HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : RBV Stays in Great Shape by Running

It was dark, lonely and about 2 a.m. Sunday when Carl Parrick, Southwest High School’s football coach, finally found the key to stopping the Rancho Buena Vista backfield.

The previous night, Parrick’s team had become another ruin along RBV’s road to a possible San Diego Section 3-A championship. So there he was, sitting in front of a television, eyes glazed over, watching the films from the Longhorns’ 48-21 victory.

Zoom. There went standout running back Markeith Ross.

Zip. There went standout running back O.J. Hall.

Pow. James Lewis was laying out a Southwest player with a crunching block.

And there was quarterback David Roberts, calmly directing it all.

Finally, Parrick figured out the only way to put a stop to it. He reached out, picked up the remote control . . . and pushed the pause key.

“I knew they were good, but I wasn’t paying that much attention to them during the game,” Parrick said. “I was busy getting my offense ready to go back on the field. But it was third-and-six or third-and-nine or whatever, and next thing you know, they’re gone.”

Parrick is no rookie. He has been a football coach for 15 years, a head coach for nine.

“They’re the best offensive team I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Not only do they have the two best running backs we’ve ever faced, but they are exceptionally well-coached. I was talking to our defensive coach before the game, and we figured if we could hold them to four touchdowns, we could score five.”

Hold them to four touchdowns. Uh-huh.

The Longhorns’ lowest single-game output this season was 34 points, against both Vista and Poway. They averaged 44.6 points a game during the regular season, first in the county. OK, their record is 9-3. But two of those losses were forfeits after it was discovered that they unknowingly used an ineligible player. The other was a 42-35 victory by Point Loma, the team they get another crack at Friday in the section semifinals.

RBV has won 26 of its past 27 games on the field, dating back to 1987.

The funny thing is, after RBV eased to the section 2-A championship last year, coaches looked forward to this season’s move up to 3-A. Hee hee, they chuckled. Let’s see if the ol’ Longhorns can be as dominating playing large schools week after week.

Well, they could, thanks in large part to their unstoppable offense.

Mark Tennis of Cal-Hi Sports has said Ross, Hall, Lewis and Roberts make up the best backfield he has seen this year. Point Loma Coach Bennie Edens, who has been coaching since the 1950s, said they are the best backfield he has seen in at least 10 years--maybe longer.

“I haven’t seen any attack that can compare with them in the last 10 years,” Edens said. “It’s hard to compare past then because you get into vague memories.”

Said Parrick: “I know there’s been a lot of great back tandems in the county, but nobody I’ve ever played has had anybody as good as those guys. We have a great defense, and for a team like that to do that to us . . . “

Southwest’s defense finished the season ranked seventh in the county, allowing 9.3 points a game. Ross ran for 182 yards against it, Hall 108.

“Their backfield is very well-balanced,” Edens said. “Hall runs the ball excellently. Ross is a long-ball hitter. (Lewis) is more than adequate--you can’t say he can’t run, because he can. And he blocks well. And their quarterback runs the option bootleg pretty well.”

Ross, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior, is the youngster of the group. Hall (5-11, 185), Lewis (5-11, 180) and Roberts (5-9, 175) are seniors.

Ross, Hall and Lewis line up in the backfield at the same time--Ross as the tailback, Hall as the fullback and Lewis as the slotback. RBV Coach Craig Bell employs an unbalanced line and a lot of misdirection. From left to right, the RBV offensive line is tight end Shannon Levings (6-0, 190), guard Don Aliipule (6-0, 240), center Owen Gonder (5-10, 185), right guard Mark Gasio (6-0, 185), tackles Jonathon Vaeena (6-0, 185) or Brian Flanagan (6-1, 200) and George Zavala (6-2, 240). The split end is Art Serrano (5-11, 180).

According to Roberts, one of the keys to getting things rolling is to open the “No. 1” hole for Ross. In Longhorn-ese, that means getting Ross free on sweeps. Once that’s accomplished, they pound away inside to get Hall some yards up the middle.

“We sweep to the outside to try to spread the defense out,” Roberts said. “It makes it a lot easier then. It’s hard for defenses to key on four guys who can run the ball.

Take it from the opposing defenses.

“I remember after the San Dieguito game, one of the guys in their secondary told me I’d beat a plane to its destination,” Hall said. “Then, the next day I was taking the SAT and another San Dieguito player complimented me on how fast our backfield is. He said that once they realized what was going on, most of the time it was too late.”

Hall moved into first in all-time section rushing this season and currently has 4,073 yards.

“He is the team leader,” Bell said. “He has made the biggest contribution of all to the team. He and David Roberts aren’t measured in statistics.”

One way to measure Hall is in how many steps it takes him to crank up to full speed. You don’t have to count very high.

“He’s at full speed in one step,” Bell said.

Hall’s favorite player is Jim Brown. O.J.? Stands for Orthro James.

“I look up to O.J.” Ross said. “ He’s an elusive back. I’ve seen him slip so many tackles, it boggles me. And he hits the hole so fast. He bugs me because I can’t do it.”

That’s not what Parrick remembers from last Saturday.

“I remember (Ross) being bottled up and thinking we’re going to stop him, and 20 yards later, he was still going,” Parrick said. “He went into holes extremely quick.”

Ross is the type of running back who dishes out as much as he takes. He lowers his shoulder and delivers as many punishing hits as he gets.

“And he has the ability to go sideways as fast as forward,” Bell said.

Ross’ 77-yard touchdown run in the playoff opener against Patrick Henry two weeks ago is what stands out most for Hall this season. It came toward the end of the first half and brought RBV to within four, 21-17. RBV ended up winning, 51-27.

“It was spectacular--probably one of the best runs I’ve seen all season,” Hall said. “He broke a couple of tackles, and sheer determination got him to the end zone.”

Ross gained 1,341 yards despite playing only nine games--he was suspended for disciplinary reasons for the season finale. But Bell said what stands out in his mind most about Ross is that he hasn’t let his accomplishments during his junior season go to his head.

“He’s the same today as when the season started,” Bell said.

While Hall and Ross have had more than their share of success, Lewis has been quietly blocking in the backfield.

“I don’t really mind as long as it helps the team, “ Lewis said. “It feels as good to make a block that springs somebody as it does to run myself.”

On most teams, Lewis would probably be a star. He has gained 350 yards in 37 carries--a 9.4-yard average.

“He gets the least amount of credit but contributes just as much,” Bell said. “He’s a tremendous blocker. He knows the team is better off with him blocking. For a lot of people, there would be sour grapes.”

Roberts is another guy who quietly labors in the RBV backfield. The running attack is good enough that the Longhorns rarely pass; they went two games without throwing one. But that doesn’t mean that Roberts can’t pass. He has completed 22 of 30 for 703 yards--32 yards per completion.

But in this offense, his leadership abilities are more important than his passing.

“It’s like having a coach out on the field,” Bell said. “He has great leadership ability, tremendous poise, and he gets the job done. He’s an excellent thrower and runner.”

This season may be even sweeter for Roberts than for his partners in the backfield because he sat out last season with a knee injury.

Hall, Ross, Lewis and Roberts are inseparable off the field as well as on. They are good friends, often hanging out at each other’s houses on weekends and renting movies.

A favorite this year is “I’m Gonna Get You, Sucka.” That’s the movie, not some kind of theme for the RBV offense.