BEST EVER

High school sports serve as a rite of passage for the athletes who play them, the students, friends and families that gather to watch them and the sportswriters who cut their professional teeth covering them.

High school football games in Los Angeles date to 1896, but it wasn’t until 1934 that the Los Angeles City Section was born.

The Southern Section was established in 1912 and held its first athletic competition in 1913.

This story is not an attempt to document the achievements of every outstanding athlete, coach and team that made a mark, for there are far too many to chronicle here.

Rather, it is a history lesson of sorts told by current and former Times staff writers who have written about Southland prep athletes. Most of the writers graduated from Los Angeles-area high schools. And while many have gone on to cover college and professional sports as beat writers or columnists, all maintain indelible images of the prep athletes they watched, covered and, in some instances, competed with and against on the playing field.

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Attendance was estimated at 7,500 when Santa Margarita and Tustin met in the Southern Section Division V championship football game in 1997 at Cal State Fullerton.

But four times as many people probably now claim to have seen the game Santa Margarita won, 55-42.

The matchup was compelling from the start. Quarterback Carson Palmer, now starting at USC, led Santa Margarita and running back DeShaun Foster, now starting at UCLA, led Tustin. I had seen Foster play in perfect conditions and in the driving rain, and he is the best running back I have seen in 15 years or reporting.

Conventional wisdom had Santa Margarita, with Palmer (who I was seeing for the first time) and several other talented players, winning going away.

The teams had met in the semifinal round the year before and Foster was limited to 26 yards in Santa Margarita’s 31-0 victory.

But fatigue was the only thing that stopped Foster this time as he humbled Santa Margarita’s vaunted defense carry after carry.

Tustin’s offensive line, which never got enough credit, was amazing, consistently ripping open giant holes. Foster finished with 378 yards despite being so tired that on one carry, while in the open field, he just stopped running because of cramps. Foster also scored six touchdowns, all from 10 yards or more.

But Santa Margarita had too many weapons.

Palmer was even more impressive than advertised as he passed for 413 yards and five touchdowns. He just stood above it all, spreading the ball around to his talented crew of receivers.

Foster and his fellow Tustin defensive backs were often at a loss as Palmer chose which open receiver to throw to.

I interviewed four Santa Margarita players afterward and, without prodding, all wanted to know how many yards Foster had gained.

After the game, Santa Margarita defensive back John Minardi, who was defensive MVP in the Sea View League that year, said: “He’s the best back I’ve every faced. It was a real challenge.”