Brian Remmel:in Right Place at Right Time

Orange High School tailback Brian Remmel has learned that it pays to be patient.

When the season started, Remmel, a junior, was the Panthers’ fullback and blocked for tailback Acen Childs. Childs, also a junior, broke his ankle in the third game of the season, and Remmel took over.

Remmel wasn’t an instant success, however. Orange Coach Tom Meiss said Remmel wasn’t waiting for blocks to be thrown and holes to be opened.

“I had to learn how to slow down and let things develop,” Remmel said.

It wasn’t that Remmel wasn’t an effective running back for the Panthers. He gained 910 yards in the regular season despite not carrying the ball much in the first three games.

But last Friday in the semifinals of the Division VIII playoffs, Remmel, The Times’ Athlete of the Week, broke through with his best performance of the season. He scored the Panthers’ first three touchdowns on runs of 78, one and 94 yards.

After six carries, he had gained 100 yards. After two quarters, he had 220 yards, about 60 yards better than his best performance of the season.

Remmel finished with 282 yards in 25 carries, and the Panthers beat Agoura, 35-22, to advance to the championship game against Trabuco Hills Friday.

That Remmel has become a breakaway threat is a pleasant surprise to his coaches, who have tried to get the power-running tailback to go around tacklers instead of through them.

Meiss said Remmel has become quicker as the season has progressed and has run especially well in the playoffs.

Now that Remmel has seemingly blossomed, the player he replaced, Childs, has been cleared to practice with the team this week. Meiss said depending on how Childs does in practice, the two backs might alternate against Trabuco Hills.

Remmel said he will abide by Meiss’ decision, even if it means less playing time. Remmel is more concerned with avenging the Panthers’ 20-7 loss to the Mustangs in the last game of the regular season.

“It’s not very often you get a second chance at somebody who took something away from you,” Remmel said. “We plan on taking advantage of it.”

TOP PERFORMERS

Mark Gonzales, a La Habra High cross-country runner, placed 11th overall at the Kinney Western Regional Cross-Country Championship in Fresno Saturday, running the 5,000-meter course in 15 minutes 19 seconds.

Brian Higgins, Edison tight end, caught eight passes for 106 yards in a 48-35 loss to Fontana in a Division I semifinal Friday. Higgins’ receptions gave him 63 for the season, breaking the school’s single-season record of 58 set in 1985 by Rick Justice.

Danny Maestas of El Toro scored on a four-yard run in overtime and intercepted a pass on the final play of the game as the Chargers defeated Mission Viejo, 28-21, in the Division III semifinals Friday.

Ben Rooker of Trabuco Hills gained 200 yards in 23 carries in the Mustangs’ 48-21 victory over Santa Clara in a Division XIII semifinal game Friday. His 80-yard touchdown run broke a third-quarter tie.

Brian Remmel

Orange High School

Position: Tailback

Height, Weight, Class: 5-11, 180, Junior

Last Week: Remmel rushed for 282 yards in 25 carries and scored the Panthers’ first three touchdowns in a victory over Agoura Friday.

Season: Remmel has gained 1,323 in 265 carries.