Hawkins Emerges With a Rush : Back Gets His Chance, Becomes Force Behind Banning Offense

For someone who was not widely known entering his senior season, Banning High tailback Shayzar Hawkins made a name for himself by rushing for 1,516 yards and 21 touchdowns.

His emergence caught college scouts, as well as friends, by surprise.

And if junior Brandon Moore had not been forced to relinquish his first-string tailback duties before the start of the season because of the chickenpox, Hawkins still might be playing in the shadow of another. Instead, he will lead the Pilots (11-1) against Kennedy of Granada Hills (11-1) in a City Section 4-A Division semifinal game at 7:30 tonight at Kennedy.

Former Banning and Oklahoma quarterback Jamelle Holieway has known Hawkins since he played at Banning. At the time, Hawkins’ father, Jesse, was Banning’s dean of students and frequently took his son to Banning games.

But Holieway, who has attended several Banning games this season, was unaware that the impressive running back was Hawkins.

“Now that you mention (his father), I do know who he is,” said Holieway, now an assistant at Compton College. “That dude is going to make a junior college or university coach very happy.”

Hawkins made the most of his early opportunity to play tailback and cornerback, leading the Pilots to a 34-6 victory over Long Beach Poly in Banning’s second game. Hawkins rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns in 11 carries and returned a fumble 31 yards for a TD on defense.

His performance was so impressive that when Moore was healthy enough to play, it was as starting strong safety and backup tailback.

Dick Lascola, director of the Scouting Evaluation Assn., was in the stands at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach the night Hawkins emerged as a runner. Hawkins’ performance was surprising to Lascola, who held a combine workout last spring in which he invited Banning’s top senior prospects. Hawkins was not invited.

“He was a pleasant surprise to a lot of people,” Lascola said. “He wasn’t exactly a household name. Now he’s a very solid Division I prospect, one of the better ones around.

“He’s an explosive young man. He plays on both sides of the ball very well, and he’s a real clutch type of player. As a cornerback, he’s aggressive, well-coached, and he knows how to play the pass very well. You can tell he’s a tough, aggressive kid.”

The accolades have caught Hawkins by surprise as well. A second-string defensive back until this season, he never expected this much attention. His play against Long Beach Poly was the turning point.

“That was my first big run (in a game),” he said. “That game told me that I could do it; it gave me the inspiration I needed. I knew I was going to be able to play defense this year. I was just glad that the coaches put me in the offense too.”

Coach Joe Dominguez called Hawkins a “tremendous surprise,” but said he knew Hawkins had the ability to handle the job.

“I think some guys are more talented, but a much bigger factor is that I don’t think anyone has the heart or competitive spirit that Shayzar has,” Dominguez said. “He’s a great player to coach. In fact, (several) times this year he’s corrected me on a couple of things.”

Playing both ways has not slowed Hawkins, who takes pleasure in breaking a long run late in a game when most players are weary.

“He seems to get stronger during the course of a game,” Dominguez said. “His will to compete and his heart are just amazing.”

That part of Hawkins’ game was also recognized by Lascola.

“He seems like the kind of kid where if the coach asked him to do 10 pushups in a drill, he would go out and do 11,” Lascola said.

Because of his late emergence, Hawkins’ has not gotten a lot of attention from recruiters. But Lascola and Dominguez say he is a legitimate Division I prospect; his college future will most likely be as a defensive back.

If Hawkins can continue his impressive string of playoff performances, his position with recruiters will improve. He has rushed for 402 yards and six touchdowns in playoff victories over Poly and Carson. And if the Pilots win the City title, it would help the school restore its football stature. Banning won eight City titles from 1976 to 1985, including six in a row from 1976-81.

Hawkins is looking forward to a possible championship game against top-seeded Dorsey on Dec. 13 at El Camino College. Banning forfeited its scheduled Nov. 1 game against Dorsey at Jackie Robinson Stadium because of fear of gang violence and retaliation for an incident that occurred during a playoff game between the schools last season.

“We want to play Dorsey in the final,” Hawkins said. “Their team feels that we ran away from them.”