Sacks Appeal

Greg Gano watches his star defensive end, Brigham Harwell, and drops a hint of things to come.

“He’s really getting strong,” said Gano, the Hacienda Heights Los Altos coach. “We expect a big year out of him.”

What exactly is a big year for a player who last season had 25 sacks?

“I think 30 is a nice goal for him,” Gano said. “It’s a high, but realistic goal for him.”

That should make opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators nervous.

“Sacking the quarterback is my love, and I plan on doing that every down,” said Harwell, who had 22 sacks as a sophomore. “[A sack] changes the game. When I’m in that three-point stance, I’m looking to sack the QB, whether it’s a run or a pass.

“I get the sack, I do a little dance, I get the crowd going wild. I love it. The fans drive me. I feel like I’m an entertainer.”

Harwell’s defensive play can certainly be entertaining -- as well as valuable.

“He’s the kid on defense who’s going to make the big plays for us,” Gano said. “He’s going to be the momentum guy, make the big sack or the big hit. The other players will feed off him. We have eight or nine kids who have played three years for us, but he’s the guy who gets excited, gets motivated and pumps everybody up.”

Harwell is reminiscent of defensive end Shaun Cody, regarded as the best player ever at Los Altos. Cody was 6-4, 250, was named USA Today national defensive player of the year after the 2000 season and now starts for USC.

“We were fortunate enough to have probably the best high school player in the country in Shaun Cody,” said John Howing, Los Altos’ defensive line coach. “Brigham’s not at that level, but he’s pretty close.”

How close?

Harwell is 6-2, 250, but instead of relying on power, he uses quickness to get the same results as Cody, who had 33 sacks as a junior, 28 as a senior and finished with a school-record 69 in his career.

Harwell has 47 sacks the last two years, and has Cody’s career record within reach.

“My freshman year, Shaun told me I would never break his record and I just laughed,” Harwell said. “That day we were talking in the office. He told me to work out, and I told him I don’t have to work out. He said, ‘No wonder you’re not going to break my record.’ My freshman year, I wasn’t into lifting weights.”

It eventually dawned on him that extra muscle could prove helpful.

“I realize that power isn’t everything,” Harwell said, “but it really helps to be strong.”

The comparisons with Cody are impossible to ignore, simply because Harwell assumed the mantle of leadership and domination -- and played the same position.

“Honestly, Shaun Cody was a great player, I just feel I’m Brigham Harwell and I’m different from him,” said Harwell, who has committed to UCLA. “His style was power and strength, my style is quickness, inside-outside, all speed.”

As difficult as it has been to contain Harwell, he might be even tougher this season. Like Cody, Harwell lined up in the same spot on every play in previous years. This season, Gano said, “we’re going to move him around a little bit so people don’t know where he’s at all the time.”

That should help Harwell get to the quarterback, and that should help Los Altos as it tries to defend its Southern Section Division VI championship. This year’s team could be even better than the one that went 12-2 and won its second consecutive section title last season.

Gano believes the offense will score more points, and an already very good defense “will be better” because seven starters return, including three linebackers and safeties Randall Brown and Daniel Drayton. Harwell, Brown, Drayton and new defensive back Tao Alo, a transfer from Compton Dominguez, are the best athletes on the team.

And if opposing quarterbacks have trouble finding open receivers, they may also have trouble escaping Harwell. The bottom line: Cody’s record could be in danger.

“We’re rushing the passer every down,” Howing said. “When you get someone like Brigham, who is so explosive off the ball and has a great nose for the ball, you can’t help but excel.”

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How They Rate

A look at the top defensive linemen in the Southland

*--* City Section Rk Player, School Ht Wt Yr Comment 1 Norris Malele, Carson 6-2 280 Sr A human roadblock 2 Alan King, Monroe 6-4 255 Sr Bench presses 400 pounds 3 Erick Lobos, Venice 6-3 270 Sr Returning All-City player 4 Cheick Soumare, Grant 6-3 290 Sr Can chase down QBs 5 Artem Shatokhin, Reseda 6-3 285 Sr Three-year varsity starter 6 Leuma Pomele, Gardena 5-11 295 Sr Benches 385 pounds Southern Section Rk Player, School Ht Wt Yr Comment 1 Brigham Harwell, Los 6-2 250 Sr 47 sacks in two years Altos 2 Brandon Nicolas, Mater 6-5 275 Sr Committed to Notre Dame Dei 3 Jimmy Miller, Westlake 6-5 245 Sr 17 sacks as a junior 4 Lawrence Miles, La 6-3 260 Sr A terror in the desert Quinta 5 Kenneth Lombard, St. 6-1 280 Sr Committed to UCLA John Bosco 6 Nick Reed, Mission 6-2 230 Jr Diablos’ next top sack Viejo man 7 Matt Rupp, Santa 6-3 250 Sr Had 13 sacks Margarita 8 Cameron Filkins, Los 6-5 290 Sr Big player to deal with Alamitos 9 Jonathan Soto, Bishop 6-3 250 Jr Loves to chase QBs Amat 10 Verlondon Harris, S.O. 6-0 260 Sr Nose guard who’s tough Notre Dame to block 11 Dylan Campanale, 6-2 250 Sr Doesn’t get pushed Servite around 12 Rodney Picou, Canyon 6-5 295 Jr Ready for big junior Springs season 13 Jose Herrera, Katella 5-10 200 Sr Had 17 sacks 14 John Castillo, 6-1 230 Sr Not just a Cathedral small-school player 15 Dan Jones, Capistrano 6-2 220 Sr Defensive end with Valley talent, hustle 16 David Ofahulu, Villa 6-3 250 Jr Watch him become a Park standout 17 Doug Robinson, Cerritos 6-2 250 Jr Showed potential as sophomore 18 Averell Spicer, Rancho 6-2 250 Jr Has big-play defensive Cucamonga skills 19 Coyler Gould, Lompoc 6-4 240 So Will be impact player

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Eric Sondheimer