Cowan Lets Play Do His Talking

Humble, mellow, unselfish. Those are the everyday character traits of Joe Cowan, a two-way starter for the surging Bellflower St. John Bosco High football team.

He’s 6 feet 4 and 193 pounds, runs 40 yards in 4.4 seconds, has a 32-inch vertical leap, possesses excellent hands as a receiver and makes hard hits as a free safety.

“He’s a great player,” Coach Kiki Mendoza said.

Everyone but Cowan knows how good he is. Well, maybe he knows but doesn’t want to flaunt it.

He has three cousins ages 5, 7 and 8. They greet him after St. John Bosco games as if he were a celebrity.

But ask Cowan if he has given them an autograph and he responds, “There’s no point. I’m not famous.”

Yet.

Before the high school season is completed, Cowan is going to be well known among college recruiters, starting Thursday with his team’s Serra League title showdown against Santa Ana Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium.

St. John Bosco (7-2, 4-0), which owns a six-game winning streak, has become a Division I challenger to Long Beach Poly (8-1) and Los Alamitos (8-0-1). The Braves’ offensive line is outstanding. They have one of the state’s top running backs in Derrick Williams. Their defense has speed and size.

Most of all, St. John Bosco has Cowan, who opponents sometimes underestimate because they don’t think someone his size can run so fast.

He was the fourth-place finisher in the state 300-meter intermediate hurdles final in the spring. He has a 91-yard interception return for a touchdown. He has caught 29 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns. He has four interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

He thrives on pressure situations and is comfortable being asked to make big plays.

It’s only afterward that he has one request: Let him be. “I don’t care for all the attention,” he said. “I’m better with just a few people than a lot.”

When a UCLA assistant offered him a scholarship two weeks ago, Cowan barely reacted.

“Oh, thanks, coach,” he said.

That’s the way Cowan is. He doesn’t jump up and down to express himself.

“I’m pretty mellow,” he said.

His younger brother, Patrick, a 6-5 backup quarterback at St. John Bosco, is the more emotional Cowan. Their father, Tim, was a starting quarterback at Washington in 1982.

The boys live with their mother, Anita, and grandparents in Pico Rivera. Their parents divorced when the boys were starting elementary school. Anita was the one who served as their quarterback, throwing them passes in the backyard.

Joe was the hyper Cowan, never able to sit still. From sixth grade until high school, he’d go off by himself and run around his neighborhood.

“It wasn’t really training,” he said. “It was just fun.”

He’s so competitive that when the Braves have a conditioning drill on Wednesdays, the players who end up on his team know what’s coming.

“We’re going to win this drill,” he tells them.

At home, with two teenagers, the phone rings often. But lots of times, it’s the young cousins calling to speak with Joe.

“Aunt Anita, can Joe come over and play?” they ask.

They already recognize what others are beginning to see: Joe Cowan is a special person and a terrific player.

*

Mark down the name of Jimmy Miller from Westlake Village Westlake. He might be the best junior defensive end in Southern California.

Miller, 6-5 and 250 pounds, has 14 sacks, 12 pass breakups and eight tackles for losses.

The Warriors’ other junior defensive end, 6-4, 215-pound Michael Stuart, has 10 sacks.

Westlake (7-2, 5-0) plays Moorpark (9-0, 5-0) for the Marmonte League championship Friday at Moorpark.

*

There’s no easy way to deal with the death of a parent. Chris Badorek, a 6-4, 290-pound senior offensive tackle at Newport Harbor, lost his father, Jack, last Wednesday.

Jack had been battling lung cancer. He developed a blood clot in his throat in the morning; an ambulance was called and later he died.

Chris didn’t go to school. He drove around “trying to run away from it.” His football coach, Jeff Brinkley, tried to console him. Most of all, Chris turned to his friends, particularly A.J. Slater, another offensive lineman. Chris helped A.J. get through the recent death of his grandfather. Now A.J. was there for Chris.

“He just encourages me and tells me he’s there for me any time, any hour of the night,” Chris said.

Chris decided to play for Newport Harbor on Thursday night against Irvine Woodbridge.

“I did it for my Dad, kind of dedicated the season to him,” he said.

It was a difficult night.

“I thought he had a few more years,” Chris said. “I kind of broke down emotionally before the game.”

Afterward, he cried again. But with the help of family and friends, he’s making it through.

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