Learning the Angles

Ryan Solomona never had much problem figuring out angles of pursuit as a linebacker for the San Pedro High football team. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior became a dominating presence for the defending City Section 4-A Division champions simply by acting on instinct.

But last summer, Solomona began considering some of the academic principles behind his outstanding play. That can happen when you spend four hours a day, five days a week in a six-week summer school geometry class.

“Four hours of geometry a day. That was tougher than any practice, game or injury I’ve ever experienced,” said Solomona, who took the class at Carson High to fulfill a core requirement for college. “Let me tell you, I learned how to do my proofs. I learned about angles.

“You don’t think about that stuff when you’re on the football field, but they do come into play when you’re chasing someone down.”

Solomona and San Pedro are once again pursuing history as they try to repeat their first major division title. The Pirates are 3-0 and riding a 17-game winning streak going into Friday night’s Southern Pacific Conference showdown against unbeaten Crenshaw. A sellout crowd of 3,500 is expected at San Pedro’s Daniels Field for what has become one of the City Section’s most intense and competitive football rivalries.

“Crenshaw knows we’re the champions, and they definitely want a piece of us,” said Solomona, the Pirates’ leading tackler last season. “They remember what happened last year when we played.”

How can the Cougars forget?

San Pedro and Crenshaw were each 4-0 when they met at Crenshaw. San Pedro was leading, 14-6, with 12 seconds left in the first half when Crenshaw lined up for a play on fourth and goal from less than two yards out. Solomona anticipated the play perfectly and flattened the Cougar ballcarrier short of the goal line. San Pedro went on to win, 16-6, on the way to the City title and a 14-0 record.

“He’s a guy you have to beat to beat them, that’s no secret,” Crenshaw Coach Robert Garrett said. “He’s a tough kid. But I’m going to see what kind of shape he’s in. I’ve run straight at him and he can handle that. But can he cover the hook curls? We’ll see.”

Solomona, who will turn 17 on Sunday, has handled just about every challenge San Pedro Coach Mike Walsh has thrown at him since making the varsity last season. Solomona was second on the team with 106 tackles in 1996 and was selected as a team captain this year.

“Sideline to sideline, he’s as good a linebacker as we’ve had here at San Pedro,” said Walsh, who has coached the Pirates since 1991. “He’s a quiet leader. He doesn’t talk too much, but when he does the other kids listen.”

Solomona, who patterns his playing style after San Diego Charger linebacker Junior Seau, welcomes the responsibility.

“We have a lot of Pirate pride here at San Pedro--the players, the teachers, the whole community,” Solomona said. “The best way for me to lead is to go out there and try to make every tackle and make big plays so the defense can go three and out.”

So far, Solomona and San Pedro are keeping to his plan. Solomona has 19 tackles and a sack for a team that opened the season with a 51-0 rout of Fairfax and also has defeated Hamilton, 29-13, and Manual Arts, 21-7. He also has been used as a running back and has 13 yards in three carries.

Crenshaw opened with a 14-0 victory over Manual Arts, then beat Poly, 47-6, and Compton, 44-20. The Cougars are led by running backs Trevaughn Gory and Donye Tucker, each of whom rushed for more than 100 yards in the last two games. Quarterback Keenan Carter is also a threat running the option and as a passer.

Manual Arts Coach Glenn Bell, who has faced both teams, expects a low-scoring game.

“Crenshaw has good team speed--they have a solid running and passing game and they play good defense,” Bell said. “San Pedro isn’t as fast but they are very quick. They are so well-schooled in what to look for, their anticipation puts them where they’re supposed to be.

“It’s going to come down to who makes the fewest mistakes. San Pedro doesn’t make many and neither does Crenshaw. If one can force the other into a mistake, that could be the difference.”

Garrett is looking forward to the opportunity to knock off the defending champions on their home turf.

“There isn’t another place in America I would rather be on Friday night than at Daniels Field,” Garrett said. “San Pedro has great fans. They love me, boo me and want to throw me out of the stadium. It’s a great football atmosphere.”

Solomona hopes to capitalize on it.

“We want to go back to the big game at the Coliseum and play for the City championship,” he said. “But no one here is worried about a win streak or anything else right now. Everybody has their eyes on Crenshaw. They’re our next victim.”