Orange County Player of the Week : Diaz Leaves Desert Behind, Then the Opposition

Last season, as El Toro High School secured a berth in the Southern Section playoffs, Aly Diaz was scoring his last touchdown for Twentynine Palms.

Diaz had no idea then that, within a year, his football talents would be exposed to harsher elements than scorching heat and only a baseball field on which to practice.

The pressure of playing in front of 4,000 or the brutal tackles of 260-pound linebackers were far from his mind.

But then he had no idea that his father, a Marine Corps captain, would be transferred to the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, and Diaz would soon be running practice plays in Charger stadium.

“He walked into our weight room in August,” said Bob Johnson, El Toro coach. “We said, ‘Welcome to El Toro.’ And we went to work.”

Anyone watching Diaz last Friday in Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium could see the results.

Diaz, The Times’ Player of the Week, led the Chargers to a 34-14 victory over Mission Viejo in a Southern Section Southern Conference semifinal game. He gained 255 yards in 28 carries and caught a 21-yard pass for a touchdown, one of four he scored.

El Toro will play Santa Ana Saturday night in LeBard Stadium for the Southern Conference championship.

Diaz, a 5-foot 11-inch, 175-pound senior, wasn’t always so comfortable in a Charger uniform.

“I remember the first time we played a scrimmage,” Diaz said. “It was our offense versus our defense. The guys were really big. I was thinking ‘wait a minute.’ ”

Any hesitation would seem justifiable. Twentynine Palms, a 1-A division school, had an enrollment last year of 777. El Toro has 2,579 students this year. Twentynine Palms was 4-6 last season; El Toro is 13-0. Twentynine Palms’ biggest player was a 6-foot 1-inch linebacker. El Toro, well . . .

“There’s no doubt he came into a bigger, more intense program,” Johnson said. “But he was smart. He got his feet wet slowly, so to speak. He could have been in awe immediately, but he gave himself time to adapt gradually. After that, he caught on to our program so fast. It’s neat to see.”

Diaz also seems to think so.

“I like it here a lot,” Diaz said. “I like the competitiveness and there’s a lot harder hitting. You don’t get pulled down, you get knocked down.”

But Diaz has found disadvantages in big-time football, as well.

“This is the longest season I’ve ever had,” he said. “It’s kind of dragging on. Not that I don’t like it, but (once the season ends) it’ll give me more time for school.”

El Toro High School

Position: tailback Height, Weight, Class: 5-11, 175, Sr. Last Week: In the Chargers’ 34-14 victory over Mission Viejo, Diaz rushed for 255 yards in 28 carries (9.1 yards per carry) and scored 3 touchdowns. Diaz scored a fourth touchdown on a 21-yard pass play. Season: Diaz has rushed for 1,385 yards in 168 carries (averaging 8.2 yards per carry) for 18 touchdowns. Diaz also has caught four touchdown passes.