Ruiz Makes Sure ‘Tis His Season : Braves’ Quarterback Leads Come-From-Behind Drive to Land in Playoffs

The holiday season was only beginning, but Baldwin Park quarterback Marc Ruiz was not quite ready to let go of the season at hand.

On Friday night, with 6:50 left in the Braves’ Southern Section Division IV quarterfinal playoff game against Glendora, Ruiz ran into the huddle. He glanced at the end zone 72 yards away, turned to his teammates and, sparing no subtlety, reminded them, “ This is the season.”

The phrase became Ruiz’s mantra before each play as the Braves, trailing, 10-7, began to march down the field.

“I must have repeated it 100 times,” he said.

The motivational do-or-die ploy worked, especially for Ruiz, who guided the Braves on a game-winning 13-play drive. The 6-foot-2 senior completed a 15-yard pass to Art Tejada on fourth and 11, drew Glendora off-sides on a third-and-four and passed 16 yards to Dante Casillas for a touchdown with 2:51 left.

Baldwin Park’s 14-10 victory advanced it into the semifinals against Damien. And Ruiz, who completed 14 of 27 passes for 128 yards, further advanced his development as a big-play quarterback.

The change in Ruiz this season has been obvious to all who have watched him lead the Braves to their second consecutive semifinal appearance.

“Against Glendora, he kept his poise and composure, took that leadership role and told everybody to bear down and take it up,” Casillas said. “Instead of getting all excited like he would last year, he stayed calm. But with the same intensity.”

Ruiz, a Baldwin Park resident, grew up watching Brave quarterbacks such as Mike, Norm and Greg Santiago, Michael Johnson and Richard Robles, all of whom were proficient passers. After spending his freshman season at Bishop Amat, Ruiz transferred to Baldwin Park, hoping to continue the tradition of talented quarterbacks.

But last season, when the day he had planned for arrived, Ruiz was uncertain. He was a junior charged with the responsibility of running a senior-dominated team.

“I felt like an oddball,” Ruiz said. “I was a rookie and felt really out of place.”

The left-handed Ruiz never felt worse than when Baldwin Park played Los Altos last season. With the score tied and time running out, the Braves were threatening to score from the eight-yard line. But Ruiz fumbled the snap, allowing Los Altos to preserve a tie. The miscue prevented Baldwin Park from defeating Los Altos for the first time in history.

“It was my fault,” Ruiz said. “I got too nervous, too jumpy.”

Ruiz finished his junior season with about 1,600 passing yards. The Braves made it to the Division IV championship game, where they lost to Arlington, 10-6.

“Last year, we kind of held Marc in check because with the defense we had, we kind of figured, ‘If the offense doesn’t screw up, we’ll be OK.’ ” said Baldwin Park Coach Tony Zane, who is in his 20th season with the Braves. “This year, we knew we were going to have to depend on the offense to do a few things.”

Zane and Ruiz got an unexpected boost when Tejada, Rick Magdaleno and Lalo Arrieta tried out for the football team. None of the three had played last season, choosing instead to concentrate on baseball.

Their addition to the Braves’ football program gave Ruiz three more talented receivers to go along with Casillas. And Ruiz has made use of them. Casillas and Tejada have 47 receptions apiece, Magdaleno has 40 and Arrieta 15.

“It makes it easy because defenses can’t key on any of them,” said Ruiz, who has completed 162 of 309 attempts for 2,283 yards and 21 touchdowns. “I’m not scared to throw to any of them.”

Another key element in the Baldwin Park passing game has been the play of running back Lawrence Phillips, a transfer from West Covina who has rushed for 1,027 yards. He also returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown against Glendora. Phillips forces defenses to respect the run and pass.

“The guy is awesome,” Ruiz said. “He is bad. “

The key to it all, though, is Ruiz, who engineered comeback victories over Los Altos and Glendora with his clutch play.

Ruiz will attempt to lead the Braves past a bigger, physical Damien team Saturday and earn a chance to play for the division championship that eluded Baldwin Park last season.

“To be this far in the playoffs is surprising,” Ruiz said. “No one thought we would be here. But this team has a lot of heart.”