Growing Pains

Defensive end Tucker Bennett of St. Bonaventure High celebrated his 17th birthday Tuesday. Let’s make the bold assumption that a razor and shaving cream were not among his presents.

Although Bennett is a senior, he’s still waiting for his first chin hair. Likewise for his chest.

His coach, Jon Mack, tells college football recruiters, “You’ll be getting a puppy.”

Except Bennett is a very big puppy. At 6 feet 3 1/2 and 240 pounds, he makes a Saint Bernard look tiny. And what a bark he has.

With 11 sacks, Bennett is a major reason the Ventura-based Seraphs are 9-0 and might be the best team in school history.

Alex Holmes, a former Harvard-Westlake tight end who’s being recruited by UCLA, USC, Michigan and Stanford, gave this appraisal of Bennett’s skills: “I told him he was the toughest defensive end I had to block. He was really powerful and always had a good outside charge.”

What makes Bennett an appealing is his potential for growth.

“My brother started shaving when he was 17 and grew another three inches, so it’s all potential that could be there,” Bennett said. “I feel I get stronger every day. I was benching 205 pounds last year. I’m benching 315 pounds now, and I want to bench 400 pounds next year.”

His first name is Michael, but he uses his middle name because he said he doesn’t feel like a Michael.

“When I came out, I was 10 pounds, blond and [my mom] said there’s no way we’re not calling this kid Tucker,” he said. “I like it.”

Bennett used to play basketball and continues to play baseball, but football brings out his aggressiveness and toughness. He enjoys hitting moving targets.

“I love the sport,” he said. “You can go all out for 48 minutes and it’s completely legal to cream people. Laying 240 pounds on top of somebody is fun.”

Bennett’s favorite moment is grabbing a player who has the ball, holding him up like a pinata and waiting for his teammates to come charging in and make the hit simultaneously.

Every day in practice, he improves his pass-rushing skills by going against 300-pound teammate Adrian Ayala, one of the best tackles in Ventura County.

Bennett has a recruiting trip planned to Colorado State, and other schools are expected to follow.

“[Football] is going to take me a lot of places where I probably couldn’t have been,” he said.

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How good is senior running back James Bethea of Cleveland?

So good he’s averaging 9.5 yards per carry and has rushed for more than 100 yards in eight of nine games this season. He leaves Saturday on a recruiting trip to California.

“The only way you can hold that guy under 100 yards is if he’s wearing cowboy boots,” Coach Troy Starr of Taft said.

For the season, Bethea has rushed for 1,524 yards and 26 touchdowns.

“I’ve coached some pretty good running backs and he’s for real,” co-Coach Steve Landress of Cleveland said. . . .

For five years, Greig Carlson of Taft played roller hockey. The junior receiver might have a future, however, in football.

Last year, he had nine receptions for 93 yards. This season, he has 39 catches for 862 yards and nine touchdowns.

“He’s learning how to run routes and uses his brain to get open,” Starr said. “He’s getting hockey out of his legs, so he’s getting faster every week.” . . .

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Bort Escoto, boys’ basketball coach at Sylmar, has finalized a two-year agreement to play Crenshaw in a home-and-home series. The Spartans will travel to Crenshaw Dec. 10, then host the Cougars next year. That’s a gutsy move by Escoto, who wants his team to compete against the best in the City Section. . . .

There’s a growing buzz among City coaches that Canoga Park could be a top-10 team in boys’ basketball this season. Coach Ralph Turner’s Hunters usually do well when they have an effective point guard, and Turner has confidence in sophomore Leon Usher and freshman Sterling Stegall.

“They’re very talented,” Turner said.

If the point guards can get the ball to 6-6 senior Jammie Harris and 6-3 Cecil Brown, a transfer from Taft, the Hunters should challenge North Hollywood for the Sunset Six League title. . . .

Despite having no varsity basketball experience, Eshaya Murphy of Montclair Prep is being touted as the best freshman girls’ player in the Valley. She’s 5-11 and could average more than 25 points per game. . . .

B.J. Ward and Nick Jones, former Santa Clara guards, are expected to redshirt this season at UC Santa Barbara. . . .

City teams have begun playing weekly winter baseball games, and what a debut for left-handed pitcher Jacob Ball of Chatsworth. Sidelined for five months after undergoing elbow surgery last April, Ball returned on Saturday against Grant to retire all nine batters he faced, four on strikeouts.

Ball, a senior, had the ulnar collateral nerve in his left elbow placed under a muscle so it would stop bouncing around. He could be the ace for the defending City champion.

Another impressive Chatsworth debut was turned in by junior catcher Danny Dominguez, who went three for three. . . .

Ivan Hernandez, former All-City pitcher at Sylmar, has improved his SAT score which should clear the way for him to pitch for Cal State Northridge this season as a freshman. The school has appealed to the NCAA.

Hernandez has been taking 11 units at Northridge while waiting to join the team.

Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Saturday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com