Foster Carries His Weight, and More, for Tustin

You would have a hard time convincing teams in the Golden West League and the rest of Orange County that Tustin running back DeShaun Foster was once so uncoordinated he couldn’t catch a beach ball, much less a football.

Yet, it’s true.

“When I was younger,” Foster said. “My uncle would take me outside to play catch. He’d throw a ball, I’d miss it, it would hit me in the head and I’d go back into the house crying.”

But among the lessons Foster has learned from his parents, Al and Cheryl, as he has grown into the strapping 6-1, 205-pound young man who powered Tustin into the Southern Section Division V championship game against Santa Margarita, two of the more important were never give up and stay with something until you master it.

And did The Times Orange County’s back of the year ever master football in 1997.

Among the standout seasons turned in by Mater Dei’s Mike McNair, Santa Margarita’s Carson Palmer, Laguna Hills’ Michael Jones and others, Foster’s season--3,398 yards in 323 carries (10.5 yard average) and 59 touchdowns--was beyond comparison.

He became the first county rusher to amass 3,000 yards in a single season, breaking the county record of 2,562 set by Rancho Alamitos’ Jeff Byrd in 1992. The 59 touchdowns and 362 points shattered county records set by Laguna Hills’ Brendan McCraw (42 touchdowns, 252 points) in 1994.

The touchdown total is also a new section mark. The record of 47, set last year, belonged to Baldwin Park Sierra Vista’s Oscar Arzu. And, according to the 1997 edition of the National Federation of State High School Assn.’s record book, Foster’s 59 would be the second highest total ever. Brett Law of Sheridan, Ind., scored 66 touchdowns in 1988.

Foster’s speed enabled him to outrun people--as a defensive back he had a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown against Canyon. And his strength let him run over people--it was common to see Foster break four and five tackles on a single run.

“He is a special kid,” said Tustin Coach Myron Miller, who switched this season from his favored double-wing attack to the power I formation to maximize Foster’s abilities. “I think he’s a once-in-a-career back. I’ve told the [college] recruiters, you can’t take him unless you can replace him.

“The best thing about him, he’s not a cocky kid. DeShaun always credits his blockers after a run. He understands that while he carries the ball, the other 10 guys block their butts off to get him his yards.”

Foster works hard to be humble. If he doesn’t know you, he tends to be shy and soft-spoken, although friends insist he has a great sense of humor. When asked what led him to having such a ground-breaking season, Foster said it was a matter of hard work and good teammates.

“I believed I could have a good season, but I wasn’t shooting for this,” Foster said. “I wanted a [section] championship--that’s where all the goals were. And after I saw the offensive line work out this summer, I thought we could be good.”

They had to be, because Miller goes to the forward pass about as often as he wears long pants.

And Miller is known for developing sturdy, talented runners.

While assistant coaching at Ramona High in 1988, Miller helped tailback Troy Thomas produce a 2,300-yard season; he went on to Louisville.

As head coach at Costa Mesa in 1994, Miller coaxed a 2,500 yard season out of Charles Chatman, who is at Kent (Ohio).

And last year at Tustin, Miller had two other backs carry the ball besides Foster--Brandon Lambert and Greg Carnal--for big yardage at Tustin.

But Foster surpassed them, and everyone else in the county, in 1997.

“The thing that impressed me,” Saddleback Coach Jerry Witte said, “was the tougher the situation or the bigger the play, he met the challenge. It’s easy to run where there is a gaping hole and no one touches you; you just use your speed, and he has great speed and moves you want to see in a running back. But when it is fourth and three, he finds a way to get the yardage. He makes the play the team needs.”

Foothill Coach Tom Meiss said, “I’d always thought the best runners I had ever coached against were Santa Monica’s Glyn Milburn [now with the Minnesota Vikings] and Edison’s Kerwin Bell. But that was before I saw DeShaun. If there was ever a kid I saw, barring injury, who has a chance to play on Sunday [in the NFL], it’s him.”

While considering UCLA among other schools, Foster has put off any discussion of college until he has taken his recruiting trips. One thing is certain: Even though he could flourish as a wide receiver or defensive back, Foster wants to be a running back. And he will go where they stress education as much as football.

“I just want to be successful in whatever I do,” Foster said. “I want to graduate from college. I want to be thought of as more than just a jock.It wouldn’t bother me if I made the NFL, but you can’t set your hopes on that. You have to have something to fall back on.”

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The First Team

OFFENSE

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Pos. Player School Hgt. Wgt. Yr. QB Carson Palmer Santa Margarita 6-5 220 Sr. RB DeShaun Foster Tustin 6-1 205 Sr. RB Mike McNair Mater Dei 6-2 220 Sr. WR John Minardi Santa Margarita 6-3 190 Sr. WR Keenan Howry Los Alamitos 5-10 160 Jr. TE Saia Makakaufaki Laguna Hills 6-4 240 Sr. OL Jake Ashabraner Esperanza 6-3 302 Sr. OL Corey Chambers-Alston Tustin 6-4 305 Sr. OL Jeff Hick Laguna Hills 6-1 230 Sr. OL Robert Richardson San Clemente 6-3 240 Sr. OL Lenny Vandermade Mater Dei 6-3 250 Jr. K Nick Gilliam Mission Viejo 5-9 170 Sr.

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DEFENSE

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Pos. Player School Hgt. Wgt. Yr. DL Dylan Bird San Clemente 6-4 215 Sr. DL Jason Hayward Sunny Hills 6-2 255 Sr. DL Jared Ritter Mission Viejo 6-4 252 Sr. DL Jarom Fano Fountain Valley 6-1 240 Jr. LB Nick Cappelletti Santa Margarita 5-11 175 Sr. LB Kevin Mitchell Mater Dei 6-0 215 Sr. LB David Vickers Rancho Alamitos 6-0 200 Sr. DB Brett Baker Newport Harbor 5-11 184 Sr. DB Joey Boese Mater Dei 5-10 175 Sr. DB Mike Chavis Mission Viejo 6-0 192 Sr. DB Rasuli Webster Brea Olinda 6-2 202 Sr. P David Waltzman Aliso Niguel 6-1 197 Sr.

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