Whatever Position He Plays, Vaqueros’ Allen Is a Threat : Division VII: At tailback or slotback, junior has led Rancho Alamitos to semifinal against Arroyo Grande.

Call him Mr. Fix-It, the all-purpose back, or just Kevin.

Whenever problems have appeared in the Rancho Alamitos backfield, first-year Coach Doug Case has turned to junior Kevin Allen for the solution.

“His greatest asset has been his versatility,” Case said. “Whenever we’ve asked him to move, he just nodded his head and said ‘OK, Coach.’ ”

Two weeks ago, tailback Moukda Choulamany, who was averaging 128 yards rushing in five starts, tore knee ligaments in the first quarter of the Vaqueros’ first-round Southern Section Division VII playoff game against Troy.

Rancho Alamitos trailed, 14-0, when Case moved Allen from slotback to tailback. Allen rushed for 211 yards in 21 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead Rancho Alamitos to a 24-14 victory.

Last week, Allen rushed for 254 yards and two touchdowns in 24 carries to lead the Vaqueros to a 28-13 victory over top-seeded Baldwin Park Sierra Vista, sending Rancho Alamitos into tonight’s Division VII semifinal against Arroyo Grande.

“Moukda went down late in the first quarter against Troy, so essentially, Kevin has rushed for 460-plus yards in just over six quarters,” Case said.

So why wasn’t Allen starting at tailback in the first place?

Actually, Allen was the Vaqueros’ starting tailback when the season opened.

Allen was the big-play heir-apparent to all-county running backs Jeff Byrd and Leon Vickers and quarterback Marshall Brown, each of whom graduated.

Allen started the first five games, but after a mid-season injury to Rancho Alamitos slotback Jeff Turbarg, Case asked Allen to change positions to help balance the Vaquero offense.

“We had Jimmy Chun, a defensive end, filling in for Turbarg before we decided to move Kevin back there,” Case said.

So Allen took over at slotback in mid-season, and along with brother Richard and Manny Metcalf, they provided three potent targets for sophomore quarterback John Frank.

It wasn’t unfamiliar territory for Allen, who started at wide receiver last season when the Vaqueros reached the Division VII title game, where they lost to Sunny Hills, 14-13.

“Moukda was ready to go at tailback and I wanted to get some balance with our passing game,” Case said. “At the beginning of the season, quarterback was one of our question marks, but John began gaining confidence as the season progressed.”

The plan worked. The team has rushed for more than 2,000 yards and Frank has passed for more than 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns. Despite losing Choulamany for the playoffs, Rancho Alamitos has won seven of its last eight.

Although Allen said the loss of Choulamany hurt the Vaqueros, he sheepishly admitted he prefers playing tailback to receiver.

“I like getting the ball on almost every play,” Allen said.

That isn’t a problem for Case.

“He can run, he can catch, and he can outrun about 90% of the players on the field,” Case said.

About the only thing Allen can’t do is run over defenders. At 5-feet-8, 155 pounds, Allen isn’t the most physically imposing player on the field.

“Maybe I’ll try to run over a 4-foot tall defensive back, but you don’t see too many of those,” Allen said. “I just hide behind my linemen.

“I follow their blocks, then juke the defenders. The only reason I’m getting all the yards is because of the great job guys like Jeremiah ‘Hoss’ Ross and the rest of the line are doing,” he said.

It’s easy to see how defenses could lose sight of the shifty runner when he follows Ross, who is 6-5, 285, or tackle Nestor Alvarez, who is 6-0, 315, or guard Adam Maldonado, who is 6-0, 225.

But Arroyo Grande better keep track of Allen if it wants to reach the title game. The Vaqueros have been on a mission since an Oct. 29 27-12 loss to Kennedy cost Rancho Alamitos the league championship.

“We had two goals: to win league and then CIF,” Allen said. “Kennedy cost us the first one, so yeah, I’d like to play them again.”

But first up for Rancho Alamitos is Arroyo Grande. Garden Grove League champ Kennedy plays Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in the other semifinal.

Said Case: “If we can win (tonight) and then win one more, I think I can forgive them for not winning league.”