Orange County All-Star Football Game : La Habra’s Capps Doesn’t Let Size Limit Him

Kevin Capps, a two-time All-Orange County linebacker at La Habra High School, once was described by one of his coaches as “a Division I player trapped in a Pop Warner body.”

Capps, who is 5-feet 7-inches tall and weighs 175 pounds, often is dwarfed by his teammates and opponents on a football field. He easily could be mistaken for the ball boy if he weren’t wearing a uniform.

But there’s no mistaking Capps’ ability or aggressiveness. He doesn’t play, he attacks. He knows only one speed--full blast--and he earned a reputation as one of the hardest hitters in the Freeway League over the past three years.

In a game in which size often dictates success, tall isn’t all for Kevin Capps, who is in the North camp as it prepares for the 23rd Orange County All-Star football game on Friday night in Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.

“I’m always thinking what it would be like to be 6-2 or 6-3,” Capps said. “If I had one wish, it would be to be 6-2. But if I was that tall, I’d probably be a wimp.”

Bob Rau, a former La Habra coach now at Canyon, likes to tell a story about Capps sizing up a huge Troy team last fall during game films. Rau went on and on about the size of Troy’s linemen and told his players that the school campus would tilt when Troy took the field.

Midway through the film, Capps got excited and started jumping up and down.

“Look how much of that guy there is to hit,” he shouted. “I can’t miss him.”

Capps usually lines up about six yards from the ball to get more speed and then challenges anyone when he reaches the line of scrimmage. His forte is blitzing and hitting.

Despite his lack of size, he twice was named La Habra’s hitter of the year. Last fall, Capps was named the team’s most valuable player but said the hitter award meant more to him.

“I would have been upset if I didn’t get the hitter award,” he said.

Capps made his debut at linebacker in the fourth game of his sophomore season after starter Gavin Long injured a knee. For the next three years, La Habra lost only one league game on the football field.

“Kevin replaced Long and never saw the bench again,” Rau said. “For the next three years, our teams reflected his personality. Kevin is so positive, it’s contagious. He loves to practice and he loves to play.

“He was one of the top two or three kids I coached at La Habra. He makes the most of some great instincts on the field and will never quit. I don’t think it was a coincidence that we won two games in the fourth quarter by coming back to score three touchdowns with Kevin in the lineup.”

Capps has a simple philosophy when it comes to playing football. He tries to enjoy every moment that he’s on the field.

“I try to have a lot of fun out there,” he said. “If you take the game too seriously, it can get to you. You’re going to win some, and you’re going to lose some. You might as well have fun.”

Capps did experience two big setbacks at La Habra last fall. First, the Highlanders had to forfeit four victories, including two league wins, when it was ruled that they had used an ineligible player.

The ruling ended La Habra’s drive for its fifth consecutive Freeway League title. Three weeks later, La Habra finished in a three-way tie for second place in the six-team league with Fullerton and Troy.

A coin flip was used to break the tie and determine which two of the three teams would advance to the Central Conference playoffs. La Habra lost the coin flip, and its season was over.

“That was the best team I played on in three years at La Habra, and we never went to the playoffs,” Capps said.

“The day the coaches told us we had to forfeit four games, we went out and had our best practice of the year. We knew if we won our last three games, we had a shot at the playoffs. I put on my helmet and said, ‘Let’s go practice.’ ”

The Highlanders did win the three games but ended up sitting out the playoffs anyway.

Practice for Capps is often a nightmare for his teammates. He goes full speed on every play, and his work ethic can sometimes backfire on him.

Capps suffered a mild concussion during practice last week when he hit Anaheim running back Joaquin Garcia in the hip attempting to make a tackle. El Dorado Coach Carl Sweet, the North coach, ordered Capps to sit out practice the next day as a precautionary measure.

Capps earned the reputation as a hitter beginning in the La Mirada Junior All-American program, in which he played with North teammates Linton Weatherspoon and Matt Shackelford. He plans to continue his career at Fullerton College.

“I guess some people think I’m crazy,” Capps said. “You gotta be crazy when you’re my size.”