Manassa Proves He Belongs With All-Stars

It was simply a case of being in the wrong place--San Diego--and playing the wrong position--running back--at at the wrong time--the 1990 football season.

But talk about holding a grudge.

San Diego State-bound Marlon Manassa felt overlooked by coaches and the media in his senior season at Point Loma, where the Pointers offense was built around the 5-foot-9, 170-pound running back.

Manassa, who had back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, didn’t make either the San Diego Section first or second team and was similarly snubbed on the Times All-County first and second teams.

He was, as he described it, “dissed”--as in dismissed.

“I didn’t forget that,” said Manassa, after an impressive performance in Saturday’s inaugural Mighty 690 Pepsi-Cola Classic 3-A vs. 2-A All-Star game at Torrey Pines High. Manassa scored the 3-A’s final touchdown as the 3-A team overpowered the 2-A team, 31-0, in front of 2,000.

In a backfield where he easily could have been lost in the shuffle--Teddy Lawrence of Morse was there, Markeith Ross of Rancho Buena Vista was present, and Steve Gomez of Chula Vista was on hand--Manassa played with the stars and shone brightly.

His 98 yards rushing were more than Ross’s, Lawrence’s or Gomez’s, and they also outnumbered the 2-A’s total rushing effort of 60 yards.

“I really felt dissed,” he said. “Dissed by the press, dissed by CIF. I mean, man, I didn’t even make the second team. I had something to prove out here.”

Manassa said he expected that playing with Ross, Lawrence and Gomez, players he competed against throughout his high school career, would be an exercise in mass tension.

“I thought it would be hard because we’ve always gone against each other,” he said. “There’s always been respect, but here we were playing together, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. It was calm back there. Nobody felt pushed to the side.”

Well, somebody did. It 3-A team pushed their opponents to the side and simply ran over them all night.

The 3-A team took control early, opening up a halftime lead of 17-0 on touchdown runs of 27 and two yards by Ross and Gomez, respectively, with a 36-yard field goal by David Napier sandwiched in between.

The closest the 2-A team came to getting on the board came in the opening five minutes of the third quarter--these were 15-minute quarters--when it got to 3-A’s two-yard line. But El Camino’s Bill Aviu was tackled for a two-yard loss, and an illegal procedure penalty against the 2-A’s gave it a fourth and goal on the 9. That’s when the effort was squelched when Chula Vista’s Donnie Edwards intercepted a pass attempt by Escondido’s Jerry Singleton.

The 3-A’s offense went back to work in the fourth period. Lawrence found Morse wide receiver Tommy Bennett--it was Lawrence’s only completion on a one-for-six night--for a nine-yard touchdown pass. The run conversion failed.

With 7:20 remaining, Manassa swept right for the 16-yard score, and this time the conversion succeeded, as Lawrence ran in for the final points.

“I didn’t really feel like I was in the game that much,” Lawrence said. “I was tired.”

Said Morse and 3-A Coach John Schacklett: “Yes, I think you could say we overpowered them. Whenever you have (backs) like that and such a physical line, it’s going to present problems for the other guys.”