Mark Mcgill

The ball seemed to hang in the night air like a balloon. "I saw it and said, 'That's me,' " Mark McGill said of the second-quarter pass by Arizona State quarterback Paul Justin after it had caromed skyward off flanker Lynn James. "I said, 'I'm going to get it.' And I went and got it." The UCLA safety clutched it and took off down the sideline. "Our position coach (Larry Coyer) always talks about catching the ball, tucking it away and running like Billy Sims," McGill said.

The ball seemed to hang in the night air like a balloon. "I saw it and said, 'That's me,' " Mark McGill said of the second-quarter pass by Arizona State quarterback Paul Justin after it had caromed skyward off flanker Lynn James. "I said, 'I'm going to get it.' And I went and got it." The UCLA safety clutched it and took off down the sideline. "Our position coach (Larry Coyer) always talks about catching the ball, tucking it away and running like Billy Sims," McGill said.

Kerry Anderson, an All-Century League soccer player at El Modena High, has signed with Alabama Huntsville, her father, Ken Anderson, said Friday. Kerry Anderson was also a first-team All-Southern Section Division III selection. * The American Water Polo Coaches Assn. honored UC Irvine's Omar Amr and Robert Allaire in the superior category of the men's 1996-97 All-Academic team. Amr's grade-point average is 3.60, and Allaire's is 3.55. Mark McGill, of the U.S.

Thirteen students from the 47th Congressional District have won appointment to the U.S. service academies' class of 2000, Rep. Christopher Cox announced. They are: * Air Force Academy, James Do of Anaheim; and William Hartman and Mark McGill, both of Irvine. * Military Academy, Joseph Howard of Lake Forest; Matt Mason of El Toro; and Markus Garza and Casey Markovitz, both of Orange. * Naval Academy, Shannon Filbin of Irvine; Ricia Gonnering of Mission Viejo; R.

In other nonleague water polo: Brea-Olinda 13, Laguna Beach 5--The fifth-ranked Wildcats scored 10 first-half goals in their victory over Laguna Beach (4-1). Brea-Olinda (2-0), ranked first in Division VI, was led by Tad Murphy with five goals and Mo Degenhardt with three. Goalie Tim Bischel had 12 saves for the Wildcats. Cypress 18, Downey Warren 12--Dave Watkins had seven goals and Erik Sandvig had four to lead host Cypress (1-0) in its opening game of the season.

A weekly look at the college progress of former Orange County prep athletes. AIR FORCE WATER POLO * County connection: There are seven local players at Air Force. Jay Reaves is from El Toro, Rob Mattivi and Matt Mountcastle are from Servite, Mark McGill is from University, Chad Simendinger and Dave Slavich are from Esperanza and Brent Reimer is from Brea Olinda. * Worth noting: Reaves, a senior driver, is team captain for Air Force (9-12).

For the third straight year after a New Year's Day bowl appearance, UCLA's football team has traded on its good reputation to get letters of intent from a strong group of high school prospects. Once again, the Bruins' crop of recruits ranks among the best in the nation. Of the 22 players who signed letters of intent with UCLA Wednesday, three are high school All-American linemen, and five were listed among the Best in the West. The 1985 class is long on big linemen.

Amanda Hastings-Phillips swept at singles, 6-1, 6-0, 6-0, as No. 1 Laguna Beach survived a scare to defeat No. 10 Corona del Mar, 10-8, in a nonleague girls tennis match Wednesday at Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach's No. 3 doubles team, Summer Terry and Kim Woodhouse, beat Jenny Glasgow and Christie O'Meara, Corona del Mar's No. 1 duo, to give the Artists the winning margin.

Terry Donahue, never one to rush a decision on a starting quarterback, is no different this season. The UCLA football coach keeps talking about platooning juniors Troy Aikman and Brendan McCracken, listed as co-No. 1s on the depth chart, or using one of them as "kind of a sixth man." "We're going to play two or more players at every other position and yet, Aikman and McCracken are better performers at their position than many of our second-string kids at other positions," Donahue said Friday.

San Clemente, ranked eighth in Orange County, upset second-ranked Laguna Beach, 13-15, 15-13, 21-19, 17-15, in a nonleague girls' volleyball match Tuesday at San Clemente High. Wendy Wilkins and Kate Metzger each had 24 kills for San Clemente (1-1), which gained the momentum with a victory in Game 3 after Laguna Beach fought off five game points. Paige Spaulding added 14 kills for the Tritons.

Jill Godmilow's strong, stern face lights up when she talks about what she calls "radical" films--films, like her own, that break away from Hollywood traditions. "These are not the only kinds of films I want to make," the director said recently of "Far From Poland," her unconventional 1980 documentary, and her latest film, "Waiting for the Moon," a dramatic feature focusing on Gertrude Stein and Alice B.