Poly’s Campbell a Hit With 1st Impression

Barreling through a pile of players at the line of scrimmage has pleased Poly High running back Jonathan Campbell for years. But this season, it pleased the folks at Poly as well.

Behind Campbell, who has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards, the Parrots have won 10 of 13 games and reached the City Section 3-A Division championship game--Poly’s most successful season in 22 years. During Campbell’s sophomore and junior seasons, the Parrots won only three of 20 games.

In Friday’s division semifinal, Campbell ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns in 29 carries to lift the Parrots past previously unbeaten Fairfax, 35-28. There was nothing fancy about Campbell’s runs. In fact, they all looked strikingly similar as he took the ball from quarterback Lance Garcia and rammed up the middle, following senior lineman Eddie Moreno.

On nearly every carry, several defenders had a shot at Campbell, but the 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior rarely went down without a struggle.

“That’s the way I played when we were little kids in the front yard,” Campbell said. “The yard wasn’t very big, so most of the time you had to run them over to get into the end zone.

“That’s just the way I learned. You hit them first.”

Campbell’s goal at the beginning of the year was to rush for more than 1,300 yards, which would have pushed him past the 3,000-yard mark in career rushing yardage. But Campbell passed that milestone several weeks ago.

In 13 games, Campbell has rushed for 1,909 yards in 273 carries and scored 29 touchdowns. He holds the school record with 3,664 career rushing yards, breaking the record of 3,120 yards set by Craig Ellis in 1978.

Ellis now is a wide receiver for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League and was recently named the most valuable player of the CFL’s Western Division.

Campbell has made a believer of second-year Poly Coach Fred Cuccia, who says he wouldn’t trade Campbell for any back in the area.

“There are lots of players with talent, but none like Campbell,” Cuccia said. “He can do so many things.”

Another thing that Campbell can do--and do well--is play baseball. Last spring he batted .357 with 30 hits, 23 runs batted in, 14 stolen bases and 28 runs scored.

But it’s his football statistics that have college recruiters calling. Colorado State is as interested in Campbell as he is in the school, says Campbell, who hopes to go to an out-of-state college. Hawaii and Washington State also have expressed interest, but Campbell will likely choose the school that will allow him to play two sports.

Campbell plays sparingly on defense because Cuccia doesn’t believe in two-way starters, but he is the holder on extra-point attempts--many of which he sets up with goal-line plunges.

Campbell scored three times on three-yard runs against Fairfax, including the winning score on a third-and-goal play with 1 minute 18 seconds remaining.

“It was typical Jonathan Campbell. He does it week in and week out,” Cuccia said, “Down on the goal line, he is tough to stop.”

Campbell has become so accustomed to running up the middle that when he gets the call to run outside, he feels like he is running in slow motion.

“I don’t feel slow running up the middle because there are people in the way,” Campbell said.

Campbell admits that while he is tough to bring down, he is easy to catch. On his first carry against Fairfax, a Moreno block sprung Campbell for a 46-yard gain. Campbell was amazed when he found a hole so big that plowing wasn’t necessary.

“I went through the hole and just went around the corner. Of course they caught up to me like usual--I’m used to that,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not much for breakaway speed.”