McKenzie Does What It Takes for Sunny Hills

It can’t be that easy being Sunny Hills quarterback Hakeim McKenzie. Then again, maybe it’s not that tough.

Depending on how you look at it, McKenzie is either a pass-hungry quarterback trapped on a treadmill (run, run, run), or a dream of a team player happy to sacrifice personal glory even if it means handing off for eternity.

His role is often somewhere between “stand back, quarterback,” and “run when you can, man.”

But duty is in the eye of the beholder.

While McKenzie does pass occasionally--he averaged 12 attempts per game, completing 43%, during the regular season--his foremost calling is to slip the ball to one of the Lancers’ very capable running backs, Kenny Overby and Mike Sullivan.

That same ol’ song--run right, run left, run over, run under--played again Friday night when Sunny Hills defeated Valencia, 23-10, in a Division VI semifinal.

The tune was sweet for Lancer fans as Sunny Hills ran its way into this Friday’s division final against Tustin.

But for McKenzie--his friends call him Jamal--how did a two-for-seven-for-56-yards passing performance play on his ego? Just fine, he says.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Whatever it takes for the team to win, that’s fine by me.”

Usually, a player has to practice that line for years before it sounds as sincere as it does coming from McKenzie. But this senior quarterback speaks from the heart.

In fact, for a quarterback about to lead a team into a Southern Section final, McKenzie is a modest young man--though he’d never admit it. His teammates say he has a calming effect on the team, but he can rev up the Lancers when need be.

“He can go anywhere from 1 to 10 on the intensity scale,” Overby said.

But Overby said there are times when he wishes McKenzie would be more selfish.

“He’s very capable, a real threat on the run,” Overby said. “But our offense is just set up in a way that it doesn’t always give Jamal that many opportunities . . . to rise to the occasion.”

So, many times, he creates his own.

Against Valencia, McKenzie twice called an audible for a keeper, powering 17 yards up the sideline on each.

Late in the game, he handed off to Marlon Womack, who fumbled. While players from both teams dove for the ball, McKenzie waited for it to bounce, snatched it as he would a basketball and gained seven yards.

Against La Habra, McKenzie picked up a fumble at his team’s one-yard line and ran 99 yards to the end zone. The play was called back because of a clipping penalty. Against Esperanza, a 70-yard run was called back on a holding call.

And while his passing stats aren’t stellar--he had 663 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions during regular season--many of his best pass plays also have been called back because of penalties or other mistakes.

Friday, a 40-yard pass into the end zone bounced off receiver Steve Choe’s face mask and was dropped.

Sunny Hills Coach Tim Devaney said the 6-foot-2, 200-pound McKenzie has yet to tap his potential. Last year, McKenzie got even fewer opportunities to throw because Sunny Hills had three standout backs--Sullivan, Overby and Brian Pizula--to lead them.

“He’s improved 100% since last year,” Devaney said. “He’s got an arm that can throw six miles and he can jump out of the gym. West Virginia likes developing quarterbacks, and they’re really interested in him.”

Then why isn’t Devaney using his quarterback more?

“For the last three years we’ve utilized the run,” Devaney said. “Sometimes coaches get so entrenched in one thing (they don’t want to change what’s working).”

McKenzie says he just wants to improve his 2.9 grade-point average--he’s sitting out the basketball season to hit the books, he said--and hopes to attract a football scholarship.

Of course, at the moment, the Division VI title is foremost in his mind.

“I just do what I do, and do my best. If it works out, great,” he said. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t like to make my mark, but if the team wins, that’s what matters.”