FAITH HEALER

Gather around, brothers. Today we’ll read from the Book of Ferrill. Pay close attention, because the message is strong, the message will move you.

It says that, in the beginning, all football teams were created equal. And they were good.

But then some became bigger, stronger and faster, and routinely defeated their inferior foes. And there was disparity.

Then a voice spoke to the weak, telling them that to compete with their superior brethren, they needed to follow the commandments, which I give you now and hope to the high heavens you follow:

1. Thou shall open gaping holes for the running backs.

2. Thou shall protect your quarterback.

3. Thou shall pummel the other team’s quarterback.

4. Thou shall catch every ball thrown your way.

5. Thou shall not miss tackles.

6. Thou shall always form a wedge on kick returns.

7. Thou shall pounce on fumbles.

8. Thou shall not get burned on deep routes.

9. Thou shall score more points than your opponents.

10. Thou shall win, win, win.

Follow these laws, which I know to be true, and you’ll make people forget about that David runt and his nasty little sling.

Am I getting through to you? Do you sense the rewards that await you? Can you see paradise?

If so, say amen, somebody!

*

Carl Ferrill, Valley College’s football coach and church-going grandson of a Methodist minister, has not really resorted to fire-and-brimstone sermons since taking over the floundering program in June.

“I’m not a Bible-stumping Christian,” Ferrill said. “I’m a religious person, but I’m not ultra-conservative. I’m for ultra-discipline.”

Whatever he is, whatever he brings to the table, the Monarchs can certainly use. A national power three years ago, Valley slipped into mediocrity the last two seasons, their glory days a quickly fading memory.

Enter Ferrill, 52, healer of many ailing programs and a lifelong vagabond looking to finally pitch his tent for a long stay.

“We needed a guy to take us back where we were and beyond, and that takes a guy like Carl, who’s a tireless worker,” said Chuck Ferrero, Valley’s athletic director. “Because he has so many years of expertise in many areas, he was the exact fit for me.”

Ferrill was searching for such a fit.

After coaching mostly at Southern California junior colleges for nearly 30 years, he spent the last three seasons as head coach at New Mexico Highlands, a small NCAA Division II school in rural Las Vegas, near Santa Fe.

The place was familiar to Ferrill, but then again, what place isn’t?

Born in Albuquerque, Ferrill was primarily raised by his grandparents in Moriatry, N.M., until he was 6. His father had died when Ferrill was younger and his mother, Virginia, worked and lived at what is now Los Alamos National Laboratory, coming home on weekends. She later married Earl Ferrill, a cable splicer for power and nuclear plants whose work took the family from Spokane, Wash., through several towns in Texas and New Mexico, to Alabama.

“I never went to any one school for more than one year until my junior year in high school,” Ferrill said. “We moved to Santa Fe, N.M., and I went to Santa Fe High.”

Ferrill later moved east about 65 miles, to New Mexico Highlands, where he was a third baseman and wide receiver.

“Texas Tech and the University of New Mexico offered me scholarships to play baseball and football, but I didn’t have the grades and couldn’t get in,” Ferrill said. “New Mexico Highlands took me on probation.”

As coach at New Mexico Highlands, Ferrill inherited a downtrodden outfit accustomed to losing and quickly retooled the Cowboys, who were 24-9 and never finished lower than third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in his three seasons.

But then Ferrill, a single parent, listened to the pleas of his daughters Felissa, 19, and Christina, 14, about leaving Las Vegas.

“The town couldn’t do enough for us,” Ferrill said. “I had a TV show, a radio show, a courtesy car from a dealer. But my daughters hated it, they could not stand it. I moved them from Newport Beach to New Mexico and they didn’t like it.

“I’ve moved them around way too much. It’s time to have some stability.”

*

By Ferrill’s account, his family is happier these days. The three reside in Oceanside, along with Felissa’s baby, Desmond Jones. Ferrill resides in the Valley during the week, going home on weekends.

“I quit the job [at New Mexico Highlands] and didn’t have a job, but this has worked out wonderfully,” Ferrill said.

At least it’s starting to look considerably better than when he first arrived at Valley to find 17 bodies--not necessarily players, Ferrill said--and only seven who were eligible. The Monarchs now have more than 80 “bodies” in camp.

“The proof is still in the pudding,” Ferrill said. “I’m the eternal optimist, but the jury is always out with me until we get it done.”

Ferrill rounded up many players by working the phones and making home visits, but also through his extensive football connections, particularly with Division I programs.

His recruits include wide receiver Julian Battle and defensive end Shawn Price, a pair of blue-chip freshmen who landed at Valley because of academic deficiencies. Battle signed with Miami out of Palm Beach Wellington, and Price committed to Ohio State out of Haddon Heights in New Jersey.

Their plan is to play two seasons at Valley and fulfill academic requirements before transferring to those programs, or perhaps elsewhere. Ferrill, who has a master’s degree in education, is a stickler for schoolwork.

“They are having to do time,” Ferrill said of Battle and Price. “They understand they wouldn’t even be talking to me if it wasn’t for their academics. Once they do what I ask them to do, they’ll have the world by a string.”

Some rival coaches question Ferrill’s penchant for attracting out-of-state players, like he did at San Bernardino Valley, Chaffey and West Hills, and like he’s doing now at Valley. A coach once called Ferrill a “pirate.”

But Brent Carder, in his 30th season as coach at Antelope Valley College, said the criticism is unwarranted.

“Yes, he recruited out of state, but in those conferences [Foothill and Central Valley] it’s legal,” Carder said. “It’s been my experience that guys who win get labeled and it’s not justified.

“He’s a very, very knowledgeable football coach. No matter where he’s coached, he’s always, always tough to beat.”

The Monarchs hope Ferrill, who has a 67-19-1 career record, can work his magic again.

They were 30-3 from 1994-96 and played for the mythical national title in 1995 under former coach Jim Fenwick, but declined the last two years after Fenwick left to coach Cal State Northridge in 1997 before becoming offensive coordinator at New Mexico.

“Our goal is making sure our sophomores get to class and we can place them [at a four-year school],” Ferrill said. “Our goal is to be as good as we can be.”

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CARL FERRILL’S FOOTBALL COACHING CAREER

1970-77--Baldwin Park High

1978-81--Assistant, Rancho Santiago College, Santa Ana

1982--West Hills College, Coalinga

1983--Offensive coordinator, Idaho

1984-88--Offensive coordinator, UNLV

1989--Personnel scout, Los Angeles Rams

1990-93--Co-coach and assistant, San Bernardino Valley College

1994-95--Chaffey College

1996-98--New Mexico Highlands, Las Vegas, N.M.