NOTEBOOK : Of Quarterbacks and Quarter-Pounders

Imagine a bus load of teen-agers pulling up to a fast-food restaurant and piling out to order 50 hamburgers.

The workers at a McDonald’s in Lincoln Heights have grown used to it. That’s because the franchise owner is also the coach of the Cathedral High football team.

Jesse Carrillo, who coaches the team with his brother, Woody, owns two McDonald’s franchises, including one in Lincoln Heights.

“I always call my workers in advance so they know I’m coming,” Carrillo said.

Carrillo, 42, started working for McDonald’s 24 years ago as a crewman and bought his first franchise, at Seventh and Flower streets, in 1985.

“A lot of people are surprised when I tell them what I do for a living,” Carrillo said. “I don’t know why. I know eight people who have worked their way up and became franchise owners.”

Sports Trivia--Who played in the first local high school football game?

Cubs Climb in Polls--How good is Loyola? The Cubs entered the week of Oct. 11 with a 5-0 record and according to Cal-Hi Sports magazine, is the top team in the state.

A National Prep Poll, which surveyed 35 prep sportswriters throughout the nation, selected Loyola the fifth-best team in the country. USA Today ranked the Cubs 13th nationally. Both polls rely on Cal-Hi Sports for information.

However, The Times has ranked Loyola as only the third-best team from the Southern and City Sections.

If you ask Loyola officials, they scoff at polls.

“We could be No. 200 or No. 1,” Loyola athletic director Jon Dawson said. “How can anybody rate us when nobody can see all the teams play?”

Back in the Race--South Gate High tailback Alan Cervantes remains among the area’s leading rushers if he’s an area leader then how come he’s not on our football leaders list? despite missing the Rams’ last three games. Cervantes, who had 186 yards in 24 carries, dislocated his right elbow during a kickoff return in the second game of the season.

Cervantes is expected to be back in the lineup when South Gate visits Roosevelt Friday.

Trivia Answer--Los Angeles High played Throop Institute (renamed CalTech) on Nov. 7, 1896, and lost, 10-6. It was the earliest game recorded, according to “The History of Football in Los Angeles City High Schools.”