He Has Playing Down to a Science : Division VII: Byrd has gained a record 2,406 yards this season. But A student won’t be happy until Rancho Alamitos wins a section title.

Oh boy, this is not what the Sunny Hills football team wanted to read, so maybe the players should skip to the comics. Or the astrological forecast. What’s coming next isn’t good news.

Today is Jeff Byrd’s 18th birthday. And he’s looking for that special gift, if you know what he means.

“A victory would be the best present,” Byrd said.

Byrd, the stellar tailback from Rancho Alamitos, is talking about tonight’s 7:30 game between the Vaqueros and Sunny Hills at Santa Ana Stadium for the Southern Section Division VII championship.

It’s the first section title game for Rancho Alamitos (11-2), the Garden Grove League champion and No. 2-seeded team in the division. The Lancers (11-1-1), the Freeway League winners and top-seeded team, were Division VI champions in 1990.

Byrd has played a crucial role in getting the Vaqueros this far and having another incentive could spell trouble for the Lancers.

In the semifinals last week, Byrd rushed for 328 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-7 victory over Lompoc to establish the county’s single-season rushing record with 2,406 yards. That total surpassed the 2,301 rushing yards gained by Derek Brown at Servite in 1988.

He also has 33 rushing touchdowns, four short of the county single-season record set by Southern California Christian’s Mike Jacot last season, and 62 in what has been basically a two-year varsity career (he played in one game as a sophomore and scored two touchdowns rushing). Ron Papazian, the former Whittier Christian standout, holds the county career record with 66.

Byrd also has Rancho Alamitos’ career records for most rushing yards (4,269) and most carries (524), and ranks second in scoring with 210 points to Sean Cheatham’s 234. His 97-yard touchdown run against Lompoc broke by three yards the school record for the longest run from scrimmage by Leon Vickers against La Quinta last season.

Those are mind-boggling statistics. But if there’s one thing Byrd can do well besides run with a football, it’s understand numbers.

Almost a straight-A student (he has received three Bs in high school), Byrd’s favorite subject is math. He wants to become a sports doctor and is considering several Ivy League schools--particularly Dartmouth. However, he also wants to stay closer to home, so he will talk to football recruiters at San Diego State, Nevada, Arizona State and California. Regardless of where he goes, Byrd has his priorities well-defined.

“My parents always told me I’m not going to be able to play football forever, so I would need something to fall back on,” Byrd said. “When football ends for me, I’ll have my education.”

Byrd got his first football lessons in youth leagues in his hometown of Connersville, Ind., about 30 miles east of Indianapolis. His father, Caryl, is a U.S. Postal inspector and a full-blooded Powhatan Indian, a tribe of about 2,000 from New Jersey. His mother, Jackie, and three sisters also were born in Indiana.

The family moved to Garden Grove in 1984 and Byrd attended Alamitos Junior High until entering Rancho Alamitos. He played on the Vaquero freshman and sophomore teams, and made the jump to the varsity last season. It wasn’t long before his name made the headlines.

Byrd rushed for 306 yards in a 26-23 victory over Kennedy and for 269 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-24 victory over Pacifica. He equaled the four-touchdown effort later in the season against Los Amigos and finished tied with Jacot for the county rushing title with 1,492 yards.

This season, after sharing the rushing load with fullback Vickers and quarterback Marshall Brown in the early games, Byrd has been on a tear the past few weeks. That is even more impressive considering that Byrd is only 5 feet 10 and 170 pounds and that, as one of the team’s starting cornerbacks, he hardly comes off the field.

“He’s got tremendous stamina,” Rancho Alamitos Coach Mark Miller said. “He seems to get better as the games go on. If you look at his games, he’s better in the second half.

“His intelligence really does help him. He thinks so quickly out there. He’s like a coach on the field.”

If the Sunny Hills defense can’t contain him tonight, Byrd could finish his prep career in style. He’s definitely pumped for the game and eager to send a message, although not necessarily about himself.

“We are out to prove that the Garden Grove League has good teams,” Byrd said. “We are out to earn people’s respect. We are happy to be in the final game, but we are not satisfied.”

That won’t happen until Byrd gets the birthday present he wants.