The High Schools : Notre Dame Tailback Nurses Football With Only a Minor Miscue

Setefano Malieitulua is not quite ready for that after-school job at the nursery, but he is improving.

You see, to the Notre Dame High junior, carrying the football is tantamount to toting a tyke. Both are precious. Dropping either could have dire consequences.

“If you drop the ball, people are going to start looking down on you,” he said. “Like if you drop a baby, people think you don’t care.”

Malieitulua, normally a fullback, obviously cared Friday when he filled in for injured tailback Errol Small. Although he fumbled the ball away once, Malieitulua gained 144 yards in 20 carries, caught three passes for 44, and scored twice in a 33-6 win over St. Anthony.

“I felt kind of nervous because I have more responsibility, a lot to remember and I’m getting the ball twice as much,” he said. “After the first series I felt comfortable, and all I was worried about was holding onto the ball, following my blocks and running as hard as I can.”

And running as hard as Small.

“During school, most of the coaches told me I had to squeeze the ball,” Malieitulua said. “They all told me this is my time. I had to show them that I am also from Notre Dame, that there isn’t just one person to look for.”

Wish you were here: Four of the Valley’s top running backs were sidelined because of injuries Friday. Michael Jones of Montclair Prep was out with a bruised knee and Notre Dame’s Small with a deep thigh bruise. Ontiwaun Carter of Kennedy played for one quarter but also left with a thigh bruise. Mike Lindsay of Thousand Oaks had swelling in his knee. All are expected to return next week.

Jones, Small, and Carter represent a combined 1,874 yards and 23 touchdowns this season. Lindsay, who gained 1,046 yards last year, has gained 111 yards in 22 carries in two games this season after undergoing knee surgery in the summer.

Irresistible force: Defensive players looking to separate Sylmar running back Jerome Casey from his faculties had better think twice.

Just ask Jerome, who says that he has yet to wince from a big hit. And the T-shirt he earned for bench-pressing 425 pounds serves as a reminder that he can handle the surliest of smart-talking defenders.

Reasoned Casey: “Why worry about what he says? I know what I can do to him . . . They say, ‘Take that,’ and ‘You ain’t anything,’ and all that crap. But I don’t let that stuff get to me. I just laugh it off and come back and punish him. Leave him something to think about next time.

“Nobody can stop me.”

Birmingham defenders certainly couldn’t Friday. Casey (6 feet, 185 pounds) rushed for 218 yards in 17 carries, caught two passes for 75 yards, and scored twice in Sylmar’s 27-3 win.

“He’s got a body of a 24-year-old guy,” Sylmar Coach Jeff Engilman said. “It’s etched. He’s a cut above, a phenomenal person. He’s a man.”

Braves Coach Chick Epstein was more impressed with Casey’s mobility than with his muscle.

“Get him outside and he’s gone,” he said. “We don’t have any speed to even come near that.”

Split personality: After each of his magnificent runs--and there were many Friday against St. Genevieve--Derek Sparks was greeted with congratulatory helmet slaps and a chant of “USC! USC!” from teammates.

Sparks, normally the fullback, played tailback because of Jones’ injury. He carried the ball just 11 times against the Valiants but gained 215 yards and scored six touchdowns in the 55-14 win.

Sparks, a junior, says that he would relish a chance to play for the Trojans. Still, he diplomatically sidesteps the question of where his loyalty lies.

“I really like USC,” he said. “But I like the Bruins, too. Hey, UCLA--that’s me.”

Nice juke, Derek.

Think big: Having the entire Montclair Prep defensive unit run through an interception drill in pregame warm-ups is somewhat like practicing an acceptance speech before an award is given.

The Mounties did perform the not-too-confidential exercise in confidence before playing St. Genevieve, however.

“I don’t think it’s being cocky. I think when you come out and know that this is going to happen, it makes it that much better,” said Sparks, who was lofted a pass in the drill and returned it behind a wedge of teammates for a would-be score.

Sparks was right. The Mounties picked off four St. Genevieve passes and had returns totaling 80 yards.

Saturday morning referee: Canyon quarterback Tim Beidle attempted to throw downfield with 30 seconds to play in the first half Friday night but the ball was deflected back to him without touching the ground by a Mission Viejo defender. Beidle then threw a second pass to a streaking Clint Beauer who caught the ball for a 50-yard score.

Was it a touchdown or an illegal forward pass? You make the call.

Although throwing two forward passes on one play is illegal in college and professional football, it is legal in a high school game, according to National Federation rules. The play was correctly ruled a touchdown.

Interestingly, because of a new rule, a defender could not have been called for pass interference against Beauer on the second pass.

“We were all just sort of amazed,” Beauer said of the play. “I just shot deep and he got the ball there. It was a weird thing. (Mission Viejo was) mad and I just looked at them and said, ‘Hey, that stuff happens.’ I was laughing.”

Sticky fingers: On his first reception of the game, Beauer broke Canyon’s all-time reception yardage record set by Chad Zeigler (1,486 yards) in 1986.

Beauer, who caught five passes for 83 yards against Mission Viejo, has 98 receptions for 1,575 yards.

“It’s something that you always think about when you’re a little kid,” Beauer said of the record. “As soon as I caught the (first pass) I pretty much knew. Then, I heard the loudspeaker. It went in one ear and out the other, and from there I just played.”