HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK : Irish Head Swinton’s Wish List

Montclair Prep running back Eliel Swinton said he has been offered a scholarship to play for UCLA, but Swinton is holding out for Notre Dame.

“They call me sometimes,” Swinton said. “I talked to Lou Holtz one time.”

Swinton, who has rushed for 3,500 yards in 372 career attempts, rates the Irish at the top of his list. The others, in order, are Stanford, UCLA, USC, California and Washington.

He said his interest in Notre Dame stems from the school’s high graduation rate of football players, the quality of the school’s academic program and the quality of the football team.

Swinton, who plans to major in pre-med and already has met the NCAA’s academic requirements for eligibility, does not plan to decide on a college until after the season.

“Right now I’m not thinking too much about the recruiting process because I’ve heard that if you let it get into your head (during the season) it can mess you up,” he said.

The first day players can sign letters of intent is Feb. 10.

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HERR LINEMAN

Look for Santa Clara to take on a bit of a European flair thanks to Jan Verhoefen, a foreign exchange student from Germany.

“He’s never played a down of football before in his life and it definitely shows,” Coach Tom O’Brien said of the 17-year-old junior. “He’s used to playing (soccer), but he really wants to tackle people and carry the ball, and we’re going to give him the chance.”

O’Brien said the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Verhoefen--from Krefeld, Germany--developed a passion for the game by watching NFL exhibitions played in Europe and World League of American Football games on TV.

Verhoefen, while not fluent in English, has not had many problems communicating with the coaching staff, although O’Brien said he has had to explain terminology.

And while he doesn’t expect Verhoefen to make a major impact, O’Brien believes he can contribute immediately, perhaps as a defensive lineman.

“He’s got good size,” O’Brien said, “and that’s always nice to have.”

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BIG MAN ON CAMPUS

James Romero is difficult to miss, which is the right idea when someone plays on the offensive line.

The two-way tackle at El Camino Real might be the biggest player in the region at 6-6, 320 pounds. He was a reserve last fall as a sophomore--he had virtually no football experience--and figures to anchor the El Camino Real line for the next two seasons.

“He’s a big, really nice kid,” co-Coach Mike Maio said. “He moves pretty good for his size.”

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SUPER SOPHS

By co-Coach Darryl Stroh’s count, Granada Hills will use six very green sophomores this season. The notion doesn’t bother him a lick, though.

“It’s a good thing,” Stroh said. “They won’t be playing because we’re terrible, they’ll be playing because they’re good, quality, 10th-grade athletes.”

This could be bad news for the rest of the Northwest Valley Conference. The last time Granada Hills had a bumper crop of sophomores, four seasons ago, the group included future All-City Section selections Brett Washington and Derrick Stewart.

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SWITCHEROO

Crespi Coach Tim Lins gave the persistent player an ear. “Sure,” Lins said, “maybe next year.”

What Lins was thinking was more along the lines of, “Leave me alone.”

Matt Walker (6-3, 195) was a backup defensive tackle last season who kept insisting that he was cut out to be a quarterback. He kept pestering Lins, who this season was looking for someone to replace graduated record-setting passer Cody Smith.

“He bugged me all last year,” Lins recalled.

Turns out the kid was right. Lins relented and let Walker try his hand at quarterback during spring workouts. Lo and behold, Walker has some tools after all and is competing for the starting position.

“He has everything but experience,” Lins said.

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NEVER A DOUBT

The challenge has been issued.

Alemany Coach Pat Degnan says his team will play the toughest schedule in the region. “I defy anybody to show me a tougher schedule,” he said.

Alemany (6-4 last year) opens with nonleague games against Notre Dame (5-5), Crescenta Valley (5-5) and Bishop Montgomery (6-4). Things could get considerably tougher in nonleague games against Hart (9-4) and Canyon (6-6).

The opposition really gets difficult when Del Rey League play begins. League foes include Loyola (9-3) and Bishop Amat (9-2), both ranked in Cal-Hi Sports magazine’s preseason Division I top 10. Crespi, another league foe, was 7-4 and won the Mission League title last year.

In all, seven of the 10 teams made the playoffs in 1991.

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NEW MAN ON THE JOB

After weeks of auditioning underclassmen Matt Olsen and Wes Lagotta at quarterback, Royal Coach Gene Uebelhardt has named senior Chris McGrath as the replacement for the departed Ryan Fien.

At first glance, McGrath (6-feet, 170 pounds) would seem the logical choice to replace Fien, who led the Highlanders to a 10-1 mark last season before signing with UCLA as one of the nation’s top recruits.

McGrath, a starting wide receiver last season, appeared in several games at quarterback, usually late in the second half with Fien on the bench and victory in hand. McGrath took plenty of snaps but attempted only two passes. He completed one for five yards.

“We have 16 underclassmen out of 22 starters,” Uebelhardt said. “We needed to have someone with experience in big games. That’s one advantage he had over the other kids.”

Two weeks ago, McGrath wasn’t even mentioned as a candidate. The job appeared up for grabs between Olsen (6-4, 198), a junior, and Lagotta (5-11, 165), a promising sophomore.

“(McGrath) was in our plans but not at quarterback,” Uebelhardt said. “But we put him behind the offense and he makes us go. We’ll go with him.”

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CORNERING THE MARKET

Everybody agrees that Kennedy’s 1986 football team was talented. Athletic. Pick an adjective. Throw in a superlative.

Just how impressive was borne out over the past few weeks when three defensive backs from the team survived training camp and final cuts to make the rosters of NFL teams. Dion Lambert (Patriots), Tony Brown (Oilers) and Mark McMillen (Eagles)--all members of that ’86 team--were on their respective teams’ opening-day rosters, according to Kennedy Coach Bob Francola, who has dubbed the school “Cornerback High.”

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ALUMNI BASH

A record might have been set in the re-formed Del Rey League, even before the season begins.

Three head coaches in the league are graduates of St. Paul High, which is also a member of the league. Tim Lins of Crespi, Mark Paredes of Bishop Amat and Alemany’s Degnan all graduated from the school. Longtime Loyola defensive coordinator Jon Dawson also is a St. Paul graduate.

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CHANGING GAMES

North Hollywood basketball Coach Steve Miller, who moonlights as the school’s public-address announcer at home football games, will have more at stake than his broadcast pride this football season.

Damon Ollie, a 6-5, 220-pound junior who has attracted interest from several Division I colleges as a basketball player, is playing football. Considering the increased risk of injury, Miller is certain to keep his fingers crossed. “He wants to play football,” Miller said. “What can you say? He thinks it looks fun.”

Ollie, who averaged 16 points and 13.5 rebounds a game as a sophomore, has been working out at defensive end and tight end.

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KICKING IN THE DARK

Having an entire squad of new players each season is only one of the problems for Kilpatrick’s football team. The players are forced to practice on a 50-yard-long plot of grass because there is no regulation field at the facility. Besides being too small and not level, the “field” has no goal posts, which makes practicing kicking difficult.

“We have imaginary goal posts,” said Glen Bell, the team’s first-year coach. “The first time our kids see real goal posts is when we get to a game.”

Kilpatrick, a Los Angeles County youth correctional facility, plays its home games at Newbury Park High.

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VOLLEYBALL INJURY

Because of a key injury, it might take the Ventura volleyball team a while to reach the level it did in last year’s Channel League co-championship season. Tasha Johnson, a 5-11 junior middle blocker, was expected to replace league most valuable player Danielle Braun in the Cougars’ attack.

But Johnson will undergo arthroscopic surgery Friday to remove a bone chip from her foot and could be out for two to three weeks.

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WORKING OVERTIME

Practice sessions at the beginning of the season often are grueling for volleyball players, but Buena outdid many of its competitors with 12 consecutive hours of play last week.

The Bulldogs were on the court from 8 p.m. last Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday as part of a fund-raising effort. The marathon has earned as much as $1,500 in pledges. The sum of last week’s donations is not yet known.

David Coulson and staff writers Steve Elling, Jeff Fletcher, Vince Kowalick, Paige A. Leech, John Ortega and Jason H. Reid contributed to this notebook.

Preseason Football

Top 10 Selected by sportswriters of The Times

1991 Rk Team League Record 1 Ventura Channel 9-3 2 Thousand Oaks Marmonte 8-2 3 Sylmar East Valley 10-2 4 Saugus Foothill 6-5 5 Hart Foothill 9-4 6 Buena Channel 8-3 7 Newbury Park Marmonte 4-6 8 Antelope Valley Golden 7-5 9 Canyon Foothill 6-6 10 Notre Dame Mission 5-5