Restless Times : Scholarship, Leaving L.A. Primary Goals of Kennedy Secondary Standout Bailey

Waking Bailey isn’t the type who scares easily.

Part of his toughness comes from growing up without a father. Just after Bailey was born, his father was shot and killed in what his mother, Gail White, believes was a gang-related shooting .

As a 140-pound sophomore, Bailey, freshly enrolled at Kennedy High, tried out for the Golden Cougar football team. Despite competing against skill-position players as fast as any in the area, he came away with a starting position in the defensive backfield. He has since started 31 consecutive games and intercepted 19 passes.

But Bailey admits he felt frightened when he arrived at a classroom early Saturday morning three weeks ago to take the Scholastic Assessment Test for the second time.

‘This has been the biggest day in my life for months,” Bailey said. “It’s a day I needed to be ready for.”

The first time he took the test last spring, he fell short of the required 820 to become a full qualifier for an NCAA Division I scholarship. If Bailey, 17, passes, he will have achieved the final piece in the scholarship puzzle he immensely desires. His football skills are unquestioned.

Bailey, now 5-10, 170 pounds, has been selected to the All-City Section 4-A Division team the past two seasons and appears a lock to be selected for a third time.

He also plays wide receiver, returns kickoffs and occasionally plays tailback for the Golden Cougars (5-2, 4-0), who play at Taft (7-0, 4-0) tonight at 7 p.m. with the Northwest Valley Conference championship at stake.

Bailey is a steadying influence in a turbulent season for several Kennedy seniors.

Tailback Jaret Harris was suspended for the opening game of the season. Linebacker Byron Williams and cornerback Gary Goss were suspended from school two weeks ago after an on-campus incident. Goss returned to the Golden Cougars after missing one game and Williams will return tonight.

To replace Harris, Bailey shifted from his wide receiver position to tailback against Quartz Hill. In a gusty, swirling wind that took away the Golden Cougar passing attack, Bailey gained 73 yards in a 26-19 loss.

Harris came back the next week, but Kennedy again lost, this time to Carson, 34-28.

Losing didn’t come easily to the Golden Cougars. Kennedy was coming off an undefeated regular season in 1995. The only loss came against eventual City 4-A champion Dorsey in the semifinals.

“It was strange to go through,” Bailey said. “I’m not the type to get in people’s faces. I try to lead by example. But I had to speak up.”

His teammates heard. Starting with a 56-19 victory over North Hollywood the next week, Kennedy has ripped off five consecutive victories. The Golden Cougars are beginning to resemble last season’s juggernaut.

Three players on that team, Antwane Smith, Damion Thompson and Karalus Doyle--players Bailey respect--were in his position.

They had the football ability that left coaches drooling, but none could achieve a qualifying score on the SAT. A fourth player, linebacker Semisi Umufuke, was missing the required core classes when he transferred from Tonga midway through his sophomore year.

All four are now playing at Valley College.

Bailey desperately wants to avoid being confined to a junior college.

“I want to get out of California for school,” Bailey said. “I’d like to go to [college] someplace like Kansas. It would be totally different than L.A., a lot of wide-open space. That would be cool.”

With a 3.3 grade point average last year and an overall GPA near 3.0, Bailey has a good chance at achieving the qualifying standard. But the test still scared him.

After his first attempt last spring, Bailey took a preparation class and used a CD computer program religiously.

Kennedy Coach Bob Francola understands Bailey’s desire to leave Los Angeles.

“Those guys from last year are still playing football, still being productive but they are still here, in the neighborhood,” Francola said. “They had a chance to get out, they still do but they will have to wait two more years. It would be better for Waking to go out and experience something different.”

Bailey’s mother is already planning that way. White moved her family away from inner-city Los Angeles when Bailey was young to escape escalating violence. Now she’s thinking about soon leaving her Northridge home with Bailey and his half-brothers, James Norris, 13, and Ronald Hodges, 2.

“It might be time to move on,” she said. “I’ve tried to protect Waking by keeping him away from trouble. But there’s no way to escape it.”

White has always tried to look out for Bailey’s best interests.

When her son was entering ninth grade, White enrolled Bailey at Faith Baptist so he would stay disciplined both in and out of school.

Bailey never felt comfortable being one of the few minority students at the school and finally convinced his mother to let him attend Kennedy. She’s still able to keep a watchful eye. She works as a security guard at the Granada Hills campus.

“He wanted to follow Antwane Smith,” White said. “He didn’t enjoy Faith Baptist but he did learn something. I wasn’t totally convinced he should be at Kennedy but he wanted to go.”

Bailey found his niche on the football field. His sophomore year, he intercepted eight passes. He followed it up with seven last year.

“We could tell right away he had offensive-type skill even when he was playing defense,” Francola said.

Bailey’s role in the offense has increased each season. After catching five passes and running nine times as a sophomore, he caught 17 passes for 439 yards, had 266 yards in 37 carries and served as the emergency quarterback as a junior.

After seven games this season, Bailey has caught 19 passes for 301 yards and gained 388 yards in 45 carries. Although offenses tend to throw away from Bailey, he has still managed four interceptions.

He has also dabbled in basketball. He averaged 8.7 points as a starting guard last season.

But basketball may not be in Bailey’s immediate future. He is trying to graduate from Kennedy after the fall semester and take classes at a junior college next spring, the better to prepare himself for college.

“I’m tired of high school,” Bailey said. “I’m ready to move on.”

Bailey is confident he did well enough to score 820 his second time around. But just to make sure, he will take the SAT again Saturday. This time, he’s not frightened.