Simon Says Plenty With His Footwork

Harvey Allen, a teacher at Westlake High who seldom misses an athletic event at the school, encourages students in his English as a Second Language class to become involved with school activities.

But he had no idea the football team would be getting a starting defensive tackle out of the deal.

Last season, Allen persuaded a group of his students to hold the yardage markers during sophomore and freshman football games. They learned quickly and soon were promoted to varsity contests.

“One official told me they were the best crew he’d ever had,” Allen said. “They didn’t know anything about the game, so they never took their eyes off the officials, which made things go so smoothly.”

Allen drove the group to and from the games, and they earned some spending money for their work.

“That baffled them,” Allen said. “They couldn’t believe that they were being paid for standing there, holding a pole, when the guys getting hit all the time weren’t paid.”

During halftime of one contest, one student, Oscar Simon, began kicking field goals. Simon’s 40-yard efforts attracted the attention of assistant Gary McGinnis, who was watching from the press box.

“He starts screaming at me, ‘Harvey! Harvey! Who is that kid?’ ” Allen said. “Next thing I knew, the kid had a uniform.”

Simon, a 6-foot, 210-pound senior who was born in the United States and raised in Mexico, joined the team last spring. Although his knowledge of the game is limited, Simon has worked his way into a starting position at defensive tackle and serves as the backup kicker.

“He has great quickness and great athletic ability, but he doesn’t understand the game,” Coach Jim Benkert said. “He doesn’t speak English fluently, which makes it difficult sometimes. But he goes full speed every down and really works at it.”

Said Allen of Simon: “It’s tough for him because his family needs him to work. But he’s having a great time, and he’s improving every week.”

GIVEAWAY, TAKEAWAY

Chatsworth quarterback Brian Comer is the Valley’s leading City Section passer with 453 yards and five touchdowns in three games. Comer has thrown two interceptions but almost has evened his account as a defensive back.

In last week’s 24-0 victory over Canoga Park, Comer intercepted two passes. Sort of.

It seems that on the second, after realizing that he was deep in his own territory on a fourth-down pass, Comer caught the ball, thought better of it, then let it fall to the turf.

“He was way down inside the five,” Coach Myron Gibford said. “He had it in his hands, then he dropped it like a hot potato. He’s a heady kid.”

DOG TIRED

The excitement of playing in his first varsity game, coupled with a hard-fought 17-14 win over Crescenta Valley on Friday night, apparently was too much for Burbank defensive end Willie Perryman.

Perryman, a 6-2, 190-pound sophomore who missed the season’s first two games because of a knee injury, gave his teammates and Coach Randy Stage a scare when he began to hyperventilate on the team bus during the ride home after the game.

Stage ordered the bus driver to pull over and several players ran to a nearby fast food restaurant to call an ambulance.

Before long, Stage said, several police cars, two fire engines and an ambulance arrived on the scene while paramedics treated the fallen player.

Perryman was taken to Glendale Adventist Medical Center and given fluids intravenously for two hours before being released that night, Stage said. He is expected to play Friday night against Canyon.

“He was just real exhausted and excited,” Stage said. “He had three sacks and had two other plays where he made the quarterback throw it really fast. He couldn’t get any air.

“One of the policemen asked me if he was drunk. I said, ‘Thanks for your compassion, sir.’ ”

AIR FORCE

Through three games, Hart’s run-and-shoot offense is virtually no run and all shoot.

Nonetheless, Hart (2-1) is the leading offensive team in the region with 1,319 total yards. Only 142 yards have come on the ground.

In Friday night’s 33-14 win over Palmdale, only 11 of Hart’s 50 offensive plays were runs and six came during the fourth quarter when the game was in the bag. “That’s our offense,” Coach Mike Herrington said simply. “We only have about three running plays.”

Said senior wide receiver Doug Distaso, who has 15 catches for 193 yards: “It’s awesome to be a part of this.”

Yes, even if you’re a running back: Tailback Deriek Charles leads regional players with 19 receptions (for 259 yards).

JUST ADD WATER

When Fahali Campbell went down because of an ankle injury last week, Camarillo needed a tailback.

Finally, on Thursday, the Scorpions found one in senior free safety Ryan Durazo. Lined up behind Camarillo’s mammoth offensive line, Durazo carried 14 times for 157 yards in a 24-0 win over Hueneme.

“We kept things simple and just did some basic things,” assistant Jack Willard said. “(Durazo) had been a running back on some lower-level teams, and he’s a very good athlete.”

Campbell, who had 398 rushing yards in the Scorpions’ first two games, is expected to return this week. That means Durazo’s short-but-illustrious career as a running back might have come to an end.

“If Fahali doesn’t get hurt, Durazo probably will never get another carry,” Willard said.

UNHAPPY RETURNS

After watching Santa Ynez set up each of its four scores with long kickoff returns, Royal Coach Gene Uebelhardt decided he had seen enough of his special teams.

The Highlander starting defensive unit now will serve in that capacity.

BUMPUS RUMPUS

Oxnard junior quarterback Larry Bumpus has become a one-man wrecking crew for the Yellowjackets (3-0).

Bumpus, a second-year starter, has passed for 475 yards and rushed for a team-leading 249. He has produced 62% of Oxnard’s yardage.

“It’s not really a surprise because he had an outstanding sophomore year playing with a very poor team,” Coach Jack Davis said.

Vince Kowalick and staff writers Steve Elling and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.