THE HIGH SCHOOLS / STEVE ELLING : These Conversions Lead to Offensive Salvation

The Year of the Conversion continued Friday night with the successful switch of two more position players to quarterback.

Since the beginning of the season, several coaches have found their marks--or at least players who can hit their marks.

“You’re always scratching, always scrambling,” Birmingham Coach Chick Epstein said. “Anything to find the right guy.”

Some of the moves are born of necessity, some of desperation.

Birmingham senior Paul Holt was moved from tailback to quarterback at halftime and led the Braves to a 21-6 victory over Monroe.

Birmingham wasn’t moving the ball with consistency, so Epstein inserted Holt (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) at quarterback. Holt completed three of four passes for 63 yards, ran for one touchdown and passed for another.

“He has the tools--the arm, the size and intelligence,” Epstein said. “He’s easily my best athlete and is an excellent (quarterback) prospect.”

Holt was the backup quarterback last season as a junior but spent most of his practice time at tailback. He is second on the team in rushing with 241 yards.

Notre Dame junior Jabbar Craigwell (5-9, 170) can identify with Holt. Craigwell had not played quarterback since he was a freshman, and he played the position only in flag football before that. Last season, he was the varsity tailback, the position he played at the start of this season.

But when Notre Dame’s offense went into a tailspin, the Knights also called on their tailback. Craigwell started at quarterback over Kelly Moran and led the Knights to a 10-0 victory over St. Anthony that snapped a three-game losing streak.

Notre Dame scored all of its points in the fourth quarter. Craigwell completed four of 14 for 67 yards and threw one interception.

“I was a little rusty,” said Craigwell, who ranked second on the team in rushing with 216 yards entering the game. “But I guess they wanted to try something different.”

Joel Schaeffer, Reseda’s coach, predicts that when it comes to scoring plays, tight end John Buckley will wheel (run), deal (throw) and reel (catch) sometime this season. In the same game.

Buckley, who played quarterback, tight end, strong safety and linebacker in Reseda’s 31-7 victory over El Camino Real, stood out at quarterback for the second successive week.

When starter Reggie James was felled with a sprained knee, Buckley (6-3, 205) took over and completed all seven of his passes to lead the Regents to a field goal. He also caught four passes for 89 yards in the game.

Buckley also made an appearance at quarterback last week, completing nine of 18.

“He can’t play in all 11 places,” Schaeffer said. “But he tried.”

Buckley hasn’t forgotten how the other half lives, either. He leads the team in sacks (nine) and solo tackles (40).

Holt, Buckley and Craigwell join Hart’s Davis Delmatoff (former receiver) and Crespi’s Matt Walker (former defensive lineman) as members of the quarterback conversion fraternity. All five led their teams to victory Friday.

When it comes to quarterbacks, you have to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, and know when to mold ‘em.

“You have to play with the cards you’re dealt,” Schaeffer said. “You find a kid who can get the job done, or find someone else.”

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Tennis match: Chaminade Coach Rich Lawson, as a goodwill gesture, offered a complimentary Chaminade pencil to a reporter a few moments before the Eagles were defeated, 38-32, by Baldwin Park. “In case you break yours,” Lawson said.

Or in case it runs out of graphite.

Say this for Chaminade--the Eagles are a chiropractor’s dream. The way they and their opponents move the ball up and down the field, fans could suffer neck sprains watching the action.

Chaminade allowed 557 yards to Baldwin Park, the defending Southern Section Division IV champion, while rolling up 316 yards of its own. Three weeks ago, Chaminade and Crespi combined for 881 yards as the Celts won a nail biter, 28-24.

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Hart stoppers: Let’s play word association. The phrase: Hart football. The predictable responses: Passing. Points. Productivity.

Add this to the list: Prevention.

Pass-happy Hart invariably ranks among the region’s leaders in offense. This season, though, the Indians have beefed up the defense to nearly the same level.

Through five games, Hart ranks first among area Southern Section teams in offense (426.8 yards a game) and fifth in defense (192.6). No other area Southern Section team is better across the board.

The Indians (5-0) have bombed their opponents by a cumulative score of 173-19. The vanquished have learned that Hart no longer is one-dimensional.

“That’s the best defense I’ve seen in a long, long time,” said Westlake Coach Jim Benkert, whose team was whipped by Hart, 38-0, in Week 4.

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Finally, the fun part: Granada Hills slumped to an 0-3 start for the first time in the seven-year tenure of coaches Tom Harp and Darryl Stroh.

Friday night, the Highlanders upset previously unbeaten San Fernando, 21-13, to post their second consecutive victory. Stroh, often hard to please even in victory, was bristling with enthusiasm.

“The kids are rallying up and really doing the job,” Stroh said. “It’s great to win with young guys, great to come in here and do this.”