It’s a Fantasy for the Players, but Emotion Is Real

When people ask what’s so important about high school sports, tell them to come to a championship game and watch the reaction of teenagers taking their first steps on hallowed ground usually reserved for college or professional athletes.

You see the sparkle in their eyes and the excitement on their faces. You hear the thrill in their voices and feel the sense of accomplishment in their sweaty handshakes.

It’s genuine, old-fashioned emotion not shaped by the lure of money or the promise of stardom. It’s a moment for 16-, 17-and 18-year-olds to live out fantasies they’ve only thought about with their eyes closed and their heads rested against a pillow.

Such was the scene Friday night in the City Section Championship football game at the Coliseum between Dorsey and Woodland Hills Taft.

Too often, attention is focused solely on winning or losing, but the journey to reach a championship game can be just as compelling, and the lessons learned just as significant.

On the field were two Taft players who had overcome odds and obstacles, linebacker Lance Broadus and defensive lineman Mike Lopez.

Each day Broadus goes home after practice on the school bus, he pauses at the entrance of Taft’s main office and looks at a plaque under a tree.

The inscription reads: “Mark Rodgers, 10 years as a dedicated Taft High School bus driver. A loving father and great friend whose life touched and blessed many. June 27, 1963-Dec. 31, 1999.”

Broadus knew Rodgers well. Rodgers was his father.

“I think how I miss him and wish how he could be here with me,” Broadus said. “He was really important in my life.”

Rodgers died of a liver ailment. The church where the funeral service was held couldn’t hold all the high school students who wanted to say goodbye to a kind,unpretentious man who tried his best to help teenagers make it through life.

“He was real cool with everybody,” Broadus said. “He was like a friend. You could talk with him about anything.”

Rodgers convinced his son to attend Taft and encouraged him to play football. Broadus has grown into a 6-foot-3, 225-pound junior with skills that have Taft coaches comparing him to former Toreador standout DaShon Polk, who played at Arizona and is with the Buffalo Bills.

“He has the ability to dominate a game,” Taft Coach Troy Starr said.

Throughout the playoffs, it has been Broadus’ play on defense that helped Taft reach the final.

He has begun to mature. Thanks to his mother, Lori, he made it through those difficult days in the aftermath of his father’s death.

“You just have to get close to the rest of your family,” he said.

He has moved on, but he hasn’t forgotten a man he still admires.

“When I go out there, I pray,” he said. “I pray for him to watch over me. I wish he could be here, but I know he is.”

Lopez’s story is one of unequivocal faith in himself. How else to explain the mind-boggling sight of a 5-1, 150-pound senior starting at defensive tackle for Taft in a game where one of his line opponents, Carl Shandell of Dorsey, is 6-3, 360 pounds.

“It’s like an elephant stepping on a mouse,” Starr said.

Except Lopez is a fast, fearless mouse.

“It’s no problem for me,” Lopez said. “I’m not afraid. I’ve been going against dudes his height all season.”

Lopez is smart enough not to directly take on someone 100 or 200 pounds heavier. He slants, spins and slides to spots on the field and is like a pesky gnat in causing trouble for frustrated linemen unable to block him.

“It’s unbelievable,” defensive coordinator Jason Blatt said. “He’s been our most productive defensive lineman all year.”

On Friday night, Lopez experienced a moment he knows people will find hard to comprehend.

“They have to see it with their own eyes to believe there was a 5-1 defensive lineman starting at the Coliseum,” he said.

And what has he learned from this season?

“No matter how small you are, you can do it if you set your goals,” he said.

By the way, in the City Championship game, Taft lost, 19-14. If it really matters.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com