Scouts to Get Kick Out of Kingsmen

During the early days of fall practice, a steady stream of NFL scouts has visited Cal Lutheran for a look at some of the Kingsmen.

All eyes have been on senior Jeff Shea, a preseason All-American who led Division III punters with an average of nearly 45 yards per kick in 1995 and a 45.3-yard average last season.

“Jeff will have probably every opportunity to sign as a free agent,” Kingsmen Coach Scott Squires said.

Also getting looks is offensive lineman Paul Yerman, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound senior from Thousand Oaks High. Squires has been trying to direct attention toward running back Fredrik Nanhed and safety Mattias Wikstrom, junior imports from Sweden who have been top players for the Kingsmen the past two seasons.

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Junior guard Ryan McCann has yet to join his Cal Lutheran teammates in pads and has participated only in non-contact drills in the first week of workouts. He had a ruptured appendix removed 2 1/2 weeks ago.

“I’m just doing whatever I can,” said the 6-3, 236-pound McCann, who drove himself to the hospital after experiencing severe abdominal pain Aug. 12.

“It happened all of a sudden,” he said. “I waited about three or four hours before I went to the hospital and it got a lot worse.”

McCann hopes to be able to practice by next week.

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The highlight for the Cal State Northridge women’s soccer team last season was a 2-1 victory over nationally ranked UCLA at Northridge. Sunday, the teams played a preseason scrimmage at UCLA and the Bruins won, 7-0.

Coach Brian Wiesner said he is not concerned heading into Friday’s opener against Grand Canyon at North Campus Stadium.

Northridge played Sunday without starting goalkeeper Tawni Takagi and starting midfielder Marilyn Huscka, who were injured. Several other starters saw limited action.

“We wanted to schedule someone who would run us around and teach us a good lesson,” said Wiesner, who may start five freshmen. “We went with a skeleton crew so I wasn’t too concerned with the score.”

Kelly MacGuann, a freshman from Hermosa Beach, played in goal for Northridge and appeared overwhelmed, albeit with good reason.

“We told her she was starting two hours before gametime and then she sprained a finger in warmups,” Wiesner said. “She had no chance to prepare mentally and couldn’t catch anything because of the finger.”

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Glendale College’s football team is minus last season’s entire offensive line, except sophomore guard Ruben Luzanilla, who started five games. The Vaqueros, however, should be formidable up front.

Jim Ghezzi, a 6-5, 280-pound sophomore and former Loyola High standout, transferred from Villanova University. Ghezzi was recruited by Glendale while at Loyola.

“He is a gigantic plus for us,” Glendale Coach John Cicuto said.

Freshmen Oscar Gonzalez (6-5, 290), from North Hollywood High, and Adis Davtyan (6-3, 280), from Hoover, will solidify the line.

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Antelope Valley and Moorpark will meet on the football field for the first time since 1980 when they play a nonconference opener Sept. 13 at Moorpark.

Antelope Valley, a member of the Foothill Conference, was left with an open date when Rio Hondo dropped football after the season’s schedule was completed. The Marauders are coming off a 5-5 season.

Moorpark, which plays in the Western State Conference, was 8-3 last season, losing to Cerritos, 16-15, in the Strawberry Bowl.

The Raiders lead the series, 5-2, but Antelope Valley won the last meeting, 16-8.

Antelope Valley will follow with a nonconference game against visiting Kings River on Sept. 20. It is the first meeting between the schools since a 20-0 victory by Antelope Valley in 1990.

Antelope Valley will host the McDonald’s Charity Bowl on Dec. 6. Proceeds from the game will benefit the Lancaster and Palmdale Educational Foundations.

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Intrasquad scrimmages will be played Saturday at Ventura and Glendale colleges.

Ventura will stage its game at 2 p.m. at Ventura High, the Pirates’ home field. Glendale, which plays its home games at Glendale High, will hold its scrimmage at its on-campus practice facility at 4 p.m.

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Staff writers Vince Kowalick, Tris Wykes and correspondent Lauren Peterson contributed to this story.