Alvarado Has Right Perspective

These could be the final days high school football coaches and players walk around campus with a swagger and still feel comfortable talking to boosters, principals and alumni.

With the season starting this week, smiles could turn to frowns and friends might become enemies.

Winning remains the bottom line. It shouldn’t be that way at the high school level, but it is. Almost everyone, from media to fans, makes judgments about teams and individuals based on win-loss records.

High school football remains a very serious endeavor. Weight-lifting sessions as early as 6 a.m. and brutal two-hour workouts in scorching heat offer a glimpse of the commitment involved.

Add cheerleaders, marching bands, parent, student and media interest, and high school football takes on a life of its own.

Thank goodness for teenagers like Taft High senior Steve Alvarado for keeping everything in the proper perspective.

Alvarado has been competing daily with Brandon Hance, a junior transfer from Notre Dame, for the starting quarterback position at Taft.

“We’re having a quarterback controversy,” Alvarado said, chuckling. “We’re just kids out there playing football.”

Alvarado was an All-City selection last season when Taft went 12-1 and lost to San Pedro in the City Section 4-A final at the Coliseum.

He wasn’t supposed to start in 1997 and did. He wasn’t supposed to start this season and isn’t.

Hance showed up last spring possessing a stronger arm and quicker feet. Most observers assumed Hance would win the starting job. And he has. On Tuesday, Taft Coach Troy Starr announced that Hance will be the starting quarterback, changing a decision he made last week to rotate the two. Alvarado will play in a reserve role.

The fact Alvarado lost his quarterback position after taking Taft to the City final as a junior reveals how badly Starr wants to win. What other coach would consider not starting an All-City quarterback?

Starr, with a 61-14-1 record in seven years as Taft coach, is brutally honest with his players. Last summer, he told Alvarado he’d never play quarterback at Taft. Alvarado ignored him, stayed and beat out K.C. Bounds in August. This summer, Starr told Alvarado he’d have to win the starting job again.

“I’m probably going to have to go through this my whole life--battle,” Alvarado said. “You have to earn it. That’s the bottom line. If you earn something, it’s yours. That’s how Coach Starr laid it out for me.”

Alvarado resisted losing his starting position for weeks because of experience and determination.

“I know I’m different from a lot of players,” he said. “I know how to play the game, how to play the position. I know experience is a huge factor. I can see Brandon has so many skills. Brandon is really good. It’s not like I can let my guard down. I think the competition is going to go on.”

Starr chose Hance for his talent, but if he wants to get back to the Coliseum in December, at some point this season, he’s going to need Alvarado’s toughness and experience. Maybe it will be in a game in the mud. Maybe it will be in a game when the opposing team decides to repeatedly blitz. I only know that if Alvarado could pass for 2,191 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior, he deserved to start the first game of his senior year.

Alvarado has no illusions about his football future. When his final high school game is played, it will be his last. He has a 3.95 grade-point average and wants to become an attorney.

“I’m getting A’s in most of my classes,” he said. “School is not hard. You just do your homework and that’s it. Some people don’t want to bother.”

He has lived in a small two-bedroom apartment in Reseda with his mother. Like many of his peers, he faces temptations and distractions.

“I try to stay focused, and not just on the field,” he said. “I have to keep it going all the time, every day, because as soon as I slip, it carries over. I’m just trying to conquer the world. I’m trying to be the best at everything. That’s how I am. That’s who I am.”

Even Starr has come to understand what makes Alvarado different.

“He has a lot of personality qualities that are going to make him successful in life,” he said.

Alvarado didn’t like losing at the Coliseum last December. He cried a couple days later when it finally hit him. But it didn’t take him long to wipe away the tears and move on.

“I’ve played football since I was 9 years old,” he said. “I’ve been through championship seasons and losing seasons. I’ve seen a lot of things go on.”

Alvarado isn’t going to transfer or quit. He’s going to keep competing the way he has all his life.

Winning is important at the high school level, but even more important is producing teenagers with the heart and soul of Alvarado.

Tyler Fenwick was ready to give up football after graduating from Valley College last spring. Then his father, Jim, resigned as football coach at Cal State Northridge to become offensive coordinator at New Mexico. Tyler followed him to Albuquerque.

On Saturday, Tyler caught two passes for 30 yards as a backup wide receiver in his Division I-A debut for the Lobos. “It was something I’ll never forget,” Tyler said.

A former Chaminade High and Valley receiver, Tyler has dropped 15 pounds to 185 and improved his speed. “Playing Division I has always been a dream of mine,” he said.

It was a big weekend for the Fenwick family. New Mexico defeated Idaho State, 38-9. And Tyler’s brother, Casey, intercepted three passes in his debut for the Eldorado High freshman team. . . .

Former North Hollywood High tailback Dante Clay, a freshman at Division I-AA Hofstra, made quite a first-game impression. Entering the game in the third quarter on Saturday, he rushed for 92 yards in 15 carries and scored two touchdowns in Hofstra’s 68-0 victory over Delaware State. . . .

It’s no sure thing earning a spot on the Crespi cheerleading squad. Advisor Pat Baker said each cheerleader has to pass a 20-question football exam. Among the questions: How many yards is a football field? How many points for a touchdown? How many players are on the field at one time?. . . .

Under new NCAA rules, college football coaches can begin scouting high school players as early as this weekend. Don’t be surprised if USC’s Paul Hackett and UCLA’s Bob Toledo are out watching games. . . .

Cal State Northridge basketball Coach Bobby Braswell used to play Andre Chevalier in games of one-on-one when the two were at Cleveland High. Now that Chevalier is an assistant Matador coach, Braswell has motivation to regain his basketball skills. “I need a few weeks to get into shape,” Braswell said. “I used to beat him at Cleveland.”

Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.