PREP REVIEW : Glow of Victory Dims Holland’s Thoughts of Retiring as Coach

Although he is basking in Corona del Mar High School’s 21-10 victory over La Quinta Friday and its second consecutive Division VI title, Coach Dave Holland still is pestered with the rumor that won’t go away:

Is he going to retire?

It’s a question that he has been asked for the past few years, but some say this season--his 17th at Corona del Mar--might be the last.

Especially because his youngest son, two-way lineman Phil Holland, is graduating in June and these past two seasons--with a combined record of 23-3-2--have been the most successful in the school’s history.

“Right now, I’m not retiring,” Holland said. “I’m going to reflect on that just as I did last year at this time. But my answer right now is no.”

Then he added with a laugh: “I got nine guys coming back on defense and I don’t want anyone else to coach (sophomore quarterback Todd) Kehrli. I’ve paid too many dues to have a specimen like that fall into someone else’s hands.”

Add Kehrli: As a freshman last year, Kehrli was placed on the varsity as a backup to senior quarterback Ty Price, even though Kehrli had no previous experience in competitive football.

Other than a few late-game handoffs last year, the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder didn’t play before this season. So if anyone symbolized Corona del Mar’s season, it would be Kehrli, who started slow this season.

“No matter what happens in the next two years, I’ll always appreciate this (championship),” Kehrli said. “Last year to this year, you really can’t ask for more. . . . It’s 100 times better when you’re in the spotlight of it. I couldn’t sleep at all (Friday) night.”

Rallied out: El Toro quarterback Steve Stenstrom entered Saturday night’s Division III title game against defending champion Paramount as Orange County’s top-rated passer.

But in El Toro’s quarterfinal and semifinal games, Stenstrom experienced first-half troubles before rallying his team to victory.

Although Stenstrom guided his team to two scoring drives--of 99 and 72 yards--cutting El Toro’s deficit to 26-20 with 31 seconds remaining, it was too little too late. Paramount recovered El Toro’s onside kick and hung on to win, 26-20.

Stenstrom, a senior, finished with 253 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions.

“I didn’t sleep real well last night,” Stenstrom said Sunday. “I was awake and asleep, awake and asleep, just going over the different things that you wish you could do different. Especially the interception for a touchdown (a 67-yard return by Jorge Jacobo in the first quarter).

“That’s one play I wish I could’ve had back. I don’t blame the whole game on myself, everyone has parts that they could’ve done better, but that’s the one little part that I wish I could have back. . . . I’m not really depressed, but I’ll probably think about it forever.”

Even though Orange lost to Trabuco Hills, 13-7, for the Division VIII championship Friday, the Panthers were a winner in one aspect: attendance.

In the week before the game, grumbling was heard on the Trabuco Hills’ side when the site of the game was moved from Mission Viejo High School (which seats 4,500) to Santa Ana Stadium (10,000). Trabuco Hills had won the coin flip to play host to the game, but it was moved to Santa Ana after Orange announced that it had sold more than 3,000 tickets.

Trabuco Hills administrators were miffed, saying they doubted Orange could sell 3,000 tickets. The last time the teams met, in Pacific Coast League competition, Orange drew only 600.

But Friday night, Orange drew about 5,000 of the 7,200 total attendance.

Quotable: Rick Sparks, Trabuco Hills defensive back, on the last-minute, fourth-down pass by Orange quarterback Chris Thompson to receiver Mark Kammerlohr, who was covered by Sparks in the end zone:

“When I saw the ball go up, my heart dropped to my heels, I was terrified.”

The ball rolled off Kammerlohr’s fingertips and Trabuco Hills held on for the victory.

Courtside: Trabuco Hills’ Tim Manning and Corona del Mar’s Warren Johnson were two of several county football players who went right into basketball the day after playing in a Southern Section championship game.

Manning, a quarterback who led Trabuco Hills to its second consecutive Division III championship Friday, had two points and two steals in the Mustangs’ 67-64 victory over Mission Viejo Saturday night.

“He played half the game, his legs were still really sore from the night before,” Trabuco Hills Coach Rainer Wulf said. “He’s been shooting around during sixth period, but mainly it’s his legs that need conditioning. Basketball’s different (from football); you don’t get to run for 10 seconds and then stop for a minute and a half to rest.”

Johnson, a wide receiver/defensive back in football and a guard in basketball, was the only one of four Sea King football/basketball players to make the Saturday game against Fallbrook in the Laguna Beach tournament. Todd Kehrli has a minor shoulder injury from a tackle he made during a kickoff return, Weston Johnson suited up but did not play and Jeff Jackson spent the weekend in Colorado for a recruiting visit.

Soccer start: Capistrano Valley’s soccer team, the defending 4-A champion, is the top-ranked team in the girls’ 4-A preseason poll. Simi Valley, which lost to Capistrano Valley in the 4-A title match last year, is ranked second.

Other county teams in the top 10 are No. 3 Esperanza, No. 4 Mission Viejo, No. 5 El Toro and No. 9 Edison.

As has been the tradition the past few years, the South Coast League once again will be the Southern Section 4-A power in girls’ soccer.

Unranked Dana Hills (5-0) is off to its best start, winning the Irvine tournament title with a 2-1 final victory over El Toro (3-1) Saturday.

Mission Viejo, which won three consecutive 4-A titles from 1985-88, has lost all-everything Julie Foudy to graduation--she is playing at North Carolina State--but the Diablos, league coaches say, never can be counted out.

In the 3-A preseason poll, Mater Dei is ranked second after defending champion Agoura. Canyon is third, La Quinta is sixth and Orange is 10th.

In 2-A, Valencia is ranked fourth, and in 1-A, Santa Margarita, playing in its first year of varsity, is seventh. Santa Margarita, led by Allie Werve, shut out Santa Ana Valley, 8-0, and Beverly Hills, 4-1, in the Hacienda Heights Wilson tournament Saturday.

Add Santa Margarita: After finishing 9-13 overall last year, the Santa Margarita boys’ basketball team has shown it’s ready to compete.

In the Valley Christian tournament Friday, Santa Margarita (2-0) beat Olympic League power Whittier Christian, 66-62. And with 6-5 sophomore Dan Bathey and 6-8 junior center/forwards Jeff Layne and Chris Hacker, the future looks even better.

Maili Rohner, a 15-year-old sophomore at San Clemente, has given up basketball for her favorite sport, surfing.

Rohner, who has been surfing since she was 7, is the defending state girls’ champion in the California Interscholastic Surfing Federation. Last month, she won the South Coast League girls’ title at Upper Trestles, a popular break south of San Clemente.

Rohner was expected to start at point guard for San Clemente this season, but said her court time was cutting into her surf sessions. Rohner, one of five girls on San Clemente’s surf team, gets most of her practice in during her morning surf class, from 6:30 a.m. to 8. She gets to school by 8:45 each morning, in time for English.

Rohner, who is sponsored by local wet suit and surfboard manufacturers, said her goal is to become a professional surfer, but first she will try to defend her title at the federation’s state championships, Feb. 24-25 at Oceanside.

“I don’t try to do anything special,” Rohner said of her surfing style. “I just try to do it all.”

Prep Notes

Final state cross-country rankings were announced last week. Orange County schools among the top 10 were, in boys: San Clemente fifth and Saddleback sixth in Division I; Corona del Mar seventh in Division II, and Laguna Beach first in Division III. In girls, Woodbridge was 10th in Division I; Corona del Mar third and Newport Harbor seventh in Division II, and Laguna Beach 10th in Division III. . . . Estancia High School will be host to a show of sports collectables Saturday and Sunday to benefit its athletic department. Guests include former Angel DeWayne Buice, Angel pitcher Terry Clark and former Angel and Dodger Bill Singer. For more information, call 990-1007.