Just Call Him Captain Video

While LaVale Woods awaited his chance to carry the football for USC this season, he always knew there was a place he could go to get it.

At the controls of a football video game, Woods is master of his fate. No waiting for injuries. No awkward wishing that a teammate might fail. Just find No. 30 on a computer-simulated version of USC’s team and hand himself the football.

“I can take me and rush for 400 yards,” said Woods, the self-professed Carl Lewis of video games.

And he made the most of his first opportunity of the season Saturday, bailing out a beleaguered running game by rushing for a career-high 129 yards against California in the Trojans’ first victory.

“He came through when we needed a win desperately,” Coach John Robinson said. “I suppose I should be questioned why the hell he wasn’t in there the first two games. Well, he’s not a breakaway runner. He is what he is. He’s a very tough, physical runner and a very good blocker. We asked that from him and he produced it. LaVale Woods is one of the better people I know. . . . I think he has great integrity. He’s not going to play in the NFL, but this was big time.”

Woods may be workmanlike on the field, but he is the virtuoso of the joystick.

“I think I’m better at video games than I am at football,” he said. “Ever since I was 7, when my cousin Cliff got his first Atari. We played Pac-Man every day. No one could beat me. I was too good. I’d go to any arcade, any 7-Eleven. Bring on your best. I’ll beat you.

“It’s like a big part of my life. I know that sounds stupid, but I have a lot of memories, playing with friends and people I love.”

Woods doesn’t play only video football.

“I like Myst, and adventure games,” he said. “I always tell everyone, I’m not a one-dimensional player. Everyone plays sports games, but I play all games.”

Still, Woods and some of his teammates spend a lot of their time playing a game that simulates NCAA football, their likenesses indicated by jersey numbers.

“They could have made me a little faster, but we didn’t have a good season,” Woods said. “They made me cool this game. I’m pretty happy. Before, I wasn’t even in the game. I was mad. I was boycotting.”

A vaguely awkward decision arises when USC’s players choose to play with teams other than their own.

“Right now, you want to play SC, but somebody will go grab Florida State or Florida to top you,” Woods said.

Daylon McCutcheon plays with North Carolina, Rashard Cook plays with Florida, Travis Claridge plays with Tennessee. Woods tends to use Texas A&M.;

“I dominate all of ‘em,” he said. “Last night, I ran all over Travis Claridge and Brennan Ochs. I was making highlight films on ‘em.”

It once seemed as if there would be a lot of highlights at USC for Woods, who was competing for playing time as a freshman in 1993 before a badly sprained ankle forced him to redshirt.

The next year, he injured his knee practicing as a long jumper with the USC track team in the spring, and a year later, a hamstring injury cost him part of the season.

“The knee took the longest,” he said. “It was two years before I got where I was running without pain or used to running with it,” Woods said. “It was a hard deal. Some freak jump. I landed the wrong way and chipped a bone in my knee, right in the joint. It was so weird, I probably couldn’t do it again if I tried.”

Woods is a 5-foot-7, 220-pound bulldog who runs hard and smart, but somehow coaches never seem to look to him first, even though he was USC’s leading rusher last season after gaining 601 yards while filling in some at tailback.

In what is destined to be a difficult trivia question, Woods holds the record for the longest run from scrimmage in USC history--a 96-yard touchdown trip against Oregon State last season.

“I tell you, that’s remarkable,” said Charles White, the 1979 Heisman winner and coach of USC’s running backs. “Among all the great tailbacks from USC, he has the longest run in history. I believe it was a pitch play. He got a great block and he popped out and ran down the field. I remember Chris Miller escorting him down the sideline. I think LaVale was tired after 50 yards.”

Woods experienced the lowlight eight games later, fumbling with 1:27 left against UCLA. The Bruins tied the score and went on to beat USC in double overtime.

“That took a long time to get over,” Woods said. “The next game against Notre Dame, we called the exact same play, and I was scared to death.

“A lot of guys got behind me and were telling me it was OK. I know it’s not OK. They played their butts off. I appreciated them trying to comfort me, but I’m a football player too. I knew it wasn’t OK.

“I prayed about it a lot. . . . I just had to take it. I messed up. There’s nothing I could do about it. No one on this earth feels worse about it than I do.”

It’s hard not to wonder if that fumble isn’t one reason the Trojans didn’t look to Woods early this season.

USC was determined to give Delon Washington every opportunity to succeed. After all, he had rushed for 1,000 yards two years ago. But when Washington stumbled out of the gate, Woods was still waiting. Freshman Malaefou MacKenzie got the second opportunity. Woods carefully praised his teammates’ abilities and waited a little longer.

After USC fell to No. 112 in the nation in rushing, Woods got his turn. He ran for all he was worth.

“When your back’s against the wall, you’ve got to go to your [most versatile and competitive] football players,” White said. “He runs maybe a 4.6 [40-yard dash], but he runs faster when somebody’s after him. He ran hard, and he ran with some explosiveness. It was a great opportunity for him to take advantage of the situation.”

It was a situation that might have driven another player to bitterness, but not Woods.

“LaVale’s a team player all the way,” White said. “There’s never been one time he griped or quarreled about anything.”

“I just stayed faithful,” Woods said. “It was frustrating, but I kept hoping something would happen and I would get a chance.

“I’m proud of myself that I was pretty patient this time. In the past, I was more anxious. I’d be [upset]. I let it get to me. I’d get discouraged. I got moody with my friends. This year I handled it a lot better. I’m really proud of that.”

Now USC’s other backs are having to wait their turn.

“They’re going to get their opportunities,” Woods said. “But it hurts like hell, sitting there and watching someone else do it. I understand how they feel. I’ve been there.”

NEXT UP FOR USC

Who: Nevada Las Vegas

Where: Coliseum

Time: Saturday, 7:15 p.m.

TV: Fox Sports West 2

Radio: KLSX-FM (97.1)