USD Football 2000

Season Outlook

2 EXPERIENCED TOREROS LOOK FOR STRONG 2000 CAMPAIGN With eighteen starters and fifty-five players returning from last year's 5-5 ball club, fifth-year head coach Kevin McGarry is optimistic for a strong showing in 2000. The breakdown for returning starters is as follows -- eight from the offense, nine from the defensive side of the ball, and one special teams kicker. The big news on offense is the return of quarterback Mike Stadler who missed the 1999 campaign after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the team's first possession in their season opener at Azusa Pacific. The two-time First Team All– Pioneer Football League quarterback (1997 & 1998) is already USD's all-time passing leader for completions (311), passing yards (4,324) and touchdown passes (47). He will be pushed by returning senior Tom Jackson , a 1999 2nd Team All-PFL perfonner, who played solid, consistent football throughout the season, finishing with 1,5 10 yards passsing and 7 touchdowns. The Toreros return two First Team All-PFL performers on the offensive side of the ball -- senior tailback Oscar Arzu and senior offensive lineman Christos Renner. Arzu finished last year with 1,041 yards rushing on 162 attempts, good for 11 rushing scores. He busted loose for three games of 200-plus yards, gaining a season-best 213 yards and 4 touchdowns against Whittier; he also added a 202 yard/ 3 TD game against Cal Lutheran, and a 212 yard/2 TD contest against Butler. He heads into his final campaign needing 836 yards rushing to become the school's all– time leader in that department. Solidifying the backfield will be senior fullback Chris Long (5-11, 210) and senior tailback Stanford Tuupo (6-0, I95). Renner earned First Team

A ll-PFL as a tackle and will anchor a line that also returns seniors Chris Lamb (6-4, 285 lb.) and Sean McCamey (6- 1, 260 lb.). Despite the loss of Dylan Ching, the school's career leader in every receiving statistical department, Stadler and Jackson will have plenty of targets to aim for. Senior wideouts Matt Hackett (22 catches for 240 yards) and Mark Pappas (11 catches for 135 yards, I TD) will see plenty ofballs coming their way this season, and senior WR David Barlow (6-0, 190) and junior Dylan Mora (5 -11 , 183) will also see plenty ofaction. Junior tightend Matt Guardia finished the 1999 campaign on a strong note with two touchdown receptions against Wagner in the season finale. Defensively the Toreros return nine starters with a trio of 2nd Team All-PFL picks back -- senior safety Kyle Slusser, senior tackle Anthony Banovac, and junior linebacker Bryan Baxter. Slusser returns for his fourth season and third as the Toreros starting safety. For the second straight season he earned 2nd Team All-PFL honors while leading the team in tackles (97) and interceptions (4). Slusser, who tallied 3 interceptions against Wagner last year, enters the 2000 season needing two picks to surpass current assistant coach Kaeo Gouveia's school record of 12. Banovac was a steady force for the Toreros on the defensive line where he totaled 34 tackles ( 16 unassisted), finished with a team-best 7 quarterback sacks (-38 yards), and was second on the team with I I tackles for loss. In his first two years, Baxter has been runner-up in team tackles to Slusser. Last year he finished with 93 (39 unassisted) and finished first with 13 tackles for loss (-46 yards). Additionally, he added 2 interceptions, 4 quarterback hurries, I fumble recovery, 2 forced fumbles and 2 blocked kicks . The defense will be solidified by the return of seven other upperclassmen who

saw a majority of playing time as starters in 1999 -- senior LB Matt Altmyer (6-0, 225), senior invert Alika Vasper (6-2, 220),junior invert Brian Luman (5-11, 208),junior DL Brandon Camacho (5-9, 240),junior DL Matt Craig (6-2, 250),junior DB Jason De Mello (5-7, I80), and junior DB Wesley Morgan (5-9, 175). On special teams, sophomore kicker Rafael O'Campo returns as the team's kicker -- he was 3-for-6 in field goal attempts last season with a long of45 yards against Wagner College. Junior Dylan Mora also saw sometime at kicker, but both players will be pushed by a trio ofnewcomers -- junior Josh Feldman , who redshirted his freshman year at Cal before transferring to Saddleback JC; freshman David Maurer, a three-time Special Teams Player of the Year for Poway High School ; and freshman Brent Labarrere, who earned First Team All-CIF honors at Damien HS . The Toreros, who finished 5-2 in home games last year at Torero Stadium, will play six home contests this season --Azusa Pacific (Sept. 2), Menlo (Sept. 23), Central Connecticut (Oct. 7), Davidson (Oct. 14), Valparaiso (Oct. 28), and Dayton (Nov. 11 ). Road games wi ll take the Toreros to Whittier College (Sept. 9), Brown University (Sept. 16), Drake (Sept. 30), and Butler (Oct. 21 ). When you mix together the return of fifty-five players from last year's 5-5 club, and you add in a so lid incoming class of seventy newcomers, you have the makings for an outstanding 2000 campaign.