For Sweazy, ‘There’s a Choice <i> He’s</i> Making . . . ‘

Darrin Sweazy made his way casually out of the Mission Viejo High School locker room and into the parking lot. He looked at home and at ease.

“All right Swaze!” one Diablo teammate yelled, as Sweazy began to talk to a reporter.

When the reporter comments on the rather raucous behavior and decibels of heavy metal music coming from the locker room, he shrugs his shoulders.

“Locker rooms are the same all over the place,” he said. “So are the guys in them.”

Hit the music, Quincy, and lets all join hands. Sweazy has discovered that people, make that football players, are the same the world over. The world being the South Coast League, and the South Coast League includes Sweazy’s former school, El Toro.

“When I was at El Toro, I remember we hated Mission Viejo,” he said. “Now that I’m here, I see they’re just the same. I mean, at El Toro I had a lot of friends, and I’ve made a lot of friends here. There are a lot of nice guys on both sides.”

Nice guys? This kind of talk borders on the subversive in view of the circumstances. Mission Viejo will play El Toro tonight in LeBard Stadium in a Southern Conference semifinal game.

Mission Viejo has been pointing to this game as sort of revenge. The Diablos, with an experienced team and three-year starter Todd Yert at running back, were expected to win the South Coast League this season.

Ranked as high as No.2 in Orange County during the season, the Diablos’ main competition was supposed to come from Capistrano Valley, who had record-setting quarterback Scott Stark.

El Toro had lost Sweazy, who was projected as El Toro’s No. 1 running back this season, and had a sophomore, Bret Johnson, playing quarterback.

So what happens? Johnson completes 51% of his passes for 1,379 yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season, El Toro beats Capistrano Valley and Mission Viejo and wins the league championship.

In Sweazy’s absence, El Toro Coach Bob Johnson discovered running back Eric Brass. Johnson described Brass as “having a heart as big as the United States.”

Hyperbole aside, Brass has balanced the El Toro offense and was a key in the Chargers’ league championship.

Sweazy accounted for himself well. He rushed for 105 yards against El Toro, but . . .

“That game really hurt,” he said. “They (El Toro players) told me after the game that they beat me, but that I had played a great game. I still felt awful.”

Before the game, Sweazy just felt nervous. Not a common ailment for him.

“But I just didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I just didn’t know how they would react.”

They are his former schoolmates at El Toro. The same former schoolmates are current friends.

Sweazy transferred to Mission Viejo when he moved in with his father, Chuck, just a little more than a mile away from the campus. Darrin’s mother, Judy, and Chuck had separated in September. Darrin still spends a lot of time at his mother’s house.

“He’ll go out with Mission Viejo friends one day,” Judy said, “and then go out with his El Toro friends the next.”

Sweazy, a junior, is averaging 7.4 yards a carry, and has gained a total of 622 yards for the Diablos. A personal drawback of playing for the Diablos has been that Sweazy has been utilized in a secondary role to Yert. But this doesn’t seem to bother him.

“Todd’s been here three years. This is just my first,” he said. “It’s only right he get the ball more often. I’ll get my chance next season.”

Such understanding may stem from logic, a good heart or the simple fact that Yert is two inches taller and weighs 30 pounds more than Sweazy.

So Darrin Sweazy is happy. Well, kind of. The loss to El Toro still weighs heavily on his mind.

“That was the most disappointing thing this season,” Sweazy said. “I can’t get rid of this rotten feeling. We were favored to win the league and then the team that I used to play for ends up taking it.”

So Darrin Sweazy is not happy. Well . . .

“I couldn’t be happier. The guys here are great, and I still keep up with my El Toro friends.”

Uh, Darrin Sweazy is casually content at Mission Viejo, waiting for tonight’s game, again “nervous,” he said.

“We have an opportunity to beat the only team to beat us,” he said. “Not many teams get that opportunity. And I get to play it against a bunch of my friends. I think that’s good, too.”