Sylvester, Leogrande Share Highs, Lows : Football: Friends on 2-5 CLU team contributed to Fontana High’s national championship.

Mike Sylvester and Tom Leogrande first met when they were 9-year-olds playing in the Fontana Pop Warner League. Leogrande was a defensive back and Sylvester was a fullback.

Their positions have since changed, but their friendship has endured. They have remained close through the glory of a high school national championship and the disappointment of three sub-.500 seasons at Cal Lutheran and a 2-5 campaign this year.

Leogrande, a senior wide receiver, and Sylvester, a senior defensive back, grew up on the same block, playing sports in the street in front of their Fontana homes where their families lived until last week when the Sylvesters moved to Riverside.

Competition between the boys was stiff; in ninth grade, they both went out for quarterback at Fontana Junior High. Sylvester won the job and Leogrande became a receiver--a good thing because the Kingsmen later would find Leogrande valuable at that position.

Sylvester and Leogrande hooked up on two passes at Fontana Junior High before Leogrande suffered a broken arm and was sidelined for the rest of his ninth-grade season.

Their senior year at Fontana High was more upbeat. The team was named the mythical national champion by ESPN.

Sylvester, then a linebacker, led the team in tackles and earned all-league and All-Southern Section honors.

Leogrande, a receiver, had only one catch in Fontana’s run-oriented offense but it went for a touchdown against archrival Eisenhower.

“Luckily, I had a little bit more success in college,” said Leogrande, who has 33 catches for 368 yards and a touchdown for the Kingsmen this season.

The pair’s college days have not been much different than those of their childhood, except that the players on the football field are bigger and schoolwork is more difficult. They also have girlfriends who make good volleyball partners for two-on-two matches.

Leogrande and Sylvester are considered the best at their trade at Cal Lutheran. Leogrande is the team leader in receptions and Sylvester has 39 tackles and three interceptions.

The competition between them remains stiff because they face each other in practice. “I always want to cut in front of the other defensive backs to line up with him because he’s one of the best receivers,” Sylvester said.