Southern Section Football Championships : Paramount’s Reluctant Passer Earns Passing Grade in Final

Jack Manu never wanted to play quarterback. He says he doesn’t particularly like pressure situations. And he figures he’s a much better at running than passing.

So what was Manu, Paramount High School quarterback, doing Saturday night in the Southern Section Division III championship game in Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium?

Passing and running all over Los Alamitos in a 30-20 victory in front of 8,000.

Manu, a 6-foot, 190-pound junior, completed 9 of 10 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 84 yards in 20 carries. Not bad for a 17-year-old who only began playing quarterback 2 seasons ago.

“All through Pop Warner, I played every position but quarterback, but when I got to high school, the coaches turned me into a quarterback,” Manu said. “I’ve always thought my best position was linebacker.”

Manu looks like a linebacker. Manu lumbers along with the ball like a linebacker. When opponents hit Manu, he hits them back like a linebacker.

But he thinks like a quarterback. Manu was cool and confident against Los Alamitos, to the point of almost being cocky. He came into game feeling like a winner.

“Every game, we think we’re going to win, we feel like champions,” he said. “We think positive. The key is working together.

“It took almost the whole first quarter to get used to their defense, and then I think I took advantage of their defense with my speed.”

Paramount dominated play in the first half by playing ball-control football and Manu made most of the big plays. He scored both touchdowns, bulling into the end zone from 1 and 2 yards and also showed he’s not too shabby with a pass, completing all 6 of his first-half passes for 96 yards.

“I was surprised I threw so well . . . whatever I threw, I completed,” he said. “I’m usually better at running than I am at passing, but we caught them off guard with some passes.”

When Los Alamitos mounted a rally that tied the score, 14-14, with 8:47 remaining in the third quarter, it was Manu who moved Paramount back into the lead, 21-14.

Manu teamed with Clifford Parks on a 25-yard pass play, ran 10 yards and then threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Laauli Toomalatai as Paramount answered with a score only 1 1/2 minutes after Los Alamitos had tied the score.

Pressure? Manu said he would have preferred building a big lead against Los Alamitos and coasting to the championship.

“I don’t really like the pressure,” he said. “But the coaches have faith in me, and the players have faith in me, so I guess I’m the quarterback for the time being.”

Even if he isn’t much of a passer.