Futbol Fury

Although he’s slight of stature, Carlos Morales usually delivers blows rather than absorb them.

Quicksilver agility and an aggressive on-field demeanor help keep the Reseda High boys’ soccer playmaker upright and wary opponents at arm’s length.

But despite being nimble and quick, Morales, 5 feet 6 and 130 pounds, cannot escape his emotions. They are, at once, the fuel for his play and the bane of his existence.

They are also quite evident--in his body language.

Terry Davila, Reseda’s coach, delivers pep talks or tongue-lashings by gauging his protege’s posture.

A down-turned head, slumped shoulders or tears mean Davila must remind Morales he is the region’s best player and doesn’t need to mope.

A set, jutted jaw and flailing elbows prompts the coach to tell Morales that his hubris is thwarting his potential.

“Carlos does not know how to be middle,” said Davila, who has known Morales for seven years. “He gets too down and he gets too up. He is in a constant battle with himself.”

Lately, Morales, 17, seems to be winning. Undisciplined and torn by family problems early in his teen-age years, he said he turned to vandalism and occasional drug use. He was academically ineligible to play at Reseda as a freshman.

With Davila’s guidance and with an upturn in his soccer fortunes, Morales changed his course and has made strides toward his longtime goals of becoming a professional player and gaining financial security for his family.

Morales will be center stage in the City Section soccer playoffs that begin Friday. Reseda, the defending City champion, is seeded second and opens at home against Freemont at 3 p.m.

“It’s almost impossible to win it a second time because everyone goes after you,” said Morales, who has six goals and 12 assists. “Last year was the greatest feeling in the world, but doing it again would almost be better.”

The U.S.-born son of Salvadoran immigrants, Morales did not play organized soccer until he was nine, preferring instead to tag along to the men’s league games of his father, Luis, a former professional player in El Salvador.

In a youth park league, Morales kept up with children three years older. He became a standout when he moved to club competition with boys his own age.

At 11, Morales landed on a team coached by Davila, a former Reseda and Cal State Northridge player known for physical but intelligent play. Davila and several other team coaches dedicated themselves to toughening Morales, challenging him not to let his emotions dictate his play.

Those lessons were learned slowly. When Davila left the team after several years, Morales said he started running with graffiti-tagging crews, using marijuana and staying away from home for days at a time.

His mother, Cecibel, said she blamed her marital strife and overloaded work schedule for Carlos’ problems and was terrified he would follow his older brother to juvenile hall.

“He brought me a packet of marijuana one day and said, ‘I’m sorry, I tried it,’ ” Cecibel Morales said. “I started crying and told him if he continued to do bad things [he’s] going to end up in jail.”

Morales received a boost in 10th grade when Davila, then an assistant with the Northridge men’s team, again became his club coach. A year later, Davila resigned from the teams and returned to coach at Reseda, helping the Regents capture their first City title in 10 years.

“Terry pushes me; he tells me the truths I can’t handle,” said Morales, the first Reseda player to wear No. 7 since Davila led the Regents to the 1988 City title as the section’s defensive player of the year.

Davila said his connection to Morales is strong because he realizes the player wants to choose the right path but does not always have the experience to do so. Morales concurs.

“I grew up in a bad area, a gang-type environment where people were almost expected to fail,” Morales said. “People thought you were a nerd if you studied and I never wanted anyone to think I wasn’t cool. I always wanted to mess around.”

Morales, who recently was named All-American, has improved as a student the past two years, but he will not graduate from Reseda with his class. He said he will attempt to earn a diploma by passing an equivalency exam.

Next month, Morales and teammate Oscar Sims will visit State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., a junior college powerhouse that will send 11 players to four-year college programs from last season’s team.

Mitch Murray, the U.S. under-18 national coach, discovered Morales at a club tournament in 1997. Morales played for Murray in two European tournaments last year, once being chosen the top U.S. player of the match.

In March, he will compete in a training camp with the team, preparing for an April international tournament in Alabama and a possible summer tour through Europe.

“Carlos is an exciting and dynamic player; he brings a different dimension to our team,” said Murray, a man not given to effusive praise. “He’s small but he makes up for it by being tenacious and confident. He’s a complete player.”

Morales’ immediate challenge is to return Reseda to East Los Angeles College on March 6 for the City title game. He will do so while playing out of position in the central midfield, for he is a natural on the wing.

“I’m used to just beating players down the line, not looking up and distributing [the ball]” Morales said. “But on the wing if I lose it, I have six players back for me. If I lose it in the middle, I’m the start of their attack.”

More worrisome than turnovers is whether Morales can maintain the poise to guide his team. In the Regents’ only conference loss, a December setback to Poly, he was ejected for a flagrant foul in the closing minutes. Reseda went on to lose three games in the next two days.

“I take things hard and I don’t get over it fast,” Morales said. “But that’s what keeps my drive going. As much as I want to stop doing it, I think it kind of helps me.”