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He Finds More Than an Address

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James Wilson arrived at Los Angeles Marshall High three years ago stuck in a cycle of instability.

He had no permanent home, didn’t know where his next meal would come from and didn’t know whom he could trust.

He had attended school in Buffalo, N.Y., and lived in Baltimore before arriving in Los Angeles, where he had been living out of a car and hotel rooms with his mother and younger sister until the Department of Social Services intervened.

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Wilson, who had lived in L.A. before, was placed in a group home in Silverlake run by Boys Republic.

With a place to live, regular meals and a structured environment, Wilson began to blossom. He went out for football, started earning A’s in his classes and began to dream of attending college.

He has finally turned 18, reached his senior year and left those who know how far he has come beaming with pride.

“The kid showed up at our doorsteps with two strikes and has been awesome,” football Coach Andy Moran said. “He’s one of those kids you see all the things he’s been through and you hope your kids grow up as strong as him. There’s a lot of people pulling for him.”

Wilson has a 3.6 grade-point average, leads Marshall in rushing and continues to move closer to fulfilling two goals -- graduating from high school and attending college.

“It will be a big day because I never expected it to happen considering all the things I had to do,” he said.

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On Thursday in the opening round of the City Section Invitational playoffs, Wilson rushed for 84 yards in 22 carries and scored a touchdown in Marshall’s 21-14 victory over Van Nuys Grant, the Barristers’ first playoff win since 1992.

Quarterback Ritchie Samayoa, who has followed Wilson’s progress, said: “He’s grown up. I give him props. He’s been through so much. He told me if he didn’t have football, he’d be on the streets.”

Wilson has come to the point where he can control his destiny, and he’s grateful for the help of his group home, his coaches, teachers and friends.

“If I didn’t have people supporting me, I wouldn’t have reason to do what has gotten me here,” he said. “If nobody cared, I wouldn’t have cared.”

A 6-foot, 190-pound tailback, Wilson is so soft-spoken that sometimes it’s hard to hear him. But he has opened up considerably and continues to gain confidence.

“That was the hardest part, trusting people,” he said. “When you’ve been hurt so long, you don’t let anyone in.”

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Wilson isn’t alone -- although he has never known his father -- his two older sisters, along with his younger sister, live back east; his grandmother lives in Hawthorne, and his mother now lives in Atlanta. But there was no family member willing or able to take care of him. Details of his boyhood are sketchy because no one wanted to talk about his family’s problems.

His care was left to Boys Republic, which runs the group home for boys 14 to 18. The teenagers wake up at 5 a.m., clean up their living areas, go to school, come home, do their homework, go to sleep.

“We put structure back in their lives and prepare them to be adults,” said Steve Mejico, the group home’s resident director.

The usual stay is nine months. Wilson has been there for 2 1/2 years, emerging as almost a big brother to the other residents who have come to cheer for him during football games.

“He’s a positive role model,” said a 15-year-old group home resident. “He tells you when you mess up and tells you the truth. My grades haven’t been that good, but he’s helping me. He’s no joke. He’s all business.”

No one knew what kind of student Wilson might become because his grades were so poor after rarely staying at the same school for an extended period. Now he’s certain what he wants to accomplish.

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“I like school, I like learning,” he said.

Wilson wants to study business and psychology and perhaps own a restaurant.

“Sometimes it’s hard to resist temptations, but I’m always carrying in the back of my mind what I want to do -- go to college,” he said.

Football has been an integral part of his development. It’s something he does well, having rushed for more than 100 yards in a three-game stretch this season after overcoming a thigh injury. But it’s also an environment that gives him comfort and inspiration.

“I like being around everybody,” he said. “It felt like a family.”

Forced to grow up faster than most, Wilson said, “I’ve learned how to survive.” He knows how to cook, clean, do laundry, write a check, fill out a job application. He’s allowed to stay at the group home until the day before his 19th birthday.

There’s still months to go before his high school graduation, and he doesn’t know if any college will give him a chance to play football.

But Mejico and others seem convinced about Wilson’s future.

“He’s going to do well,” Mejico said. “He’s going to make us proud.”

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

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