This Dream Team’s Worst Nightmare is Lost Alamitos

They are talking about losing, and cringing at the thought. They can barely put their feelings into words.

“Losing would be so . . . uhhhgh,” one says.

“I wouldn’t know what to do,” says the other.

They look at each other and wonder.

Losing. Whew. At Los Alamitos, it’s tough to fathom. That 32-game unbeaten streak, dating back two years? It seems as old as Father Time. How horrible it must be to walk off the field depressed and dejected, to wake up the next morning wishing it was all a bad dream, to hear your friends at school say, “What happened?”

Steve Trammell has never lost a football game. Last year, as a junior, he became a starting defensive lineman even though he never before played the game. His prowess in wrestling, combined with a quick, agile 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame, made him a natural at tackle. The fact that he has played two years for Los Al means he has never known defeat.

Robert Torres knows this, and his envy is hard to hide. You’re lucky, Steve, he says, his tone sad and wistful. You don’t know how much it hurts to lose. Torres stares at the floor. His expression seems to reflect a 1,000 defeats. But Torres, a starting defensive tackle for three years, has lost only twice in 39 games.

This is how it is at Los Al, where winning has become routine. The mood on campus is one of success. The walls of the Griffin football office are covered with photos of players who went on to greater glory. College players, pro players, players who managed to become what Griffins want to be. Daunting surroundings, unless you’re used to it. As Trammell and Torres are.

Most of the time, they’re opposites. As different as two teen-age boys can be. Trammell is the one with the strange sense of humor, a kid who can look you in the eye and tell you, quite convincingly, that all he wants for Christmas is a plain white T-shirt. His sense of humor is Sahara dry; his deadpan style is so far out you’re never sure if you should laugh or bite your lip. If he doesn’t make it in professional football, as is his goal, he should end up on stage. As a comic, he would make a killing.

Torres is the intense one. Before games, Trammell might be joking around, acting like he doesn’t know how to lace his cleats. Torres would like to kill him. In Torres’ opinion, the moments before a game are sacred, a time to scream and shout and bark and growl. So loud is his pre-game routine, people outside the locker room run for cover. Had the Three Little Pigs faced Torres instead of the Wolf, they wouldn’t be safe, they’d be bacon.

On the field, it only gets scarier. At 6-1, 205, Torres may be overshadowed by Trammell in size, but his tackles pack just as much pain. Together, they are a double terror, the duo quarterbacks dread. Even their own quarterback, Mike Good, shudders at what he has seen.

“Those guys are maniacs,” Good says. “Robert Torres, he’s like a dog going after cats. He just turns into a werewolf. He’s like the small, little kid on the block who pushes everyone around and gets away with it.

“And Trammell, he’s emotionless. He’ll make a huge sack to win the game and get up and say, ‘Why’s everyone screaming?’ He’ll get married and say, ‘OK, now what?’ There’s no emotion. It’s awesome!”

Awesome if you’re a Los Al fan, darn depressing if you’re from another team. Barnes said that against Marina this year, Trammell and Torres pounded quarterback Travis Anderson, knocking his helmet off on one play. “He got up,” Barnes said, “and you could just see him going over to the bench, going, ‘Sorry Coach, they don’t pay me enough for this. I’m outta here.’ That’s what I would have said.”

Of course, nobody’s backing off now. Not with the Division II playoffs entering Round 2. Not with Los Al’s streak waiting to be snapped. Torres, who suffered a strained arch when he collided with Trammell in practice last week, is trying to tough it out. Friday night against Warren, Torres played sparingly and the Griffins looked somewhat out of sync. They earned a 31-13 victory, but their next opponent--Edison--won’t be so forgiving.

Trammell and Torres know this. They know the (lights, camera, action) Michael Graham Show is heading their way. Graham, a sophomore running back, apparently considers all the world his stage. If that’s true, he should be forewarned: Trammell and Torres love nothing more than turning young showboats into Titanic-like wrecks.

Especially since it helps keep the Los Al streak afloat.