Santa Margarita Tandem Serves, Protects

Several large, confident young men lined up to battle two Santa Margarita High teammates during a recent football practice. One by one, the challengers left the encounter battered and dejected after repeatedly being driven into the ground by senior offensive linemen Josh Beckett and Kris Farris.

Beckett and Farris would undoubtedly have punished their teammates further if Coach Jim Hartigan had not stopped the drill.

“They really need to hit somebody their own size, but there aren’t many guys anywhere their size,” Hartigan said. “We can’t get them (repetitions) against other guys (in practice) because they’ll hurt them. It’s not that they try to hurt them, it’s just that they’re so big and physical. We just can’t let that happen.”

The opposition should be so lucky.

Beckett and Farris, two of Orange County’s dominant linemen, are among the most recruited players at their positions by Division I schools. Hartigan hopes his team captains will clear a path to the Sea View League title.

After weeks of holding back against teammates, Beckett and Farris get their first chance to run over opponents tonight. The Eagles visit Trabuco Hills at 7:30 p.m. for a nonleague game.

“Barring injury, they should be dominant forces this year,” said Dick Lascola, owner of the Fallbrook-based Scouting Evaluation Assn. “They obviously have the size, and you need size to play on the offensive and defensive lines at the Division I level.”

Beckett, a guard, is a two-year varsity starter. He has played every position on the offensive line. Josh is the second Beckett to play at Santa Margarita. His brother, Nathan, was an offensive lineman for two seasons before graduating in 1991.

At 6 feet 5 and 305 pounds, Beckett is the, ah, runt of the Eagle duo. Adept in run blocking, Beckett bench presses 345 pounds and has a bad disposition.

“You have to be (ticked) off to be a good run blocker,” Beckett said. “You’ve got to have anger. I always go into games believing the guy across from me hates me, so I have to hate him more.”

Eagle offensive line coach Brett Kohorst marvels at his pupil’s power.

“Josh is so much more physical than everyone he faces,” Kohorst said. “He throws guys on their backs downfield. We have to rotate younger players against him in practice because we don’t want them to lose their confidence.”

Left tackle Farris (6-8, 275 pounds) is the kinder, gentler member of the tandem--but the results are the same. When Farris was a year old, doctors told his parents he would grow to 6-5. Farris is still moving skyward.

Protecting the quarterback is Farris’ forte.

Santa Margarita coaches have measured Farris’ arm span at 80 inches, which enables him to keep defenders away from his body, and away from the quarterback.

“When I get the reach on somebody and lock-up, they can’t even touch me,” Farris said. “It’s not that I don’t like run blocking, but it doesn’t come as naturally to me.”

Beckett and Farris complement each other well, Hartigan said.

“Josh has the typical offensive-linemen mentality,” Hartigan said. “He’s tough and mean, and he’d rather run somebody over than go around them.

“Kris is more athletic and he’s real good technically. He has great footwork. They give us a great foundation.”

Don’t let Hartigan’s description of Farris fool you, though. This guy is no technocrat.

As a junior, Farris suffered a broken right wrist in Santa Margarita’s third game but played the entire season.

“I just didn’t let anyone know about it,” Farris said. “I knew it was probably broken, but I wanted to deal with it after the season.”

He had five pins inserted in his wrist during a surgical procedure in May.

“One of the questions some of the recruiters had about Kris is his toughness,” Hartigan said. “He’s shown he can be tough when he needs to be tough.”

Beckett and Farris have provided more answers than questions for recruiters.

They said they are being recruited by every school in the Pacific 10, and have already received scholarships offers from UCLA and USC.

No matter where they wind up, Kohorst said, they’re ready to play.

“They’re ready for the next level right now,” Kohorst said. “They’ve got amazing potential.”