Highlander Back Filled Rush Order : Granada Hills Turned to Washington When Passes Missed Mark

It was a record born of necessity.

On Granada Hills High’s first possession Thursday night, quarterback Bryan Martin misfired on three consecutive passes, prompting a punt and a bit of offensive retrenching.

Next time we get the ball, co-Coach Tom Harp remembers thinking, we run the tank through the trenches.

On first and 10 from the Granada Hills seven-yard line, Martin handed the ball to fullback Brett Washington, who broke through the line on a dive play, made a nifty cutback and bolted a school-record 93 yards for a touchdown.

“The best thing about it,” Harp said, “is that it came after those three straight incompletions.”

Actually, the best was yet to come.

In a span of 6 minutes 29 seconds of the second quarter, Washington scored three times. Before the game ended, the 6-foot, 220-pound senior scored a fifth touchdown, setting seven school records as Granada Hills spanked Compton, 48-7.

To think it all started with failure. Compton opened the game in man-to-man coverage, which threw a wrench into the Highlanders’ first series.

“The way we started off, we couldn’t do anything,” Martin said. “I’m 0-fer and we couldn’t throw any high-percentage passes. We didn’t establish much.”

Except about every rushing record in the book. Once more, the particulars of Washington’s memorable outing:

* The 93-yard run broke the mark of 89 set by Kurt Schumacher against Bell in 1974. Washington had tied the mark three weeks ago in Granada Hills’ opener against Lynwood. “After that,” Martin said, “you had the feeling that every time he got it, he was gone.”

* Washington’s 252 yards broke the single-game mark of 218 set by tailback Khalid Ali in a 1986 game against Westlake and his five touchdowns broke Ali’s single-game mark of four set in the same game. His 30 points broke Greg Fowble’s single-game record of 28 set against Van Nuys in 1985.

So much for the single-game records. Some would call this a career night, for three indisputable reasons.

Washington’s 252 yards give him 2,216 in his two-plus seasons, carrying him well past Ali (2,062) as the career rushing leader. Washington’s five touchdowns also broke two career scoring marks. Washington has scored 27 rushing touchdowns, besting Ali’s mark by three. Washington, who entered the game tied with Ali at a record 27 total touchdowns, now has 31.

An eighth mark nearly fell. In the opening moments of the fourth quarter, an 18-yard scoring run by Washington was nullified by a penalty and the Highlander drive stalled at the Compton six-yard line. Had the touchdown counted, Washington--who has scored 186 career points--would have blown by Fowble (187 points) as the career leader.

“That’s OK,” Washington said. “I’ll take five.”

Actually, Washington rarely takes five. He also starts at outside linebacker, where he was selected The Times’ Valley Lineman of the Year as a junior. Highlander co-Coach Darryl Stroh, who handles the defense, says he can’t afford to sit Washington down.

“I can’t find anybody to play Washington’s spot on defense, and I’ve tried all 60 guys,” Stroh said.

Stroh admitted that he sometimes marvels at Washington’s tools.

“His greatest moves are when he runs straight up off tackle,” Stroh said. “He’ll stop, throw them that leg, then disappear. You say, ‘Oh my, how can he do that?’ ”

Washington attempts to explain, saying: “I have pretty good speed and good eyesight. I just look for the seam. I go right for the seam.”

If not the throat. Compton Coach Mike Wells, who played tight end for three NFL teams, remembers what ran through his mind as the burly Washington blasted through his team.

“I thought, ‘Geez, get a load of this guy,’ ” said Wells, who failed to catch the double meaning of his statement.

It’s no secret where Washington generates his speed and power. His thighs are so big that when he played last season on the junior varsity basketball team, coaches were unable to locate a pair of uniform trunks large enough to fit him.

Said Washington: “Everybody asks me if I’m working on my legs, and I don’t. I never did squats or anything.”

Never did squat? Ali, who had five school records obliterated, wouldn’t agree. Washington admitted that he doesn’t know much about the former tailback, who played from 1985-86.

“Coach (Stroh) said he was a good player,” Washington said. “He must have been to play at Granada Hills and set all those records.”

So imagine what it takes to knock Ali’s marks out of the books. Someone who floats like a butterfly and stings. . . .

“He has the agility, the natural instincts,” Stroh said of Washington. “You can’t teach it and you don’t coach it, that’s for sure.”