Thursday, Jan. 28, 1999 | 1:49 a.m.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Painted in bold letters outside the weight room at Poly High School is the phrase, "Home of Scholars and Champions."
It also could read, "Home of Wide Receivers."
It's doubtful that many, if any, high schools in the country have produced as many standout wide receivers over the past four decades as Long Beach Poly.
The list includes:
* Gene Washington, a four-time Pro Bowler who is a member of Stanford's Hall of Fame. The 1965 Poly grad finished his NFL career with 371 receptions and 59 touchdowns.
* Tony Hill, another Stanford Hall of Famer, who played 10 years with the Dallas Cowboys (1977-86) and finished with 479 receptions and 51 touchdowns.
* Earl McCullouch, the NFL's 1968 Rookie of the Year with the Detroit Lions after starring in both football and track at USC. He ran a leg on the 1967 Trojan 440 relay team that set a world record (38.6) and included a fellow named O.J. Simpson.
* Stephone Paige, who played nine years with the Kansas City Chiefs and set an NFL single-game receiving record with eight catches for 309 yards in a Dec. 22, 1985, game against the Chargers.
And that's just for starters. Poly also produced the likes of Hank Norman, who left USC in 1985 as its career reception leader; Reggie Ward, who starred at Notre Dame in the mid-80s; Eric Morgan, who caught 85 passes in one season at New Mexico; Johnny Morris, a 1961 Pro Bowler with the Chicago Bears; and current Ohio State star Ken-Yon Rambo.
Add to that list Kareem Kelly, a 6-1, 185-pound senior who was the top vote-getter in the Sun's inaugural Super 11 poll of college coaches and scouts.
The Sun asked coaches from five major Division I programs who recruit heavily in the western states of California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Montana, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico to list the top 20 prep prospects in those states. Dick Lascola of the Fallbrook, Calif.-based Scouting Evaluation Association, which supplies films and evaluations of West Coast players to more than 90 Division I schools, also voted. Twenty points were awarded for a first-place vote, 19 for a second-place vote, etc.
The USC-bound Kelly, who has run a hand-timed 10.2 100 meters, scored 100 out of a possible 120 points, finishing eight points ahead of second place finisher Shane Lehmann, a 6-5, 275-pound offensive lineman from Corona (Calif.) High School, who has given a non-binding verbal commitment to UCLA. Two of Kelly's Poly teammates, Stanford-bound quarterback Chris Lewis and USC-bound cornerback Darrell Rideaux, also were selected to the first team.
No Nevada prospect was selected to either the first or second teams.
Cimarron-Memorial defensive lineman Kawika Sagapolu (6-4, 285), who recently committed to UNLV, was the only player in Nevada to receive votes, finishing with six points for honorable mention recognition.
Kelly, who caught 42 passes for 1,068 yards and scored 16 touchdowns as a senior for the 13-1 Jackrabbits, also is the defending California state 200-meter champion, running a state meet record 20.76. He has a best of 20.63 in that event.
"He's flat-out the fastest receiver we've ever had here," Long Beach Poly coach Jerry Jaso said. "He's also a terrific receiver. He can go out and get balls that other receivers couldn't get to. We told Chris (Lewis) that you can't overthrow Kareem. Just put it out there and let him go get it."
But Lewis did slightly overthrow Kelly on what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass in their varsity debuts for Poly three years ago, a 16-10 loss at Green Valley High School. It was one of only five losses Poly suffered in 41 games that Kelly suited up.
"When I came here as a freshman, I never thought I'd be the top wide receiver in the country and run 20.76 to break the state record," Kelly said. "I never dreamed of that. But the tradition is so thick here. You have to work hard every day to uphold that tradition."
Kelly benefited not only from the guidance of the highly recruited Rambo his sophomore year, but also the opportunity to go head-to-head in practice against Rideaux, rated by many scouts the West Coast's top cornerback.
"It was pretty remarkable to watch those guys go after each other every day," Jaso said. "We're talking about a couple of pro-caliber athletes there. But it was a friendly rivalry."
Both Kelly and Rideaux will attend USC.
Poly head track and assistant football coach Don Norford, a former teammate of Washington and McCullouch, was named the NFL's High School Coach of the Year in 1996 for his part in helping groom over 20 NFL players at Poly, including first-round picks Mark Carrier, Leonard Russell and Willie McGinest. He was asked where he would rate Kelly in Poly history.
"He's right there in that group of great receivers," he said. "If he does everything right and doesn't have injuries, he should be in the NFL one day."
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