"Resurgent Alemany Faces Big Test vs. Saugus"
Article Last Updated:09/19/2007 10:15:40 PM PDT
MISSION HILLS -- This is what seven straight losing seasons can do for a team: Win consecutive games to start the season and watch the skeptics howl.
Such is the state of things at Alemany of Mission Hills, where a potential turnaround season is being met with raised eyebrows.
Two wins against subpar opponents isn't enough for fans to shake the memory of last year's 4-6 finish or the six losing seasons that preceded it.
Which makes tonight's game against undefeated Saugus all the more intriguing - for the Warriors and interested observers.
"I'm really excited, and I think we'll do well (tonight)," Alemany quarterback Patrick McKernon said. "All I know is it's like night and day around here compared to last year. You know, all of sudden I can hear people talking about football in the hallways, and you can definitely see a difference in the stands - it's packed."
McKernon isn't especially concerned about Alemany's status among the area's elite - or lack thereof. He's too busy throwing touchdown passes and winning games.
For sure, McKernon is a confident leader of a high-powered offense - that's always the case when passing guru Dean Herrington signs on as coach. Herrington is in his second year at Alemany, and on the surface it looks as if he's got the program back on track.
The first evidence of a turnaround occurred this summer, when the Warriors won three passing tournaments featuring highly regarded opponents.
With returning All-Mission League running back Malcolm Marable and top-flight receivers Nick Cook, Jon Mesa, Leandro Quesada and Chris Gant, it was obvious the pieces were falling in place.
Just before fall practice, Alemany added transfer running back Antonio Bray from Canyon, and suddenly, an offense shaping up as formidable started looking downright scary.
After two blowout wins to start 2007, some people are talking about the Warriors as a league championship threat.
Others are taking a wait-and-see approach.
"Having so much speed really helps," McKernon said. "It makes me look good because everyone with me is someone who can make something happen. It's working out well."
McKernon hasn't been asked to pass as much as he eventually will, because the wins have been one-sided. He has connected on 24of30 passes - an 80percent completion rate - for 383 yards, sixtouchdowns and no interceptions. Each of his fourreceivers has the potential to turn in a game-breaking play.
Bray, who returned a kick 90yards for a touchdown against Desert Hot Springs last week, is a almost blur in the open field.
While skeptics remain, some are showing their support. Cook said he couldn't believe it when hundreds of his classmates made the long drive for Alemany's game at Desert Hot Springs.
"Way more support than we thought, especially for an away game," Cook said. "It was a hot night in Palm Springs, too."
So McKernon and his teammates will keep moving forward, keep inching toward respectability for a program that had gone 2-8, 1-8, 2-8, 3-7, 4-6 and 2-8 in the six years preceding Herrington's arrival.
Tonight could be a turning point. It's definitely a major hump to get over.
"We know it's going to be a tough game, so we're just going to do what we do," Cook said.
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