Running for Respect

Lorenzo Booker was gone. He had faked out the linebacker, raced down the sideline and zipped past the safety. Nothing could stop the fleet-footed running back on his way to the end zone . . .

Riiiiing !

Except the school bell.

Only then would Booker be brought back to reality after another class had been frittered away playing football in his mind.

Such were the games Booker played until he realized that dreaming about a game might be all he ever did if he failed to pay attention in class.

Which is why he can afford to dream a little now. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior at Ventura St. Bonaventure High is rated by some recruiting analysts as the top high school running back in the nation. Booker has an excellent chance to break the state career rushing record of 7,384 yards set by Ventura’s Tyler Ebell, a childhood friend, from 1998-2000. He’s 1,842 yards short.

“He’s got a shot at setting marks that will leave him as one of the greatest running backs to play the game at the high school level,” St. Bonaventure Coach Jon Mack said.

Not everyone is that impressed. Oxnard Hueneme Coach Larry Miller questions the legitimacy of rushing statistics compiled against lower-division opponents.

Booker had 363 yards rushing and five touchdowns in the Southern Section Division XI title game last season against Orange Lutheran, helping St. Bonaventure win its second title in a row.

“We’re not diminishing Booker’s ability at all,” Miller said. “But they’re saying he’s doing ‘this,’ and we’re saying, ‘compared to what?’ ”

Booker’s response?

“To be honest,” Booker said, “we need people like that because it will give us the fuel for the fire.”

The Seraphs will take inspiration where they can get it in trying to extend their 28-game winning streak. A third consecutive undefeated season would make Booker 42-0 at St. Bonaventure and would probably secure his place among the best high school running backs in Southern California history.

Booker has run 40 yards in 4.31 seconds, and he leaves many defenders grasping at air when he shifts into high gear. Last season, Booker rushed for 3,103 yards and 45 touchdowns despite being taken out early in several lopsided games. The Seraphs outscored opponents, 662-111.

“He could have rushed for about 4,500 yards if he had played the whole game every game,” Mack said. “He played in about 10 games’ worth of quarters.”

St. Bonaventure will probably need Booker on every down Sept. 13 when it plays Newhall Hart, the reigning three-time Division III champion. Booker, who says that game will be the biggest in St. Bonaventure history, doubts that even a big showing against the Indians will silence his detractors.

“I have reason to believe that even after we do beat Hart,” he said, “[critics] are still not going to give us our respect.”

Booker has little to prove. He was selected most valuable player at a prestigious Nike camp at San Diego State this summer and has received scholarship offers from many top college programs.

Booker talks a mile a minute, just like he runs, and he’s not shy.

Consider his remarks on Ebell’s state career rushing record: “His career record is toast. It’s done. I’ll have that by the seventh game.”

On his speed: “If we line up against each other, I’m going to beat you. This is what I do. This is what I live for. I’m not going to let you go out there and embarrass me.”

On his ability as a running back: “I just feel like God has given me something. It’s like buying some Legos. You have a little picture of a ship right there and you have to put it together. I just feel like God has given me all the parts and I just have to build it.”

Don’t let his words give you the wrong impression. Booker is not arrogant or self-centered. Just ask his mother, Sharon Hill.

“He’s just really confident in himself,” Hill said. “He never says if , it’s always when --when I’m going to do this, when I’m going to do that. Everything he has said so far has come true.”

Booker is also quick to share his success with St. Bonaventure’s offensive linemen.

“When he comes off the field after a touchdown, he’s always there to pat me on the back and say, ‘Great job blocking,’ ” said James Bonelli, a tackle who has committed to Notre Dame. “He’s taken me out to dinner a few times.”

Booker hasn’t made a college choice. He is considering USC and UCLA and plans to visit Florida State, Notre Dame, Washington, Tennessee and Texas--teams that have caught his eye on television.

Florida State might have a slight edge because Booker is a big Seminole fan and watches tape of the team’s 2000 Sugar Bowl victory over Virginia Tech several times a week. His first scheduled trip is to Tallahassee, Fla., Oct. 12.

But Booker, a self-proclaimed “momma’s boy,” said he already knows he would get homesick if he attended an out-of-state school. He plans to wait until signing day in early February to make his decision, freeing him to concentrate on his senior season.

Booker plans to have wide receiver Whitney Lewis scrawl “the truth” on the pad covering his lower back as a message to those who question his legitimacy.

“It just means, hey, maybe I am in this [small] division, but I’m the truth,” Booker said. “I’m going to these camps and getting MVP and I’m about to rush for 300 yards on you guys.”