He Finds Success to Be Hit and Miss

For 45 minutes on the bus ride home to Sherman Oaks, Ryan Allen sat alone, hunched in his seat, hands covering his face.

Over and over, the 17-year-old senior kicker from Notre Dame High reflected on the most anguished moment of his athletic career. His 34-yard field goal against Mira Costa a week ago went wide right as time expired, denying the Knights a semifinal playoff victory.

Later, he made a 37-yard field goal in overtime, but Mira Costa ended up winning, 41-38.

He showed up to school last Monday wondering how students would treat him. Some stared, not knowing what to say.

“Some said, ‘Sorry about the game,’ ” he said. “I didn’t want them to put me down. I didn’t mind if they said, ‘Nice try.’ ”

The most important moment came when Coach Kevin Rooney called him into his office and made the case that the missed kick did not cost the Knights a victory.

“Every guy who missed a block, missed a tackle or fumbled a ball is just as much to blame,” Rooney told him.

Allen thought he knew what he was getting into when he agreed to become a kicker. It’s one position in football where someone can go from hero to goat or vice versa almost immediately.

But not until a kicker actually experiences that moment does the realization set in.

“I make those 30-yard kicks 100% in practice and during games,” he said. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”

Putting victories and defeats into perspective is the job of a coach.

Rooney made his point, and Allen appreciated it.

“It taught me how to deal with a loss, how kickers are put in a situation to win the game and sometimes fail,” he said.

Allen made 10 of 12 field goals coming in. He was so confident about making the game-winning field goal that he imagined how the celebration would take place, with players running into the middle of the field and starting to pile on top of each other.

It didn’t happen, so he found himself on the bus ride home from Manhattan Beach feeling miserable and wondering how his and his teammates’ lives had been changed.

On Friday night, while Hart was playing Mira Costa for the Division III championship, Allen was home.

He has a 4.0 grade-point average, 1200 SAT score and is looking at Yale, Columbia or Harvard as college choices. One day, he could be a lawyer or doctor.

The memory of the playoff defeat isn’t likely to disappear, but with the help of his coach and others, he understands there are more important days ahead.

“In the long run, things will be OK,” he said.

*

Final observations from the 2000 prep football season:

Hungriest linebacker: Leo Reed of Westlake is still waiting for his promised steak dinner from Coach Jim Benkert for recording seven sacks against Hart.

Quickest thinking coach: When Notre Dame learned it didn’t have a power source nearby to use its headphones against Mira Costa, Rooney gave his credit card to one of his assistants, who purchased 700 feet of extension cords for $58.80 at a local store.

Best treat at a snack shed: Taft’s home-made split pea soup on a cold Friday night in Woodland Hills.

Best player nobody’s heard about: Receiver Jason Burkhart of Crescenta Valley.

What-if scenario: What if Charles Burnley of Valencia, Joe Lemma of Westlake, Jim Sharp and Michael Luderer of Notre Dame and Jason Lance of Alemany had not transferred from Crespi?

Best fumblerooski plays: 1. Tim Volk of Notre Dame running 80 yards for touchdown against Mira Costa; 2. Bobby Garafolo of St. Francis running 66 yards for a touchdown against Antelope Valley; 3. Isidro Medina of Sylmar running nine yards for touchdown against Dorsey.

Most impressive sophomores: 1. Receiver Steve Smith, Taft; 2. Defensive back Chad Green, Birmingham; 3. Receiver Whitney Lewis, St. Bonaventure; 4. Running back Sean Wallace, Antelope Valley; 5. Linebacker Eric Ochoa, Birmingham; 6. Quarterback Erik Vose, Chaminade; 7. Defensive back Derrick Williams, Campbell Hall; 8. Linebacker Jason Turner, St. Francis; 9. Linebacker Randy Lang, San Fernando; 10. Running back Kevin Herron, St. Francis; 11. Tackle Chris Piligian, Hart.

Best college prospects for 2001: 1. Quarterback Ben Olson, Thousand Oaks; 2. Quarterback Matt Moore, Hart; 3. Running back Lorenzo Booker, St. Bonaventure; 4. Running back Tim Gregory, Hart; 5. Lineman Chris Frome, Hart; 6. Lineman Tim Volk, Notre Dame; 7. Defensive back Dave Anderson, Thousand Oaks; 8. Lineman James Romero, Kennedy; 9. Quarterback Hudson Gossard, Crescenta Valley; 10. Running back Curtis Brown, Paraclete; 11. Defensive back Bryan Wilson, Granada Hills; 12. Tight end Jesse Taylor, Chaminade; 13. Running back John Ford, Littlerock; 14. Safety Louie Procopio, Notre Dame; 15. Receiver Ramon Perry, San Fernando; 16. Safety Jeremy Boyle, El Camino Real; 17. Tackle James Bonelli, St. Bonaventure.

Top 10 teams for 2001: 1. Hart; 2. Notre Dame; 3. Taft; 4. Westlake; 5. Thousand Oaks; 6. Birmingham; 7. St. Francis; 8. Kennedy; 9. Antelope Valley; 10. Valencia.

Biggest questions in the off-season: 1. Will Jeff Engilman retire as Sylmar coach? No. Will Taft get a transfer at quarterback for the third time in four years? Yes. Will Troy Thomas become the next Crespi coach? Yes. Will Harry Welch come out of retirement at Canyon? No. Will Thousand Oaks’ Olson become the No. 1 recruit for new Brigham Young Coach Gary Crowton? Yes.

Warning to St. Bonaventure: Either start playing tougher nonleague opponents or your victories will become irrelevant in the minds of many observers.

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