Esperanza Gets Breath of Fresh Air

Film session. Gather the chairs around the TV monitor and watch Esperanza’s powerful football team running over another overmatched team.

OK, here’s Jon Aed taking the snap from center and handing off to running back . . . whoa . . . wait a minute, he’s passing to No. 87 . . . That’s--let’s see--Brad Wise, who catches the ball for a 15-yard gain and a first down.

Next play. Aed again and . . . Hey, he’s passing again. Wise again. Another big gain.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Nothing, according to Wise and Esperanza Coach Gary Meek.

A funny thing has happened to Esperanza on the way to a 12-1 record and a berth opposite Los Alamitos in the Division II championship game tonight at Cerritos College. At some point, the Aztecs have discovered that the forward pass can be a valuable weapon.

No, Esperanza fans, Meek has not gone stark-raving mad. He’s simply using Wise’s pass-catching skills to give opponents one more thing to think about. The pass has helped Esperanza run better than ever this season, Wise said.

“No one looks at Esperanza as a passing team,” said Wise, a senior wide receiver. “I mean, every newspaper story talks about Esperanza’s pounding running attack. Our passing has been a good little secret. I don’t think teams we play practice to stop the pass.”

He makes good points. With an offensive line seemingly big enough to play in the Pac-10 and two running backs who have topped 1,000 yards, Esperanza’s reputation for running is well-known.

Many teams bunch eight and nine players along the line of scrimmage in an attempt to slow the Aztec runners. When that happens, Meek said, it’s time to turn to the pass.

“What it comes down to is what they’re going to give you is what you’re going to take,” Meek said. “If (opponents) can’t stop the run, we’ll throw eight times a game. If they’re stacked up on the line, we’ll throw 15 times.”

The majority of the Aztecs’ passes have landed in Wise’s soft hands. He has 46 receptions for 611 yards and three touchdowns; that’s more receptions than an Esperanza receiver has had in the past 10 seasons, and more than Wise ever expected to catch.

After all, most past Esperanza receivers have been counted on to be downfield blockers and little else. That’s all Wise expected to be doing. He sounds as knowledgeable as an offensive tackle when discussing blocking.

But this is not to say that Wise never worked at actually catching passes. He did.

“He worked very, very hard this summer,” Meek said. “He didn’t have real good hands. He wanted to (catch the ball too close to his body). But he’s developed some nice, soft hands.”

Still, Wise was not considered much of a factor until Esperanza played Los Alamitos Oct. 30 on a muddy field at Valencia High.

Trailing, 28-14, by halftime and unable to run effectively, Esperanza turned to the pass.

Wise and tight end Kenny Hall caught pass after pass. Although the passing game didn’t rally the team to victory, Meek found it could cross up opponents expecting the Aztecs to stay on the ground. They have won five in a row.

“It’s a real important part of the game,” Wise said. “If we need a first down, you can count on Jon and I. We have passes that are going to work.”

And that’s an added bonus for Esperanza.