CENTRAL CONFEREMCE : Jenkins, Valencia Seniors Have Something to Prove

Fred Jenkins remembers his first football game at Valencia High School. In fact, he can recall the first four.

Not the details, mind you, just the results.

“We lost our first four games as freshmen,” said Jenkins, who starts at center and defensive tackle. “Everybody was saying that it was going to be a rebuilding year for Valencia when we were seniors.”

Some rebuilding year.

Jenkins and 15 other players from that lightly regarded freshman team are one victory away from the Central Conference championship. It’s a goal few thought possible four years ago.

Although they finished strong as freshmen, with a 3-1-1 record in the Orange League, it was not what you would call a team that inspired confidence. Even varsity coach Mike Marrujo had some doubts.

“I remember that year we were going to have them scrimmage the junior varsity one day and only eight freshmen showed up,” he said. “It’s kind of funny how it’s turned out. The players that are left from that team hung in there. It’s really a tribute to them.”

Thoughts of that freshman season have come back to Jenkins, as he prepares to play his last game. It has become a point of honor for him and the rest of the seniors.

Though others may have doubted, they knew their worth all along.

“It’s a matter of pride for us,” Jenkins said. “Nobody expected us to get this far. We’ve just had to work harder to prove them wrong.”

It’s even more important now for Jenkins, who is a three-year letterman.

His sophomore season, Valencia was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Saddleback. Last season, the Tigers reached the final, only to lose to Bolsa Grande--a team they had beaten handily during the regular season.

Jenkins has a sense of urgency about Saturday night’s title game against Anaheim. It’s his last chance.

“It’s been frustrating when we lost in the playoffs before, but I knew I still had other chances,” he said. “But, this is it. Being a senior gives you a greater need for the title. You’ll never have the chance again.”

Though not physically intimidating at 5-feet 11-inches and 186 pounds, Jenkins has been an important part of Valencia’s teams for three years.

As a sophomore, he was a jack-of-all-positions. Whenever there was a opening in the starting lineup, Jenkins was asked to fill in.

“He played everything for us,” Marrujo said. “One week it was tackle, then center. And when we lost Robert Rangel for a game, Fred played linebacker. He could adapt to any position and that made him valuable.”

The fact that he was the only returning starter from last year’s offensive line, increased his value.

Going into the season, Marrujo was a bit worried about the line’s inexperience.

“A bit worried doesn’t really describe it,” he said. “It was a gigantic concern.”

But with Jenkins, he had a starting place.

“Fred was someone I knew we could count on,” Marrujo said. “He’s so intelligent that he calls the blocking signals for us.”

Jenkins became the starting center as a junior and added defensive tackle to the list this season. His ability to move bigger defensive players as he pleases earned him respect and two all-Orange League selections.

“I’ve learned you have to work hard to be successful,” said Jenkins, who has a 4.0 grade-point average. “I don’t approach anything with a half-hearted attitude, whether it’s football or studying.”

Jenkins grew up in Texas, where it’s said there are two sports--football and spring football. So, it was never a question of whether he would play football, but when.

He first experience with tackle football was in the seventh grade, but his family moved to California after the season.

“The big goal when you’re growing up is to play football in the seventh grade,” Jenkins said. “That’s what kids look forward to in Texas.”

When Jenkins’ father was transferred to Los Angeles, his family moved to Placentia.

Attitudes in Orange County were different from those in Texas--except when it came to football.

“Football is stressed just as much out here as in Texas, especially in Orange County,” Jenkins said. “You don’t play tackle football in junior high here, but when you get into high school, it becomes real important.”

However, unlike Texas, other sports are stressed at Valencia.

Wrestling, for instance.

Jenkins was never particularly interested in wrestling before. He said, “In Texas, wrestling is trying to knock the other guy off-balance.” But at Valencia, Jenkins fell in love with the sport.

As a junior, he was Master’s champion in the 178-pound class and hopes to win the state title this season. To help attain that goal, Jenkins went to two camps in Iowa last summer.

“I was just looking for an off-season sport, something that would be fun and keep me in shape for football,” he said. “But now it’s something I would like to continue in college.”

Marrujo encourages his players to wrestle, as he feels, at the very least, it can build their confidence.

“You’re out there one-on-one in front of everybody,” he said. “Either you do it or don’t. That can only help you in a football situation.”

Jenkins has received more than confidence from wrestling. The techniques he has learned from wrestling have also made him a better football player.

He no longer tries to overpower opposing players. Instead, he uses their weight in his favor.

“It’s better to use speed and quickness, instead of strength and brutality,” Jenkins said. “We’re not a very big offensive line, but we have great technique.”

And something to prove.