Woody Gets the Job and Is Getting It Done

The Kyle Woody story is one of the most inspirational tales from the 2004 high school football season.

Woody had a 19-1 record as the starting quarterback for the freshman and sophomore teams at Santa Ana Mater Dei. Then he moved up to varsity last season and found there was no need for him to play quarterback.

Jason Forcier was the returning starter, and the backup was Forcier’s brother Chris, a freshman.

Others might have quit, transferred or become too embittered to contribute. Not Woody.

“I was disappointed, but I would do anything to help the team,” he said. “I switched to the other side of the ball.”

He spent his junior season as a reserve defensive back.

In January, the Forciers made a bombshell announcement: They had decided to move to San Diego. Mater Dei fans went into a panic because the Monarchs suddenly had no players in their program with varsity quarterback experience.

Woody seized the opportunity to prove what he always believed.

“I thought from the beginning I could have been starting and doing just as good as Jason,” he said.

He won the Mater Dei starting position through hard work in the spring and summer, but even then, he knew nothing was certain.

“I thought someone else would transfer in and I’d go back to defense,” he said.

When the season began against Orange Lutheran, Woody’s first play from scrimmage was an 80-yard touchdown pass.

Every week, he has been a steady, determined leader for the surprising Monarchs, who are ranked No. 2 in the state by Student Sports magazine.

“I have admired what Kyle Woody has done,” Coach Bruce Rollinson said. “There was very little confidence from all of the outside sources, from the fans to the media to the coaching experts. They felt we were in serious trouble. We had confidence Kyle could come through.”

On Saturday night, in a critical Serra League game against defending Southern Section Division I champion Los Angeles Loyola, Woody was victimized by four dropped passes in the first half and never found a successful passing rhythm in a 14-7 loss at Glendale High.

“I thought Kyle threw the ball well,” Rollinson said. “There was just something missing. We had ample opportunities, but we just didn’t get the job done.”

Sometimes coaches never find out the true inner strength of an athlete unless they’re put in a position to succeed or fail. All Woody wanted was a chance. And when it happened, he took advantage.

“Kyle has stepped up and continues to grow, develop and mature as a quarterback,” Rollinson said.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Woody has had only three passes intercepted while throwing for 1,079 yards and eight touchdowns. Woody completed just five of 17 passes for 55 yards against the Cubs (7-1, 3-0). He still had a chance late in the game for heroics but rushed a fourth-down pass that was incomplete to end the final drive for Mater Dei (6-2, 2-1).

Is Mater Dei better with Woody or Forcier at quarterback? No doubt, many would choose Forcier, a talented senior at San Diego St. Augustine who recently committed to Arizona State.

But Woody has earned the respect of his teammates, many of whom have become his friends.

“He’s surprised everybody,” center Tyler Perkins. “He’s a hard worker and that helps us. We’re going to rise up next week.”

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