitment from everybody. Then, when the kids pick up the paper and find that the only guys being written about are the so-called headliners . . .”

Whatever the headlines may say this season, the coaching staff doesn’t expect Sinsheimer to duplicate the numbers of Lutz and Christensen. Still, West said he is content with his present quarterbacks. Sinsheimer, a reserve behind Christensen last season, leads junior Todd Orsini heading into two-a-day drills, which begin Monday.

“Chris is running the offense a little better and he does have the year’s experience,” said West, entering his third year as coach. “Todd, on the other hand, where he doesn’t have the feet and is not as fluid, has a stronger arm than Chris and has the ability to throw the ball farther.”

Despite the players’ divergent talents, West has decided against alternating quarterbacks. The Delaware Wing T, a ground-based offense West instituted last season, demands a nimble quarterback, like Sinsheimer.

“I don’t think you’ll see the impressive stats that Shaun and Kenny Lutz had,” Sinsheimer said. “My most important thing is that we win.

“I think if we have a winning record . . . that’s something we haven’t had in three years.”

That was 1983, the year Lutz led the Highlanders to a third-place league finish and a playoff berth. Among those cheering for Lutz was the 14-year-old Sinsheimer, who lived around the corner from Lutz and attended Royal games from the time he was 7.

“After seeing Ken, I always wanted to be a quarterback at Royal,” Sinsheimer said. “It was one of my goals.”

From San Jose State where he is a backup quarterback, Lutz described the team that made the playoffs in 1983.

“The personnel we had, we had a great team,” he said. “My last year we had this team unity that was unheard of.”

And of the present Highlanders, with whom he worked out over the summer: “When I was working with them, I saw a lot of unity. I was impressed. They seemed a lot more mature than the team I played with.

“This is different, they’re all gung-ho about everything.”

And Sinsheimer is leading the charge.