Football: Former Los Alamitos QB Dylan Cook explains why he quit team

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Three weeks after quitting the Los Alamitos football team, senior quarterback Dylan Cook says he is still adjusting to his new schedule.

He no longer spends sixth period every day at 1:30 p.m. gearing up for football practice. Instead, he darts home to get an early start on homework, including submitting applications for junior colleges and exploring a possible career as a police officer.

He no longer plays football on Friday nights. Instead, he sits in the stands because he still wants to “support the team.”

Yet, Cook, 17, told The Times that he still feels content with calling an early end to his senior season at quarterback. The end could have come this Friday, when the No. 20 Griffins (7-2) host No. 16 Fountain Valley (8-1) in their last game.

Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes, who did not return voice messages left at his home last week, declined to publicly comment on the situation when he was approached about it on Monday during practice.

Cook quit the team Oct. 20, a day after he said Barnes told Cook that he was opening the quarterback position to him and sophomore Dylan Lagarde, who transferred from Long Beach Poly two weeks earlier and who had practiced with the JV team.

“It had nothing to do with competing for my spot,” Cook said about his decision to quit the team. “It was the stuff [Barnes] was saying to me.”

So what did Barnes say to him?

“He told me, ‘We want to give this kid a shot and see what he can do,’ ” Cook said. “He was making it seem like I was his guy, even though he was telling everyone that the team is flat right now, we need to get a boost and do what’s best for the team.

“He then asked me, ‘Can you promise me you’ll win these next four games?’ I said yes. He then said, ‘I don’t believe you.’ At that point, I felt like, ‘How do you play for someone who doesn’t believe in you?’”

Cook said a discussion with his family that night confirmed his belief that he should hand in his uniform. He also didn’t consider his conversation with Barnes to be a motivating tactic.

“He was always belittling me,’ Cook said. ‘I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Cook, who played on the JV team his junior season, went 40 of 68 for 505 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions and helped the Griffins to a 5-1 record. In Los Alamitos’ 23-20 loss to Newport Harbor on Oct. 8, he finished 11 of 19 for 98 yards with two interceptions. One of those interceptions led to a field goal in the third quarter that gave the Sailors a 16-13 lead.

Although the Griffins’ offense mostly consisted of running plays that featured junior tailback Nick Richardson (215 carries for 1,619 yards and 14 touchdowns), Cook said Barnes told him he partly wanted to give Lagarde a chance because of his strong arm.

Nonetheless, Cook quit before a starter was pronounced. Two days after Cook’s departure, Lagarde made his debut Oct. 22 in a 52-0 victory over Huntington Beach Marina, finishing 10 of 21 for 198 yards and two rushing touchdowns against a team that had one win and was outscored 243-79 entering the game.

In Los Alamitos’ 27-10 loss to Edison the following week, Lagarde went 13 of 16 for 47 yards with one interception. He followed up with an 8 of 19 performance for 100 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the Griffins’ 21-19 victory last week against Esperanza.

Cook stressed he had no problem with Lagarde’s transfer, and even added that he considers him a “friend” dating from when they played Pop Warner football together.

“He’s a good kid,” Cook said. “They all like him.”

As for the rest of his teammates?

“They’re a little bummed,’ Cook said. ‘But after I told them what Barnes had said to me, they were like, ‘OK, I respect your decision.’ They were all right with it.”

--Mark Medina