Finding Victories Away From Field

In the middle of Orange County’s bustling Vietnamese community known as Little Saigon lies Garden Grove Bolsa Grande High, where the football team has lost 43 consecutive games, three short of the state record.

Tonight, the Matadors (0-9) will play host to Westminster La Quinta (0-9) in a game that won’t draw more than 300 people, won’t have one college football recruiter in attendance, and won’t decide anything in the Garden Grove League other than last place.

The significance of the game, however, means everything to senior lineman Jason Welch of Bolsa Grande.

“You have no idea how nice it would be to win,” he said. “I’ve started both ways for three years. It’s been the best thing in my life and the worst.”

If high school football is supposed to be a training ground for teaching life’s lessons, then the players and coaches at Bolsa Grande are proof of its success.

They have come through their losing ways more determined than ever, still able to laugh, still having fun, still convinced that victory is within reach.

“This is a game the kids know they can win if they play well,” Coach Jim Lamb said.

Added Welch: “It’s more than hope. It’s a need, and I have one more chance to fulfill that need.”

Lamb arrived a year ago after serving as an assistant coach at Hawthorne. He was gung ho about ending Bolsa Grande’s losing streak. He soon discovered there was no junior varsity team, little booster support and players with minimal football experience.

“It would be easy to give up on these guys,” he said.

Except Lamb, 42, got the job because of his upbeat personality. He teaches surfing in the summer, and the meditation-like experience of riding a wave is the perfect anecdote for letting out the frustration of losses in football.

“I don’t think this team could be coached by anyone else,” Welch said. “[The coaches] make us feel like good players.”

Lamb’s team had a chance to end its streak last season against La Quinta, which was 0-8 at the time. La Quinta won, 32-8.

This time, Bolsa Grande is favored. The two teams have played seven common opponents, and Bolsa Grande fared better against six of them. La Quinta has scored only 19 points in eight games.

Both schools face the challenge of trying to gain the confidence to win any game. It’s not easy. Just ask Los Angeles Fairfax Coach Shane Cox, who inherited a program in 1999 that hadn’t won in four years.

“Each week, no one thinks you can win,” Cox said. “It’s a hard thing to go through, but it’s a real special thing when you break it.”

Bolsa Grande’s players have grown used to enduring barbs of classmates each Monday morning during the fall, when they return to school after their latest defeat.

“It’s hard coming to school and hearing the talk,” running back Marcos Raddatz said.

Bolsa Grande has a student body of 1,568 students, about half of them of Asian descent. The school won its only Southern Section football title in 1986. Lamb said there are enough quality athletes on campus to be successful. He just needs to convince athletes playing basketball and baseball to join the football program.

“I have to realize this has not been a football school for a while, and it’s going to take some time,” he said.

Added Welch: “It’s a continuing cycle of people not wanting to put their foot in the water. It’s just a cycle we have to break.”

What Lamb won’t complain about is his dedicated group of 40 players, such as 120-pound sophomore defensive back Harry Do. At first, Do’s mother wouldn’t let him play football for fear of injury.

“It broke my heart,” Do said.

She changed her mind when she saw how badly he wanted to play. Because of injuries, Do had to start at defensive end one game, giving up 100 pounds and more to opposing blockers.

“It was scary,” he said.

But Do loved it. He’s a 4.0 student who thrives on competition.

Then there’s Welch, a jolly 6-foot-1, 240-pounder who never considered himself a leader until he took on the task of trying to lead his football teammates.

“Some people make fun, ‘Oh, you’re a leader of a bunch of losers,’ ” he said. “I don’t think so. The scoreboard doesn’t tell the story of the week or individual play.”

There are not many lessons learned from losing, but humor is a good way to stay upbeat.

“You have to laugh,” Welch said.

Welch smiled recalling how a teammate jogging down field on a punt with less than 20 seconds left was suddenly flattened by a block.

“His helmet explodes,” Welch said.

The lesson learned: Never take a play off.

So tonight, Bolsa Grande will have its best chance to win for the first time since 1999.

“A win would be huge and would go a long way to getting more kids involved,” Lamb said.

In many ways, Lamb has already achieved a primary goal for any coach: Inspire players to do their best.

“The score could be 40-0 at halftime and these kids are going to come out and keep trying,” he said.

Raddatz was asked if he’d like to switch places with a player from Mission Viejo, which has a 37-game win streak.

Without hesitation, Raddatz said, “My loyalty is here. I want to play for this school.”

And Welch, who desperately wants to know what it’s like to experience victory, insists, “We’re going to make history. I’m praying.”

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