Kennedy Has Unlikely Hero in Tarlton

Glenn Tarlton was an unlikely hero for an unlikely championship team Saturday afternoon in the Sports Arena.

That he was even playing for Kennedy High School in the Southern Section’s 3-A Division championship game was, at one point in late December, as unlikely as the Fighting Irish’s appearance in the title game.

One December day, Tarlton, a 6-foot 2-inch senior reserve forward, went to his grandmother’s home in Compton for his nephew’s birthday party. As he got out of the car in front of the house, gunfire erupted from a car passing in the street.

Tarlton and a woman who lives next door to his grandmother were both struck in the leg.

The bullet entered his right thigh, struck a muscle and was deflected back out of his leg. There is a purplish, three-inch-long scar on his thigh that is just barely covered by his basketball shorts.

Tarlton said the doctors told him it was probably only a small-caliber handgun. Had it been higher, the wound would have been more severe.

The police told him it was just a random, drive-by shooting.

“You could see it (right after he was shot) where the bullet went in and where it came out,” Kennedy Coach John Mayberry said.

Tarlton missed only two games, though, and returned to action in January with a heavy bandage protecting the wound.

“I couldn’t move my leg because my muscle was so swollen,” Tarlton said.

His return helped Kennedy, which struggled to a 3-6 record in its nonleague schedule. He helped the Fighting Irish win the Garden Grove League championship.

But his return was made complete with a game-high 15-point performance Saturday, leading Kennedy to a 58-54 overtime victory over Tustin.

He was 7 of 9 from the field and grabbed four rebounds, but most important was the spark he gave Kennedy early in the second quarter.

He made a short bank shot, followed up teammate Michael Keith’s miss for another basket, and made a free throw in the span of two minutes as Kennedy took a 30-25 halftime lead.

Tarlton, who was 3 for 3 from the field in the first half, was just what Kennedy need to overcome some first-quarter jitters. The Fighting Irish went almost five minutes before scoring and fell behind, 4-0. They took the lead just before the end of the quarter and never trailed thereafter.

“They (his teammates) call me the boost man,” Tarlton said. “I come out as the sixth man and if they need boosting up, I give it.”

He was there in the second half when Kennedy led by as many as 11 points and threatened to run away from the Tillers.

His driving glides to the basket came with such swiftness that the Tustin defenders could not react in time to stop him. When the Tustin players did get close, Tarlton used his size and strength to score.

Tarlton’s steal and layup gave Kennedy a 38-30 lead midway through the third quarter.

With 35 seconds left in the quarter, he took a pass from Keith and hit a layup to give the Fighting Irish a 42-35 advantage.

In the fourth quarter, he scored on a fast-break pass from Wendell Lauderdale to make it 50-39.

Though Tustin got back into the game and sent it into overtime on a 22-foot three-point shot by Brad Cantrell with two seconds left, Kennedy benefited greatly by Tarlton’s play.

“The last two games, he’s just been awesome,” Mayberry said. “Sometimes his emotions get ahead of himself, but not today.”

Said Tarlton: “I just wanted the ball all the time. I feel great.

“Three years ago, the (current) seniors talked about going all the way. I wasn’t into it that much. But we played wonderfully this summer and Michael Keith said we’re going all the way.”

And Saturday, thanks to Tarlton, Kennedy did.