HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS / SOUTHERN SECTION SEMIFINALS : Tagatauli’s Transformation Helps Los Amigos : Division VII: Fullback and linebacker becomes better player and leader for Lobos.

At this stage of an athlete’s career, there are potential crossroads.

For Los Amigos fullback and linebacker Shawn Tagatauli, the 1995 season loomed as such.

After a so-so sophomore year, Los Amigos coaches wondered if the, ahem, free-spirited 170-pound special teams player would become serious about improving himself.

Would he spend the necessary time in the weight room to get stronger? Would he start living up to the standards established earlier at Los Amigos by brother Noah, now at Brigham Young?

Fortunately for Tagatauli and Los Amigos, the answers were yes.

It helped that he grew and added 40 pounds. But he also became dedicated this summer to becoming a good football player.

Tagatauli became a leader and cornerstone on defense for the 10-2 Lobos, who face 11-1 Lompoc in the Southern Section Division VII semifinals tonight at Bolsa Grande High.

In a way, his development matched the team’s.

“We got better as the year went on,” Tagatauli said. “Early on we had a lot of substitutions because this person didn’t play good, or we have to change this. Now everything is perfect.

“When we lost that first league game [to Pacifica], we came together. Last year, we were on an up-and-up season until we lost to Rancho Alamitos. Then it was ‘Oh-oh, what are we going to do now?’ Everyone was broken-hearted. This year we knew how to deal with losses.”

Tagatauli did his part on both sides of the ball.

His blocking helped clear a path for tailback Greg Fausto to collect many of his 1,381 yards and 18 touchdowns. Tagatauli also gained 557 yards in 97 carries and had 11 receptions for another 116 yards. He has scored seven touchdowns, six rushing and one receiving.

Although he’d rather play more on offense because “offensive people get more attention,” Tagatauli’s biggest contribution may come from his outside linebacker spot.

Often asked to rush the quarterback, Tagatauli has become proficient at making tackles behind the line of scrimmage, with two sacks and nine tackles for losses.

And quarterbacks aren’t the only ones bowled over by Tagatauli. Against Rancho Alamitos, running back Leo Kosi took a handoff, looked for a hole and found none. He turned to the side where he found Tagatauli waiting.

Rancho Alamitos Coach Doug Case still remembers the impact.

“He was blitzing from the outside and had a really good hit,” Case said. “He is just relentless when he gets in the backfield. Against us he menaced our backfield. He was one of the few to have a big game against us.

“Shawn is one of the best. We will probably go away from him more next time.”

Lobo Coach Roger Takahashi is proud of Tagatauli’s transformation.

“What has made him good was putting on more strength,” Takahashi said. “He worked all summer. And through his brother being in the program, he knew what to expect. He settled down and matured in the weight room.

“Last year, he was a bit young and squirrelly. Going from a star on the frosh to reserve on varsity, that’s an adjustment. This year, he worked to get promoted.”

How does he compare to his older brother, who made the BYU team as a walk-on last year?

“Noah was faster,” Takahashi said. “Shawn has more of an inside game. Right now, because Noah had more speed, he had more of an impact. But, potentially, Shawn can pass him.”

It was Noah who helped Tagatauli improve. Before going on a mission to the Dominican Republic in August, Noah spent long hours in the weight room with Shawn pushing him to keep working.

“To motivate me and stuff, he’d keep telling me, ‘You’re not going to be better than me. Come on Shawn, you can’t be better than me.’ ” Tagatauli said.

Tagatauli already has surpassed his brother in one respect: None of Noah’s teams made it this far in the playoffs.

But for Los Amigos to reach the championship game it will have to defeat second-seeded Lompoc, which won its first two playoff games by a combined score of 67-14.

Tagatauli said he has a healthy respect for the Lompoc defense.

“Their defensive front line is real big and athletic. It will be the best we’ve faced,” he said.

No matter. When Lompoc has the ball, Tagatauli plans to give the opposition something to worry about.