Crescenta Valley Has Pair of Jackhammers

At first glance, Chris Oliver appears better suited for a mosh pit than a football field.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Crescenta Valley High linebacker usually sports a week’s worth of facial stubble and three earrings on his left ear. He also is considering a tattoo, although he has yet to find a design that interests him.

At 6-3, 235 pounds, clean-cut and soft-spoken, teammate Jesse Busta looks more like a straight-laced, no-nonsense dance club bouncer--the kind of guy who might need to put a guy like Oliver in his place.

“Busta doesn’t say a word and Oliver is the Extreme Games personified,” Crescenta Valley Coach Alan Eberhart said. “The kid is radical.”

For the Falcons, they form a dynamic duo.

Paced by Oliver and Busta, Crescenta Valley is slam-dancing toward a Nov. 7 showdown with Muir for the Pacific League title.

The Falcons (3-0) enter a nonleague game at South Pasadena (3-0) Friday night ranked third in the Southern Section Division III after victories over Thousand Oaks, Franklin and Canyon.

Kenny Pritchett has rushed for 445 yards and five touchdowns to earn most of the headlines but many observers believe the play of the Falcons’ disparate linebackers has been most important.

“I’m impressed with both of them,” said Canyon Coach Larry Mohr, whose team was averaging 238 yards rushing per game before being limited to 105 by Oliver, Busta and Co. in a 21-16 Crescenta Valley victory. “It seemed like Busta was in on every tackle.”

Their styles complement each other, Oliver relying on speed and aggression, while Busta uses strength and brute force.

At his size, Oliver probably won’t be a college linebacker, but his all-out, reckless style makes him a monster at the high-school level.

“He’s unbelievable,” Busta said. “I’ve never seen anybody who goes out every time and never holds anything back.”

Oliver, who blocked six kicks last season, has 47 tackles in three games, putting him on pace to eclipse the school record of 129.

Busta, a senior who was home-schooled until the eighth grade and doesn’t turn 17 until November, has 37 tackles and one interception.

“He flat-out destroys people, he hits so hard,” Oliver said of Busta, who gave a teammate a concussion last summer after one particularly jarring hit. “With me, I just try to tackle people any way I can, even if I have to drag them down by the jersey.”

Against Canyon, Eberhart played Busta on offense, utilizing him as a power runner to complement Pritchett’s elusive style. Busta gained 40 yards in eight carries and scored a touchdown.

It’s not surprising that two of Crescenta Valley’s best players are middle linebackers. Eberhart and his staff have a reputation for placing talented athletes at that position.

“These kids grow up here knowing that we expect to have an All-Southern Section linebacker,” Eberhart said.

“We expect to have a great one, if not every year, then every other year.”

The Falcons have produced five All-Southern Section players at the position since 1989.

“It’s like Hart’s deal with quarterbacks,” Eberhart said.