Last Chance to Have a Ball : Anhalt Set to Play Defense for Stanford After Stint at Tight End in Shrine Game

Two-way lineman Eric Anhalt spent the majority of his career at Royal High either trying to not-so-discreetly wrench the ball out of the hands of wily running backs or throwing blocks to spring them. So when Anhalt’s breakthrough finally came, and the ball was in his hands and an open field was in front of him, he had the style and flair of a running back down pat.

In his mind’s eye, Anhalt looked like an Eric of a different surname--a tailback in goggles named Dickerson.

“He had his knees up high and he was really moving,” said Tom West, the Royal coach at the time. “And he had some serious momentum going.”

To fully understand the meaning of momentum, as West intends it to be measured, perhaps it should be noted that Anhalt weighs 240 pounds and is 6 feet, 4 inches tall. Factor in the extraneous variables--such as the fact that Anhalt ran 56 yards for the touchdown and had plenty of time to build up a head of steam--and one gets the impression that if Anhalt had been on asphalt, he would have chipped off a few chunks.

“All I know is that it looked like the free safety had a chance to stop him,” West said, chuckling. “And he didn’t look real interested in doing it.”

Until the last four games of his senior season, defensive backs never had to worry about derailing Anhalt as he careened toward the end zone. Six games into the season, West moved Anhalt from tackle to tight end, giving the All-Coastal Conference and Times’ All-Valley nose guard a chance to take a few shots as well as deliver them.

And although Anhalt spent only half a season of his three-year Royal career playing tight end, that’s where he’ll start for the South in the Shrine All-Star Game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Rose Bowl.

“It’ll probably be the last time I get to touch the ball, so I’m making the most of it and having some fun,” Anhalt said. “When I get to college I’ll be playing D-line.”

Stanford, the university he will attend, was delighted to have him, even though Anhalt played on a team that finished 1-7-2. Had Royal not struggled, however, Anhalt might never have been given the opportunity to play tight end.

“We needed another offensive threat,” said West, who was dismissed after last season. “Eric was one of our most versatile guys, so we tried him at tight end.”

Anhalt delivered, catching 10 passes for 214 yards and four touchdowns, including the 56-yard romp in a 56-18 loss to Channel Islands. It was the longest scoring pass of the year for the Highlanders. Two other touchdown passes to Anhalt were negated by penalties.

“I talked to Coach West toward the end of the season and said, ‘Let’s see if we can make something happen,’ ” Anhalt said. And although the Highlanders’ highlight in the last four games was a 14-14 tie with Newbury Park, for Anhalt, things happened, indeed. Against Channel Islands, a Coastal Conference finalist, he caught four passes for 114 yards. “I know he would have had better numbers except that the last couple of games were real mud bowls,” West said.

Playing tight end is a nice change from the drudgery of nose guard, where every game is a mud bowl. When he lined up on the defensive side of the ball, being ganged up on by offensive linemen was not a rare occurrence for Anhalt. Groups of as many as three linemen used his chest as a blocking dummy, hoping to clear a path for a reticent running back.

Of course, not many teams ran in his direction.

“I’ll tell you what, if they did run up the middle, you can bet they had more than one guy on him,” West said. “Even on a play that ran outside they’d double-team him because he has such good lateral movement. Teams were very aware of his presence.”

Anhalt led Royal with 119 tackes--averaging nearly 12 a game--and was named the team’s defensive MVP. The nose guard also displayed a nose for the ball, recovering four fumbles, causing four more and intercepting a pass.

“Maybe that’s why they moved me to tight end,” Anhalt joked. “I was around the ball so much anyway.”

Pat Ledesma, Royal’s quarterback, believes that Stanford shouldn’t give up too soon on using Anhalt as a receiver.

“I liked him at tight end,” Ledesma said. “Realistically, he’s a tight-end-sized person and he’s pretty fast for a guy that size.”

Last season, Anhalt was timed in 4.9 seconds at 40 yards, fair speed for a player of his dimensions. But then, Anhalt insists he isn’t what many consider to be a typical lineman.

Many fans believe a lineman’s characteristics are something like this: big, dumb and shaves knuckles twice weekly.

“I’ve been fighting stereotypes all my life,” Anhalt said. “People think what they want to think, but I’ve met some people here that are plenty big and pretty intelligent.”

Anhalt said he selected Stanford--after also visiting Hawaii, Cal, Colorado and Oregon--as much for the academic program as for athletics. He graduated with a 3.5 grade-point average.

“He’s one of those unique kids with intellect and athletic ability,” West said. “He exudes success, he projects a positive image, he’s always had a positive sense of direction, he’s mature beyond his years. . . He’s one of those guys that those who are a little less fortunate hold in a little bit of disdain. All that and he doesn’t have an exaggerated opinion of himself.”

South co-Coach Bob Richards of Thousand Oaks said Anhalt has acumen that can’t be taught in the classroom.

“Some players are smart out of the textbook but not on the field,” Richards said. “He’s played in the offensive line, but he’s done a good job of getting used to catching the ball, making the adjustments to run routes and reading defenses.”

Which brings us back to Anhalt and his read of the Channel Islands’ safety on the touchdown jaunt. One look in the safety’s eyes was all the new tight end needed to realize he had it made--there would be no halting Anhalt.

“I saw the guy at around the 10-yard line,” Anhalt said, “and there’s no doubt he could have caught me. I didn’t argue, I just saw the goal posts and the goal line. I was in overdrive.”