McEntire Makes Sure There’s a Place to Run : Division IX: Lineman opens the holes for Whittier Christian’s 1,000-yard rushers.

All right, here’s a hypothetical situation. You are a Whittier Christian High School running back, and the quarterback calls your number in the huddle. The other team has a defensive crew with a penchant for inflicting pain. Lots of it. Do you . . .

A. Feign an injury and moan endlessly?

B. Shift the focus to the Persian Gulf crisis?

C. Talk the quarterback into running the play behind the blocking of Ryan McEntire?

If your answer was C, give yourself a pat on the back and about eight yards. That has been the choice of Herald ballcarriers this season. Listen to the testimonials.

“When we are in a game and we need tough yards, I just go behind his butt,” said tailback Rex Pritchard, who gained 1,062 yards during the regular season. “Most definitely he’s one of the reasons I’ve done so well.”

Said fullback Ron Rector, a 1,014-yard rusher: “He usually dominates his man. I’d rather run behind Ryan than any other offensive lineman.”

McEntire, 6 feet and 235 pounds of finesse and power at offensive guard and defensive tackle, has been not only Pritchard’s and Rector’s benefactor but one of the primary reasons Whittier Christian (12-0) is in tonight’s Southern Section Division IX championship game at 7:30 against Tehachapi (12-1) at Bakersfield College.

An affable senior, the Olympic League’s MVP lineman and a Times All-Southeast Los Angeles County first-team selection this year at guard, McEntire thrives on opportunities to help the Heralds move the ball.

“I like the challenge and just knowing that if we get the yards, I know I did my job. It’s like testing myself,” McEntire said recently before a practice. He answered questions politely but glanced anxiously toward the field at Whittier College, where the team already was running situation drills. There were chores to be done, and he was in a working mood.

Perhaps that work ethic is what separates players such as McEntire from others. Consider his reaction last year after a season-ending knee injury, when a trainer told him he wouldn’t be able to load up as much weight during squatting exercises.

“It kind of scared me because I’ve always liked the squat,” McEntire said. “That made me work even harder.”

Hard enough, that is, to establish a school-record 555-pound squat lift over the summer. Not bad for a guy who tipped the scales at 165 pounds after his freshman season.

Though the thrust generated by those powerful legs drives defensive linemen off their feet, it’s his outstanding technique--refined since his early days of Pop Warner football in La Habra--that coaches and McEntire credit for his success.

“He’s a better offensive player than defensive player because he’s more of a technician than being physical,” said offensive line coach Tom Caffrey, who as head coach guided the Heralds to a Southern Section title in 1984. “He’s so intelligent that he’s able to pick up changes in the blocking schemes and that makes him more effective.”

Caffrey, a former offensive guard at Occidental College, says pride is an essential ingredient for a good lineman. After all, they labor for the most part in anonymity. McEntire fits the mold.

“It’s true that we don’t get the recognition, but we are not supposed to. We get our recognition by seeing the points on the board,” said McEntire, who is quick to praise his teammates on the line--tackles Phillip Franco and Bryan Clardy, guard Roman Gallegos and center Brock Lunsford.

“I wouldn’t look as good as people say I do if I didn’t have the other offensive linemen blocking just as good,” McEntire said.

McEntire thinks Whittier Christian can win the championship tonight.

“It’s going to be tough. Tehachapi is a good team. With a minimal amount of mistakes, we’ll be OK,” he said.