Encouraging Words Have Powerful Impact

Chris Lewis, a sophomore at the time, was mud-stained and numb after Long Beach Poly lost to Mater Dei in the semifinals of the 1996 Southern Section Division I football playoffs.

Another in a long line of talented Jackrabbit quarterbacks, Lewis wandered around the turf at Veterans Stadium after the 34-14 defeat and wound up at midfield, weeping.

Then Mater Dei quarterback Nick Stremick approached him.

“ ‘Hold your head up, kid,’ ” Lewis remembers Stremick saying. “ ‘You’re going to be all right.’ ”

Lewis, who tonight will lead Poly into a playoff rematch against Mater Dei for the third consecutive time, has recovered nicely from that season-ending defeat two years ago.

He has guided the Jackrabbits to a school-record 27 consecutive victories going into tonight’s Division I title game at Edison Field. A victory over the Monarchs, whom they defeated, 28-25, last year for their 11th section title, would make the Jackrabbits only the third team in school history to repeat as major division football section champions.

Lewis said he never forgot the words spoken to him by Stremick that December night in Long Beach. Mater Dei went on to beat Los Angeles Loyola, 17-10, in the 1996 Division I title game.

“It was cool what he said to me,” Lewis said. “I didn’t expect that. But I took it to heart and in the off-season I worked a little harder. It hurts to have your final game be a loss, and I didn’t want to do that again.”

Lewis, 6 feet 4 and 205 pounds, has had an outstanding career at Poly. He has thrown a state-record 107 touchdown passes. This year alone, he has passed for 2,972 yards and 41 touchdowns.

And if his receivers aren’t open, Lewis isn’t afraid to scramble out of the pocket, a point that surely isn’t lost on his Mater Dei opponents.

“He’s an all-around quarterback,” Monarch defensive back Matt Grootegoed said.

Mater Dei linebacker Dustin Davis said he has watched videotape of Lewis this past week.

“He’s smart,” Davis said. “He doesn’t make mistakes. If we get some pressure on him, we have a chance. I think that’s the best shot we have at him.”

Lewis, who has orally committed to play football and volleyball at Stanford, never intended to play football. He wanted to compete in basketball and volleyball in high school but before the start of his freshman year, a former youth league football coach talked him into trying out for the Jackrabbits’ freshman football team.

A year later, he became Poly’s starting quarterback in the third game of the season. He has remained there for the past 37 games.

“Obviously he’s the most valuable guy on our ball club,” Poly Coach Jerry Jaso said. “Offensively, we’re built closely around Chris. The rest of our backs are huge factors, but Chris has the ability to make big plays. He has made our offense the kind of offense that can be in the hunt in any game we’ve had over the last two years.”

Lewis believes Poly’s plethora of offensive weapons has made his job easier.

Running back Larry Croom has gained 1,106 yards and scored 17 touchdowns, despite missing three games and parts of two others because of injuries. Running back David Word has gained 910 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. Wide receiver Samie Parker has caught 54 passes for 1,214 yards and 16 touchdowns, and USC-bound Kareem Kelly has 41 receptions for 1,030 yards and 15 touchdowns.

“With our offense, we could score any way. It just depends on who’s hot,” Lewis said. “If I’m hot, we pass. If Croom’s hot, we run.”

Defensively, there’s cornerback Darrell Rideaux, the 1997 Southern Section Division I player of the year, and inside linebacker Dennis Link, a stalwart in the middle.

“This is a great bunch of guys,” Lewis said. The Jackrabbits often draw dozens of spectators, young and old, to their practices.

“Little kids, Pop Warner players, come out to watch us practice,” Lewis said. “One of them last year would critique my games. Little kids come up to me and say they are going to break my record when they get here. My little brother, Matthew, who is 9, says he’s going to break my record.

“We have a really strong tradition here,” Lewis said. “Right now in California, the country, you say Poly and people know what you are talking about. But you say Mater Dei and they know who you are talking about, too.”