Evans Continues to Forge Ahead

If Birmingham High held a punt, pass and kick contest--as the National Football League does for youngsters across the country--Emmanuel Evans would be the runaway winner.

The left-handed junior can throw the ball more than than 60 yards--farther than starting quarterback Scott Doherty--is averaging slightly more than 40 yards a punt, and his straight-ahead kicking style has led to a kickoff into the end zone in each of Birmingham’s three games.

But Evans’ role as a bruising tailback makes the biggest impact for the Braves. At 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, Evans is bigger than any running back in the Northwest Valley Conference and leads the circuit with 433 yards rushing in 65 attempts. He’s also an effective receiver, catching seven passes thus far.

After a rebuilding year in 1995 that still resulted in a City Section 3-A Division playoff berth, Birmingham is in position for a solid season. After an opening loss to Canoga Park, the Braves have been impressive in victories over University and Reseda.

Evans grows along with the team. He transferred from Faith Baptist after his freshman year. His football experience consisted of one year on the Faith Baptist junior varsity, an eight-man program.

Not that Evans didn’t want to play before entering high school. He tried out for a Pop Warner team when he was 12 but was ineligible to play because he weighed too much.

Birmingham Coach Dave Lertzman was impressed with Evans’ combination of size and speed and installed him as the tailback.

“I didn’t have any expectations,” Evans said. “He just put me there to see what I could do.”

But he was still raw.

“He didn’t even know how to take a handoff,” Doherty said. “He would just grab the ball from me.”

But he was a quick study. Despite being slowed by a back injury, Evans gained 971 yards as a sophomore.

This year, he’s improved all of his skills, even though he spent most of the summer concentrating on basketball. He is a starting forward on the basketball team.

“The [football] coaches weren’t too happy about that,” Evans said.

In the Braves’ victory over University, Evans lofted a 34-yard scoring pass to Demetrus Patterson from punt formation.

“I was a little surprised it worked,” Lertzman said. “He’s got such a strong arm, he usually overthrows the receiver. If he were more accurate, he could play quarterback.”