Following a Pattern : San Fernando Receiver Is Learning by Example: His Brother’s

Football practice at San Fernando High had been over for almost an hour, but the conversation was just getting lively.

“Who are you talking about?” said golf Coach Ken Cohan.

“Mr. Richards,” replied football Coach Tom Hernandez.

“Chris Richards?” Cohan added.

“No, David,” said Hernandez.

“Why him? He goes down too easy.”

“That’s why he’s not a running back anymore.”

In all fairness to David Richards, he probably was never meant to be a running back.

He is, however, the brother of Chris Richards, a fact that breeds expectations of its own.

Chris Richards was an outstanding student and athlete at San Fernando. On the field, he was a punishing running back and scrappy defensive back.

In the classroom, he had a 3.5 grade-point average.

The combination of skills sent Chris Richards to Oklahoma on a football scholarship, although he is presently enrolled at College of Alameda near San Francisco. A scholarship to Cal awaits him in the fall.

Back at San Fernando, David Richards lives in Chris’ shadow.

At 5-11, 170 pounds, he has talent and speed to burn. But his feet were meant to run by people, not over them.

For more than two seasons, David Richards did an admirable impression of Chris. In San Fernando’s wishbone offense, he lined up at tailback--just like Chris did.

Three weeks ago, the charade ended. David Richards was given the chance to be David Richards.

And David Richards, it turns out, is a wide receiver.

“My older brother Mike had been telling me all along that my skills were best suited to being a wide receiver,” Richards said. “Since I moved out there, everything has been just fine.”

Fine for Richards and the San Fernando offense.

Before Richards made the switch, the Tigers’ wishbone was sputtering. It averaged only 151 yards a game as opponents stacked their defense to stop the run.

The troubles on offense reached the critical point in a 9-3 loss to San Pedro, when San Fernando quarterback Dwayne Calloway was 5 of 23 for 35 yards.

Frustrated by his team’s inconsistency, Hernandez decided changes were needed. Among the alterations was one that should have been made from the beginning.

“It’s the smartest thing we’ve done all year,” said San Fernando assistant coach Dwight Chapman.

“David isn’t really a running back,” Hernandez said.

“When he was a sophomore, he alternated at running back. Then last year, we moved him there because we had lost our backfield and we needed some speed back there.”

Richards was hardly a flop in the backfield. He was San Fernando’s second-leading rusher when he was switched to wide receiver.

Nevertheless, he was out of place.

“He’s really not an inside runner,” Chapman said. “He doesn’t have great lateral movement that you need as a running back.

“But he has great straight-ahead speed. Get him in the open field, and he’s almost impossible to bring down one on one.”

Or two on one. Richards’ move to wide receiver hasn’t gone unnoticed by opposing defenses.

Three games into his new position, Richards draws double-coverage on almost every play.

That, in turn, has opened the wishbone.

In last week’s 21-7 victory over Kennedy, San Fernando rolled up a season-high 330 yards. The Tigers’ average is up more than 50 yards to 207 a game.

“Teams were coming at us with eight-man fronts, and that was stopping us because the wishbone is designed for a seven-man front,” Chapman said. “Now they either have to drop a man off and double-cover David, or get beat by David.”

Even double coverage hasn’t stopped Richards. In his first game at wide receiver, he burned two Crenshaw defenders for a 75-yard touchdown.

Last week, he had a 31-yard touchdown.

“When I get into the open field, I do what I want to do,” Richards said.

And he’s doing a lot of that lately, with 14 catches for 234 yards--a 16.7-yard average.

“When I was running in the wishbone, I felt crowded up,” Richards said. “I wasn’t able to get to my full speed before I hit the defense.

“Plus, the two main people in our offense--me and Lance Harper-- were right next to each other. Now, with me outside, it has opened our whole offense up.”

Like Richards, Harper has benefited from the separation. Harper had 114 yards and one touchdown on only 13 carries last week.

After some initial disappointment, Richards is happy to be on the outside.

“I didn’t like it at first,” he said. “But the bottom line is what’s best for the team, and this has helped us out a lot.”

It has also helped Richards in terms of his chances for a college scholarship.

“If he plays in college, it will be as a wide receiver,” Hernandez said.

And it appears that Richards will get that chance. He said each of the Pac-10 schools has sent him a letter, along with Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado.

With a 2.7 grade-point average, Richards would like to major in English.

With 10.9 speed over 100 meters and good hands, college teams might like him to minor in catching the football.

“He is very reliable and he’s best in the open field,” Hernandez said.

The abilities are easier to notice since David Richards was given the chance to play his natural position.

That makes it a bit easier for him when the inevitable comparisons to Chris Richards are made.

“At first, it got me down a bit,” Richards said. “Last year, when Chris was gone, people expected me to do what he had done.

“But I handled it. I could only play my own game and do what I could do.”

David Richards doesn’t resent the comparisons.

“Chris is looked up to by a lot of people at San Fernando because of his athletics and his academics,” David said. “He’s definitely an inspiration.

“But the relationship is very special between me and Chris and between all four of the brothers in my family. When one of us is down, we pick each other up.

“And without the love of your family, you can’t do anything.”