Brion Plays From Both Sides Now for Capistrano Valley

If Jeremy Brion of Capistrano Valley High School could turn himself into two players, his life on the football field would be a lot easier.

Talk about split personalities. There’s Brion the two-time all-league free safety, who aggressively pursues any would-be receiver. Then, there’s Brion the aspiring running back, who is learning how to read his blockers and follow them.

“It gets confusing sometimes,” Brion said. “It felt weird going both ways in our first game in Hawaii. Usually, you get some time to come off the field and rest. I could have used some rest in Hawaii.”

Temperatures reached 107 degrees on the artificial surface at Aloha Stadium when Capistrano Valley took the field last week to play Honolulu Damien. Brion made his debut at tailback, gaining 58 yards in 10 carries and scoring a touchdown.

Defensively, Brion put some heat on Damien, intercepting three passes and nearly picking off a fourth as Capistrano Valley limited Damien to 80 yards passing in a 29-15 victory.

“I could feel the heat coming up through my shoes,” Brion said. “I came off the field twice in the first half, and the trainers were throwing water on me. They iced my back at halftime, and I felt a lot stronger in the second half.

“I felt comfortable playing tailback, but I know it’s going to take some time before I become a consistently good runner. Playing defense comes natural to me. Now, I look at playing tailback as a new challenge.”

Brion requested, actually demanded, the challenge. For two years, he pestered Ray Panici, Capistrano Valley’s offensive coordinator, to play tailback.

“I begged to go in every game last year,” he said.

But Panici allowed him to carry only once in the season opener, and when Brion lost five yards on the carry, he didn’t get another chance until Capistrano Valley’s first playoff game 10 weeks later.

“I finished with plus yardage after the playoff game, so I got the coaches off my back,” he said. “They gave me a hard time all year about that five-yard loss.”

Panici said Brion had figured in the staff’s plans as a running back as a sophomore, but teammate Chris Adams burst upon the scene with a 180-yard performance against El Toro to earn the starting position in 1988.

“I don’t think Jeremy carried the ball more than five minutes a week last year,” Panici said. “We had Paul Shaheen and Chris Adams, so we never got to see him carry the ball.”

Shaheen, an all-league running back, graduated in June, and Brion had joined Adams in the backfield during spring drills. When Adams suffered a bruised vertebra in his lower back during two-a-day drills, Brion began double duty as the team’s free safety and tailback.

“He’s got to learn to read his blockers better, but everyone was pleased with his first game,” Panici said. “Jeremy’s speed tends to make up for his mistakes. You don’t see many guys his size with his speed.”

Brion, 6 feet 2, 200 pounds, consistently runs a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. He was a member of the school’s league championship 400-meter relay team and usually runs 100 meters in 11.0 seconds.

Brion is projected to play strong safety in college, but says he enjoys the freedom of playing free safety at Capistrano Valley. He has intercepted 11 passes in three years and will lead the host Cougars against Mater Dei at 7:30 tonight.

“He has great range in the secondary, which is just another way for saying he’s fast,” Coach Eric Patton said. “He anticipates very well and is one of the best tacklers we’ve had at the school. He gets great leg drive on tackles, so you’ll seldom see anyone break a tackle against him.”

Now that Brion has gotten his way with the offensive coaches, he’s working on defensive coordinator Joe Wood to add a new dimension to his play in the secondary. Brion is hoping to move up to the line of scrimmage more this season.

“I give a lot of run defense support, but now I’d like to blitz a little more,” he said. “Hitting is the most fun part of the game. I’m definitely more aggressive when I’m playing in the secondary.

“We use so many different defensive coverages that it never gets boring. I usually cover the weak side, but I also get a lot of tackles on run support.”

Brion was the team’s second leading tackler as a sophomore but concentrated more on pass coverage last year because the Cougars had a stronger defense. Capistrano Valley finished as the top-ranked team in Orange County, and Brion said it was a season he will never forget.

“The highlight of my career was beating El Toro,” he said. “We didn’t get much respect last year, and I think that inspired us going into the season. We were only picked to finish third in our league, and we ended up No. 1 in the county.”

Capistrano Valley won 12 consecutive games before losing to Paramount, 36-35, in overtime in the Division III semifinals. The defeat wasn’t forgotten easily.

“It was a shock,” Brion said. “We went ahead in overtime, and then they scored. I assumed they were going to kick an extra point, and then we’d start another overtime. But they surprised us going for two.

“It took a while to get over that loss. I’m sure most of this year’s seniors won’t forget that loss.”

Capistrano Valley started the 1990 season much the same way it ended last year, passing for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Brion expects tonight’s game to be much tougher and is anticipating a reunion with some old friends.

“(Mater Dei linebacker) Mike Silvey lives down the street from me, and my older sister (Kristy) went to Mater Dei for four years,” Brion said. “I went to a Catholic grammar school for eight years, so I know some of the players on their team.

“I used to go to all of their games when I was in the sixth grade. But I decided that Catholic school wasn’t for me when it came time to go to high school.”

Instead, Brion enrolled at Capistrano Valley, where he spent his Friday afternoons playing slotback and outside linebacker for the Cougars’ freshman team and attending varsity games in the evenings.

“I used to watch (El Toro quarterback) Bret Johnson and (Capistrano Valley quarterback) Todd Marinovich and wonder if I could ever play on the same field with those guys,” he said. “The next year, I was starting for the varsity.

“I was so nervous and excited. Now, I hardly ever get nervous, but I’m getting excited thinking about playing Mater Dei. We’ve never played them before, and I’ve been watching them since the sixth grade.”

MATER DEI vs. CAPISTRANO VALLEY

RECORDS--Mater Dei 7-4 (last season), Capistrano Valley 1-0.

SITE--Capistrano Valley.

MATER DEI UPDATE--The Monarchs came close to landing senior All-American running back Derek Sparks this week. The fullback considered transferring from tiny Montclair Prep to Mater Dei before deciding to return to Texas, where he played his freshman season. Mater Dei’s offense could use an experienced back after the graduation of running back Kealii Clifford and quarterback Dan O’Neil. Both are now at Oregon. Junior Billy Blanton, who led the Monarchs’ freshman and sophomore teams to undefeated seasons, makes his debut at quarterback.

CAPISTRANO VALLEY UPDATE--The offense appeared to be in midseason form last week against Honolulu Damien, but the defense gave up 198 yards rushing, prompting Coach Eric Patton to say, “Any running team will present us with some problems.” Quarterback Tony Solliday threw to six receivers for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Patton’s youngest son, Scott, caught five passes for 98 yards, including scoring passes of 30 and 35 yards. His father was an all-county linebacker at Mater Dei in the ‘60s with tonight’s opposing coach, Bruce Rollinson. Patton, on playing Mater Dei: “My biggest fear is going against the unknown. Mater Dei has a lot of new faces on offense that we know very little about.”

KEY TO THE GAME--Capistrano Valley’s offensive line must continue to protect Solliday on passing plays and its defensive line will have to get tougher against the run. Mater Dei will have to avoid turnovers with its newcomers on offense.

CONSENSUS--Capistrano Valley has a big advantage of having played a game; Mater Dei opens its season with a new quarterback. The Cougars get the edge in a very entertaining game.