Cougars’ Ollis Is Off, Running : Hawthorne Senior Is South Bay’s Top Rusher

Hawthorne High tailback Morell Ollis had some pretty impressive rushing statistics as a junior.

Ollis, a 5-foot-9, 185-pounder, led the South Bay in rushing with 1,310 yards and 10 touchdowns in 165 carries.

So it is not surprising that Ollis approached his senior year with high expectations.

But even Ollis says he is a little mystified by the numbers he has produced this season.

Through four games, Ollis leads the South Bay in rushing with 714 yards and five touchdowns in only 73 carries--an eye-popping average of 9.8 yards a carry. Ollis had his best game of the season last week when he rushed for 260 yards and two TDs in 18 carries in a 34-0 victory over Centennial, earning state player-of-the-week honors from Cal-Hi Sports.

“I knew our line would be up to blocking for me, but I never thought I’d be doing this good,” Ollis said. “I wasn’t expecting 700 yards after four games.”

First-year Coach Dan Robbins says he is surprised for another reason.

“I didn’t expect the numbers he has because he doesn’t get the ball that much,” said Robbins, whose team plays at Redondo at 7:30 tonight. “His ability and our offense is such that he doesn’t get the ball that much.

“I was concerned in our game last week because I thought he was getting tired, but I asked him afterward and he said he was fine. So the desire is there. If it were up to him, he’d get the ball 30 times a game.”

Ollis said there are distinct differences in the way he is playing this season.

“I’ve held onto the ball a lot better,” he said. “Last year, I was dropping the ball quite a bit. I’ve also tried to run around people instead of running over them.”

He also credits Robbins for the Cougars’ fast start. Hawthorne is 4-0 and ranked No. 2 in the Southern Section Division III sportswriters’ poll.

“With the new coach everything is different,” Ollis said. “We were working out over the summer. We were lifting weights and we went to passing leagues. Basically, we were in good shape the whole summer.”

Not to mention what it has meant to the development of Ollis.

“Coach Robbins told me that I should lift weights instead of just sitting around,” Ollis said. “So that’s what I was doing all summer.”

He said it was the weightlifting that helped him add 15 pounds. He also lowered his time in the 40-yard dash to 4.59 seconds.

“At first I thought I was going to be slower because I weighed more, but it worked out better than I expected,” Ollis said. “Now I can use my power to explode off the ball.”

But Robbins has been most impressed with Ollis’ mental approach.

“He’s come in with natural ability, but the ability that he’s developed the most has been his work ethic,” he said. “When he’s in practice he always leads by his actions, not so much by his words. He always does what’s asked of him and that’s why he has improved.”

Ollis’ work ethic apparently hasn’t been lost on major colleges. Colorado, Washington, USC and UCLA are among the school’s interested in Ollis.

“I’ve gotten letters from everywhere,” he said. “Last year I was getting a couple of letters toward the end of the season, but this year I’ve gotten a big pile of them.”

He acknowledges a preference for USC, partly because former Hawthorne quarterback Curtis Conway plays for the Trojans. Conway was a senior at Hawthorne when Ollis played tailback on the freshman team.

He also has high regard for Colorado, particularly running back Eric Bieniemy, who now plays for the San Diego Chargers.

Ollis goes so far as to display his admiration for his idols on his jersey.

“In my freshman and sophomore years I wore No. 3 because Curtis Conway was here,” he said. “Then in my junior year, when I made the varsity, I took No. 1 because I like Eric Bieniemy. I don’t know him, but I just like the way he runs.”

But Ollis said he is far from making a decision on where to attend college.

“I’d love to play for USC or Colorado,” he said. “But if I was just going to go there to sit on the bench, I’d rather go someplace where I knew I could play.”

But he does want to play tailback, a position he first learned as a youth player in Pop Warner leagues.

“I’ve been playing football for eight years and I started on the offensive line at first because I was kind of heavy then,” Ollis said. “But I slimmed down the next year and that’s when I started playing tailback. I’ve always liked that position the best and that’s what I feel I’m the best at on the field. I also like playing linebacker but I’m a little too small for that.”

But Ollis is concentrating his efforts on the rest of Hawthorne’s schedule.

After the Cougars were defeated in the Division III semifinals last season by St. Paul, Ollis said the returning players set their sights on going farther this year.

“Hawthorne hasn’t been in the finals for I don’t know how long, and after we got knocked off last year in the semifinals, I think we have the potential to go all the way,” Ollis said.

He has equally high hopes for himself.

“Last year I was first team all-league and running back of the year in the (Bay League),” he said. “This year my goal is to be (most valuable player) and all-league again.”

Ollis appears well on the way to realizing his goals.