Edwards, Higgins Named Top Players, Jones Coach of the Year

Although he won the award last year, Westchester quarterback Seka Edwards was surprised to be honored again as the Back of the Year at The Times’ 1993 Westside high school football awards breakfast.

Edwards, who passed for 2,053 yards and 28 touchdowns, guided the Comets to the best record in the Coastal Conference and to the City Section 4-A Division semifinals this season.

“I was surprised because there were so many people who had good years,” said Edwards, who was impressed with Fairfax running back Tyrone Evans and Murphy receiver Gibbons St. Paul. “I didn’t think I would win it again.”

In addition to Edwards, Matt Higgins of St. Bernard was chosen as Lineman of the Year and Marshall Jones of University was selected as Coach of the Year.

The three winners and other players named to The Times’ Westside first team were honored at an awards breakfast Sunday at the Guest Quarters Suite Hotel in Santa Monica. USC graduate assistant and former Denver Broncos linebacker Ricky Hunley was the keynote speaker.

In addition to improving his yardage and touchdown totals from a year ago, Edwards reduced his interceptions from 14 to 11. He also learned to run a no-huddle offense, which was key to Westchester’s comeback victories against Crenshaw and Locke.

“The no-huddle offense was something I always wanted to do,” Edwards said. “We ran it against Los Angeles and scored 43 points in the first half. We decided to stay with it.”

Edwards, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior, said he has received recruiting letters from UCLA, Kansas, Colorado State and Nevada Las Vegas, but has not planned any on-campus visits. He said he is surprised by the lack of interest. Edwards scored a 920 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test and has a 3.1 grade-point average to qualify academically for scholarship consideration.

“It’s frustrating, very frustrating,” Edwards said. “I have better stats than most quarterbacks in the City or the Southern Sections . . . . other then (Newbury Park’s) Keith Smith, and he’s all-world.”

As a three-year starter, St. Bernard’s Matt Higgins has been one of the area’s top offensive linemen. Higgins, a 6-4, 270-pound strong tackle, was instrumental in helping teammate Joe Henderson gain more than 1,000 yards in 1992 and Carlos Meeks 1,354 yards in 1993.

“Obviously, it’s a nice award to win,” Higgins said. “I had a good season opening holes for Carlos. He was quicker on his feet and ran outside as well as up the middle. I had an easier time blocking this season because Carlos can cut back and forth and avoid tackles. He made the game fun for us.”

In his first season at University, Jones took a team that went 0-10 in 1992 to 5-7 in 1993. The Warriors won a City Section 3-A Division playoff game before losing to finalist Fremont, 28-14, in the second round. Jones was honored for his organizational skills and his ability to turn around a losing program.

Jones, however, missed the banquet.

“It is the highlight of my coaching career and I wasn’t there to enjoy it,” Jones said. “I told the kids I was going to be there and I completely forgot about it. My wife was so happy to have me (home) that we went to church and stayed around the house.”

The Warriors were the only team to beat Westchester during the regular season. While winning the Metro League title, the Warriors also posted upset wins over Fairfax, Palisades and North Hollywood in the playoffs. They should be better next season, when Jones, who was hired in June, has a full year to prepare.

“I didn’t know what we were capable of doing,” Jones said. “In the back of my mind, I wanted to win five games. But I told our players that our goal was to win a league championship. I think the difference was that the players from the beginning accepted what we wanted to do as a coaching staff. It doesn’t matter how good of a coach you are, if your kids don’t believe in your system, you won’t win too many games.”