SEA VIEW LEAGUE FOOTBALL PREVIEW : When Playing Irvine, Steer Clear of Jones

Ryan Jones was tired of pushing that blocking sled. He and four other members of the Irvine High School football team had been at it for a while, trying to get it right.

What was holding them up was a sophomore who was having trouble with his end of the sled. Jones, frustrated, decided it was time for a little pep talk.

Well, it was sort of a pep talk.

OK, it was actually a head butt.

“We were all exhausted,” Jones said. “We wanted him to pick it up, so I hit him a little bit.”

Such is the way Jones conducts business on the football field. Out there, his actions speak louder than words and, sometimes, smart a little bit.

But no one is going to lay down on the job when he’s around.

“I figure, if you are out here, you shouldn’t be lagging behind,” Jones said. “That goes for me as well.”

Jones, a senior, takes his football seriously. Very seriously. He plays linebacker the way it was meant to be played, with a ferocity that can make players cower.

Even his own teammates.

“The guys respect him,” Irvine Coach Terry Henigan said. “Of course, Ryan is so strong, it makes it easy to respect him. He’s one of those old-fashioned tough guys.”

So tough, in fact, that quarterbacks have been known to drop with a thud on contact.

Last season, Mission Viejo quarterback Payson LeMeilleur was scrambling around, looking for a receiver. One moment, he was scanning the defense, the next, he and his senses parted company.

“Ryan hit him and the ball shot out,” Vaquero defensive coordinator Lance Neal said.

Said Jones: “I just caught him with a forearm. I couldn’t feel my arm for a few minutes.”

LeMeilleur’s pain was probably a bit more lasting.

“The guy just went limp on the ground,” Neal said.

Such things happen when Jones is around.

“He’s an absolute hitter,” Henigan said.

Jones comes by that strength naturally. He spends less time in the weight room than other players but still bench presses 325 pounds.

Henigan first noticed that strength when Jones was a freshman. He was so impressed with him that he moved him to the varsity the next year.

Jones played tight end that season because the Vaqueros already had a couple of quality linebackers. Even then, his leadership abilities were apparent.

“Before the first game, Ryan stood up in the locker room and said, ‘I know I’m only a sophomore, but I’m going to go out and hit like a senior,’ ” Neal said. “That fired the guys up.”

Jones caught 20 passes as a sophomore, despite having little experience at the position. He was named second-team All-South Coast League.

He caught only three passes last season when he was used mainly at linebacker.

Jones finished with a team-high 129 tackles and was named first-team all-league. He also had one interception and forced two fumbles in helping the Vaqueros win the Southern Section Division II championship.

But numbers don’t begin to tell his importance.

Besides playing defense, Jones was used as a blocker during the playoffs, clearing the way for tailback Scott Seal. He also was the long snapper on punts.

“He does so many things for us it’s impossible to say how valuable he is,” Henigan said. “One the biggest things is his leadership. He’s not afraid to get vocal and not afraid to make sure other guys do what they are supposed to. He gets in guys’ faces.”

That intensity is almost second nature to Jones on the field.

Away from football, he is reserved. But put on those pads and insanity takes over.

“I just get (angry) when I get on the field,” Jones said. “I’m not a psycho linebacker. I just don’t ram heads out there, I have to think too. But I do like to ram heads.”

Sure, just ask his teammates.

1991 IN REVIEW

Team League Overall PF PA Tustin 4-1 12-2 319 150 Woodbridge 3-1-1 8-3-1 248 247 Newport Harbor 3-2 7-5 185 137 University 2-3 7-6 215 156 Saddleback 2-3 3-6-1 160 180 Corona del Mar 0-4-1 2-6-2 101 241

Offensive player of year: Brandon Finney (Newport Harbor).

Defensive player of year: Keith Thomas (Tustin).