A Little Goes a Long Way : James Typifies Small, Savvy Moorpark Defensive Linemen

One false move and Jacob James, the lightweight on Moorpark College’s heavy-hitting defensive line, suddenly resembles a rubber ball ricocheting in a narrow hallway.

To err is human, but it is not recommended for a 5-foot-11, 190-pound nose guard toiling among behemoths. In football’s trenches, hesitation or misstep results in swift, brutal and sometimes unusual punishment.

How does the layman relate? Toss a tennis shoe into a clothes dryer on tumble dry cycle. That’s how James looks on film when he makes a mistake. “Like a Ping-Pong ball,” said Gil Mendoza, Moorpark’s defensive line coach.

Even his teammates have to laugh. But they don’t get the chance very often. James, the smallest defensive lineman in the Western State Conference, is a top player on a Raider defense ranked second statistically among state junior colleges.

Moorpark (4-0) has allowed an average of only 169.3 yards a game heading into a WSC showdown tonight at 7 against host Bakersfield (3-1).

James, whom Mendoza said weighs 190 “with rocks in his pants,” embodies small but mighty Moorpark, co-leader in the WSC Northern Division. The Raiders’ three-man line averages a svelte 208 pounds when James teams with tackles Steve Standage (6-2, 235) and Jason Jones (6-5, 200).

When 6-6, 260-pound Demetrius Jones rotates in for Jason Jones, Moorpark’s front averages a respectable 227 pounds. But even that is 27 pounds lighter per man than the Bakersfield offensive line.

James will spend this evening wrestling with Dave Blevins, Bakersfield’s 6- 0, 245-pound center. When James is double-teamed, left guard David Burger (6-2, 255) or right guard Dante Borradorri (6-3, 315) will join the fray.

As usual, Standage expects Bakersfield’s line to smugly make derogatory remarks about Moorpark’s defense at the start of the game.

“The first couple of plays teams are always talking,” Standage said. “We come up to the line and they say we have no meat up front. They think we’re intimidated.”

The most disparaging comments often are reserved for James. “Once in a while I get laughed at,” he said.

The chiding normally lasts about three plays. Then it is time to punt.

“They find out that it’s not the size of the dog. It’s the size of the fight in the dog,” Jason Jones said.

James, Moorpark’s pit bull, is particularly tenacious when rushing the passer. “He’s the best I’ve seen in our league,” Standage said. “You watch the films and nobody can block him.”

Standage, a two-year starter, recalls being “shocked” when James first joined other defensive linemen for summer drills in 1991. “Then we put on pads and I was impressed,” Standage said. “He’s a little hand grenade. He’s one of the fastest guys out here and he hits like one of the biggest guys.”

James runs 40 yards in 4.8 seconds and can bench press 325 pounds. He uses speed and strength to outmaneuver opposing linemen.

“I’m a lot quicker than guys that weigh 250,” he said. “Most of the time they’re not able to keep up with me going sideways.”

Which is not to say James runs from contact.

“He’s not going to physically beat people, but he knows how to sting them,” Mendoza said. “I don’t care how big they are, he’ll get a stalemate and that’s all he needs.”

James gave his best performance in the second game of the season when Moorpark blanked Santa Monica, 21-0. He made eight tackles (five unassisted), including two sacks. In a 37-7 rout of Pierce last Saturday, he made seven tackles and deflected a pass.

“He’s pretty proud of knocking down that pass,” Mendoza said. “I told him, ‘Geez, you looked like you were 6-6 out there.’ ”

James would settle for 6-2. He has tried changing positions, figuring--correctly--that four-year colleges would not recruit him as a lineman.

When James left Canyon High, where he played defensive tackle, and enrolled at Moorpark in 1991, he tried out at strong safety. Then he was moved to linebacker. But when James couldn’t crack the lineup in either position, Mendoza saw another opportunity.

“I could tell he was upset and dissatisfied so I approached him,” Mendoza recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, I’m a little short (no pun intended) on the defensive line . . .’

“His only question was if he’d get a chance to play.”

James spent most of his freshman season backing up incumbent nose guard Robert Moose, a junior college All-American. He also was used as a pass-rushing specialist, entering the game to turn up the heat on opposing quarterbacks.

Late in the season, he was switched to right tackle and was made a starter. “He was playing so well we had to get him into the lineup,” Mendoza said.

James again considered a change to linebacker before this season, but soon he was back at nose guard. Although he knows he must switch positions to achieve his goal of obtaining a four-year scholarship, he is not convinced there is good reason.

“I don’t agree with people who think they can tell you whether you can play or not just by looking at you,” James said. “If that was true I wouldn’t be playing nose guard here, either.”