Game Breaker

DeSean Jackson may be known for stolen bases in baseball, but he’s known for home runs in football.

A game breaker of the highest order, the Long Beach Poly senior’s performance in the Southern Section Division I championship game defined a high school football career that ended in his being named The Times’ 2004 Glenn Davis Award winner as Southern California’s player of the year.

A speedy receiver capable of changing a game in so many ways, Jackson played defense at the last minute -- cornerback Vincent Joseph had been hurt on the opening kickoff -- and made his impact felt less than three minutes later.

He returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown, Poly’s only offense for 3 1/2 quarters in its 21-6 victory over Los Alamitos. Jackson’s foil most of the game, Jeremy Childs, caught four passes, but at a price: Jackson had two interceptions. Childs finished the year with 21 touchdowns, but none against Jackson.

“He’s a big-time playmaker, there’s no doubt about that,” said Raul Lara, Poly’s coach. “Every time he touches the ball, there’s a good opportunity for him to score.”

Without Jackson, Poly probably never would have developed into a champion. A young team, it relied on Jackson’s leadership as much as his skills. The mere threat of Jackson doing something spectacular benefited three junior teammates, receivers Terrence Austin and Travon Patterson and running back Troy Guthrie.

“Everyone is worried about him, and it opens up everything else,” Lara said. “He’s been so blessed athletically.”

Every time Jackson and his brother, Byron -- a receiver with the Chiefs in 1992-1993 -- talk football, DeSean reiterates his goal. “I tell him every day, my goal is to be better than him, and I have to go to the NFL to be better than him,” said Jackson, who had 58 catches for 1,075 yards, but acknowledged he must work on his blocking to be a complete receiver.

He is also keenly aware of what he brings to the table: “Elusiveness, speed, I have great hands and I can make big plays after the catch.”

No one will argue.

Jackson is also an outstanding center fielder on the Poly baseball team. Pete Carroll, football coach at USC, has already assured Jackson he can play baseball too, if he decides to become a Trojan. California, Oklahoma, Louisiana State and Oregon are also on Jackson’s short list.

The widely held belief is that Jackson will be selected in the first or second round in Major League Baseball’s next amateur draft. “I’m going to have to make a big decision at the end of the year, go to the draft or go to college,” Jackson said. “If it’s worth it, I might take it.”

That “worth” is money, and maybe it’s apropos as Jackson is a money player of the most thrilling kind, a speedy game-breaker who scored 15 touchdowns, eight from 60 yards or more, including two punt returns. He might have done even more had Poly not struggled at quarterback.

“In my eyes, a game-breaker is somebody who can always change a game at any point in time, who can make a big play to help out his team,” Jackson said.

Clovis East, Bellflower St. John Bosco ... those teams know what Jackson’s talking about.

Bob Johnson, coach at No. 1 Mission Viejo, also knows what it’s like.

“You play against a guy like DeSean, he comes up a lot in conversation preparing for the game,” Johnson said. “It certainly makes life easier to have a guy like DeSean. He can go at any time. You can stop the other guys all night long, and he can beat you three times and you can’t catch him.

“It’s real frustrating for an opposing offense or defense. Bingo! DeSean goes yard.”

It’s a home run in any sport.

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Glenn Davis Award Winners

A look at The Times’ high school football players of the year:

*--* Yr. Player, School Pos. ’03 Brigham Harwell, Los Altos DL/FB ’02 Whitney Lewis, St. Bonaventure WR ’01 Hershel Dennis, L.B. Poly RB ’00 Tyler Ebell, Ventura RB ’99 Matt Grootegoed, Mater Dei RB/LB ’98 Chris Lewis, L.B. Poly QB ’97 DeShaun Foster, Tustin RB/DB ’96 Antoine Harris, Loyola TE/DE ’95 Chris Claiborne, Riverside North LB/RB ’94 Daylon McCutcheon, Bishop Amat RB/DB ’93 Glenn Thompkins, Eisenhower QB ’92 Travis Kirschke, Esperanza DL ’91 Billy Blanton, Mater Dei QB ’90 John Walsh, Carson QB ’89 Kevin Copeland, Dorsey WR ’88 Derek Brown, Servite RB ’87 Russell White, Crespi RB

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THE GLENN DAVIS AWARD

The award is named after the 1946 Heisman Trophy winner from Army. Before Davis teamed with Felix “Doc” Blanchard to form the famous “Mr. Inside-Mr. Outside” combination, he starred at La Verne Bonita, where he led the Bearcats to a 39-6 victory over Newport Harbor in the 1942 Southern Section finals by scoring five touchdowns.