Ticket to Play

Jermaine Moore has watched more City Section football championship games than he cares to remember. The Dorsey High senior followed the Dons long before he played for them and purchased a ticket for the final at the Coliseum in each of the last five years after Dorsey was eliminated in the playoffs.

“Every year, we’d look down on the field and say, ‘We want to be there ,”’ Moore said. “Now, here we are.”

Moore, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior running back, can hardly wait to come out of the Coliseum tunnel on Friday when Dorsey plays Woodland Hills Taft for the City title.

Dorsey (9-3), seeking its first championship since 1995, has won seven consecutive games since losing its Coliseum League opener against Crenshaw. Taft (10-2), which won its only City title in 1998, also has a seven-game winning streak. The Toreadors are in the final for the fourth time in six years.

“It’s going to be special to play on that field where so many great running backs have played,” Moore said. “This is a chance for Dorsey to be back where we belong ... on top.”

Moore emerged as Dorsey’s primary rushing threat when he gained 207 yards and scored four touchdowns in the Dons’ 24-6 season-opening victory over Sylmar. He shared time throughout the season with Melvin Petties and Rasby Sinclair in Dorsey’s wing-T offense, but still gained 1,097 yards, scored 11 touchdowns and averaged more than seven yards per carry.

“In our style of offense, Jermaine plays the fullback spot, but it’s kind of a tailback position,” Coach Paul Knox said. “It really fits the things he does well because he has good feet and good vision. He gets to the hole pretty quick and when he sees daylight, he has a nice little spurt to get through.”

Moore began developing his talent, and his affection for Dorsey, at 9, when he played Pop Warner football for teams that practiced and played at Jackie Robinson Stadium, Dorsey’s home field. His brother, Steven, a sophomore defensive back and special teams player for Oregon, played for Don teams that advanced to the semifinals in 1998 and ’99. Last season, Jermaine’s first with the varsity, he rushed for more than 500 yards and scored four touchdowns for a team that lost to Carson, 3-0, in the first round of the playoffs.

“Last year was kind of a struggle for me,” Moore said. “I was kind of nervous and timid. I never really got into sync.”

Determined to become the Dons’ top back, Moore spent the summer working out every day. He ran up and down sand dunes at the beach, lifted weights and tried to abide by his brother’s advice.

“He told me to just keep working hard and it would come,” Jermaine said. “He was right. I came back to school and the first time I put my cleats on, I felt like a completely different player. Confidence is what it’s all about.”

Moore helped Dorsey finish second in league and began the playoffs with a flourish against Wilmington Banning. He ran for a 71-yard touchdown in his first carry and finished with 208 yards and three touchdowns in the Dons’ 34-22 victory against the defending City champions.

That performance made Moore a focal point for Westchester’s defense in the quarterfinals, allowing Dorsey to pass for three touchdowns en route to a 20-14 victory. In the semifinals against Fremont, Moore rushed for a touchdown and 78 tough yards. He exerted almost as much energy on the sideline exhorting the Don defense to hold off Fremont for the 14-10 victory.

“He’s a very good north-south runner who knows how to get downfield and keep his shoulders pointed toward the end zone,” Taft Coach Troy Starr said. “He’s definitely a concern for us.”

Scoring a touchdown or two at the Coliseum would fulfill one of Moore’s personal dreams. But he’ll gladly play the role of decoy if it results in a Dorsey victory.

“Whatever it takes,” he said. “I’m just glad I’m playing and not watching.”