Staying Hungry

Call it The Great Doughnut Caper.

A friend of offensive tackle Keith Holt was leaving the Westlake High student store carrying three packages of doughnuts.

Coach Jim Benkert, always on the lookout for junk-food fanatics, confronted the teenager.

“Who are those for?” Benkert said.

“Keith Holt,” the friend squealed.

“Thank you, very much,” Benkert said as he confiscated the contraband.

Holt was hungry last season without his doughnuts, but Benkert did him a favor. The fewer doughnuts he eats, the better chance he has of becoming a dominant lineman.

Holt, 6 feet 5 and 298 pounds, is having his best season. A prolific pass blocker, he hasn’t allowed a sack in two years as a starting tackle.

“Hopefully, it will never happen,” Holt said.

What’s different about Holt as a senior is his improved strength, stamina and power. After off-season training with former USC center Brad Leggett, now a fitness trainer, Holt is learning how strength and good eating habits can make a difference. He has dropped weight and feels fit.

Not that he doesn’t occasionally slip back into his junk-food routine.

“Every night around 11 p.m., I get a little hungry,” Holt said.

That’s when chips and candy bars start disappearing from the family kitchen.

Holt continues to develop under line coach John Kidder, a former Crespi and UCLA tackle who is meticulously preparing Holt for future combat.

“I think he’s better than a lot of Division I linemen,” Kidder said. “I would put him up against anybody in a one-on-one drill and he’d win.”

Just don’t expect Holt to finish first in any 40-yard dashes. Speed is not what he’s known for. But quickness, intelligence and great balance keeps defenders wondering when they’ll get past Holt.

“Quick, small guys, if they try to go inside, they just get stopped,” Holt said. “If they go around me, I take a step back, because sooner or later, they have to go through you to get to the quarterback, so you beat them with your feet.”

Holt started playing tackle football in the seventh grade at the urging of his parents. He knew nothing about the sport, but they wanted him to do something and he quickly found comfort as a lineman.

But he was no wild man on the field.

“My freshman year, I’d hit [opponents] and feel like, ‘Oh, I hope I didn’t hurt him,’ ” Holt said.

When Holt floors somebody, he politely helps them up.

Oklahoma has offered Holt a scholarship and other schools are expected to join the recruiting derby.

Quarterback Zac Wasserman ought to make sure Holt and his fellow Westlake linemen are well-fed, considering they’ve allowed only two sacks this season.

“If we had won the Clovis West game, [Wasserman] was going to take the OL out to a sushi bar,” Holt said.

Benkert treated the offensive line to pizza on Thursday. Asked how many pizzas he was ordering, Benkert said, “One for each lineman.”

But no doughnuts.

*

There are four future varsity football standouts providing lots of entertainment on junior varsity teams. They’re so good it would be wise to show up before the varsity games to see them play.

Steven Smith, a freshman receiver on Taft’s freshman-sophomore team, scored touchdowns on three of his six receptions last week against Kennedy. He’s so talented Coach Troy Starr used him in varsity practice to simulate Kennedy’s varsity receivers. Quarterback Brandon Hance has joked about staying another season at Taft, then taking Smith with him to Purdue.

John Kontos has rushed for more than 200 yards in three of four games and scored 11 touchdowns on Westlake’s sophomore team. “He’s got great speed,” Benkert said.

Matt Moore, a 6-3 quarterback for Hart’s sophomore team, is firing away. He has completed 56 of 105 passes for 775 yards and 10 touchdowns with three interceptions. He could start at shortstop for Hart.

Erik Vose, a 6-2 1/2 freshman quarterback for Chaminade’s sophomore team, completed a game-winning 22-yard touchdown pass with 53 seconds left last week to beat Bishop Montgomery. In four games, he has completed 38 of 58 passes for 940 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions.

Thousand Oaks could have a quarterback controversy in the coming years with two top sophomores, 5-11 Todd Feiereisen and 6-2 Ben Olson. Feiereisen has led the sophomore team to a 4-0 record, including a victory over Hart. Olson, a left-hander, is sharing quarterback duties on the varsity.

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

MIDSEASON REPORT

Eric Sondheimer ranks the top five players, position by position, from the region in the Southern and City sections after five weeks of play.

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