Each Side Will Try to Draw Lines on Field

VAN NUYS — When East meets West in the Valley Youth Conference All-Star football game Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Birmingham High, offensive firepower will match up against defensive strength.

The West team, coached by El Camino Real’s Rick Hayashida, is blessed with a bevy of skill position players--especially running backs--while the East is loaded on the defensive line.

For the West, El Camino Real’s Quincy Wright, Monroe’s Vinny Walker and Calabasas’ Robby Coppola will shoulder the load at running back. The trio, each 1,000-yard rushers last year, amassed nearly 5,000 yards and scored 69 touchdowns.

Wright, who led the Conquistadores to the City Section 3-A Division title, rushed for 2,146 yards and 28 touchdowns. Walker, the third leading rusher in the City, finished with 1,600 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground. Coppola rushed for 1,219 yards and 19 touchdowns.

“We have kids with the speed if we can break a seam, but can we get the seam? That’s the key,” Hayashida said.

Hayashida fears his running backs may find the going tough against the East’s first and second lines of defense.

“They’re loaded,” Hayashida said. “Defensively, they’re awfully strong. They’re not only big, but quick and have a lot of agility.”

Montclair Prep’s Kevin Bentley, who is headed for Northwestern, and Loyola’s Sloan Joseph are the top linebackers.

“I think we have really good linebackers,” said East Coach George Giannini of Montclair Prep.

North Hollywood’s Brandon Hicks, a 6-foot-2, 255-pound defensive lineman who is headed for Air Force, has impressed Giannini.

Hicks will work alongside Alemany’s Jaime Garza and Burroughs’ Harrison Phillips.

The East appears thin offensively. Still, Giannini likes his chances.

“I think our skill positions are pretty good,” Giannini said. “I don’t know anything about our opponent, but I like the way things are progressing.”

Giannini, who is 2-0-1 as a head coach in all-star competition, is most pleased with quarterback Kjell Nesen of St. Francis, who is headed for Washington State, and running back Errol Bowen of Sylmar, who might also see time at defensive back.

“We’re having a great time getting to know each other, I think we’ll have a good time at the all-star game, which is what an all-star game is all about,” Giannini said.

“It’s a good way to send the kids off to college.”

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IF YOU’RE GOING . . .

What: Valley Youth Conference East-West All-Star Football Game

Who: Eighty recently graduated high school seniors from San Fernando Valley

Where: Birmingham High

When: Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: $6 general admission; children under 12 admitted free