SOUTH GATE’S FINEST : Wilson, an Attention-Getter for Rams, Has Prep Fans Sitting Up, Taking Notice

Ivan Wilson has grown accustomed to the attention he gets as a football player for South Gate High School.

The 17-year old senior tailback is used to having all eyes focused on him once he puts on his red and white Ram uniform. He knows that he will always stand out among his teammates.

Wilson is the only black player on a predominantly Latino team that currently holds the longest winning streak in Southern California. Last season, as City 3-A Division player of the year, he rushed for 1,948 yards and scored 22 touchdowns in leading the Rams to a City championship, its first since 1955, with a 14-0 record.

As the victories started to mount, the South Gate community caught Ram fever and Wilson became the team’s marquee attraction.

Heading into this season, Wilson knew that he would be a marked man by his opponents. He knew that he would have the added pressure of carrying an inexperienced team, one that had only six starters back.

This season, South Gate is 2-0 and Wilson has played a key role. Facing defenses specially designed to stop him, he has scored four touchdowns, including the one in South Gate’s 7-6 win over Garfield last Friday night at East Los Angeles College.

At 5-feet-11 and 185 pounds, Wilson has gained 20 pounds since last season’s City title game. The added weight gives him more power to go with his elusive moves. Against Garfield, he repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet with twisting spins and darts between and around would-be tacklers.

“Ivan is just fun to watch,” South Gate Coach Gary Cordray said. “He has a natural ability to make people miss and to avoid taking a direct hit. He is the type of player whose strength is his desire to win, who wants the ball down the stretch.”

Wilson says that he has tried to blend many running styles into one.

“I feel that I am a mixture of many great running backs,” he said. “I have tried to gain things from watching great backs like Walter Payton, Bo Jackson, Herschel Walker and Eric Dickerson.”

College scouts have taken notice of Wilson’s talents, and USC, Nebraska, Washington and UCLA are among the many schools that have contacted him.

Wilson says that he has not given much thought to which college he will attend but he has already taken the Scholastic Aptitude Test once and is enrolled in college preparatory courses at South Gate.

“He is a very basic, average student, but he has prepared himself well and should do fine when he gets to college,” Cordray said.

Growing up as the third-oldest son in a six-boy family, Wilson has always been noted for his athletic talents. Wilson at first was known for his basketball skills, but as a sophomore at South Gate, his attention shifted to football.

“Ivan started playing sports when he was 7 or 8 at South Gate Park,” Wilson’s mother, Elizabeth, said. “He was outstanding in all sports, but basketball was his main one. However, I am not surprised that he has been so successful in football because he has always had his mind set on being a success in whatever sport he chose.”

The attention seemingly has not affected Wilson off the field. He still likes to spend most of his free time at home and says he usually is in bed before 10 p.m.

“I have always been kind of a quiet person who doesn’t go out a lot,” Wilson said. “You can usually find me at home after practice every night.”

His silent leadership has made Wilson popular among his South Gate teammates. In a school that has less than a 3% black population, he was selected team captain before this season. “Ivan is not a talker, but I wanted him to be the team captain because he leads by example,” Cordray said. “He is a laid-back, down-to-earth type of guy who is loved and respected by his teammates. To them, there is no color barrier, he is just one of the guys. Around school, he is not labeled as ‘There goes the black football player.’ He just is plain Ivan Wilson, the person.”

Wilson has given South Gate wider exposure, having made several national preseason All-American teams and many recruiting lists.

And the community has readily responded to the team’s latest success. Last season, the South Gate Chamber of Commerce asked the team to be in its Christmas Parade and when it was discovered that the team was too large for one float, the fire department came through with a fire truck.

“In the last two years, Ivan has helped give South Gate a name with his running ability,” Cordray said. “South Gate as a school has gone through some changes in recent years and now everyone seems to have come together. We have a local cable talk show, featuring me and the team. It has become so popular that we now have sponsors (trying) to get involved.”

Despite the fanfare, Wilson is modest about the role he plays at South Gate.

“I have always just tried to be successful on the field and to have fun,” he said. “It is the school and not me. If I did not have an O-line (offensive line) I would not have done anything. I never look at it as if I am the team.”

Wilson may shy away from talking about his importance to South Gate, but he does have confidence in his ability.

“Not to sound conceited, but I do feel that I am the best back in the City,” he said. “I know that there are other good backs out there, but I feel that I am the best.”

Cordray, whose team will play a home game against Los Angeles Jordan tonight, says that quality puts Wilson above the rest.

“He knows in his mind what he wants to do and he usually does it,” Cordray said. “The other players on the team know that he is the best player and that they ride on the glory he gets. Ivan makes them feel that, when he is all-state, everyone is all-state.”