Locke’s Saints Are Marching Too

There’s something special stirring on the football field at Los Angeles Locke.

You can see it on the faces of the players, the way they smile. You can sense it in the focus and concentration during practices. You can feel it in the strange words and phrases being uttered by teenagers such as “dedication” and “stick together.”

Once considered a yearly contender to finish near the bottom of the Coliseum League, Locke is off to a 3-0 start, and some are calling the Saints a City Section title threat.

Change has come because of a determined fourth-year coach, Wayne Crawford, who graduated from Crenshaw and coached mostly in the junior college ranks before taking over a Locke program that was having trouble getting students to come out for football, let alone compete with Crenshaw, Dorsey and Fremont.

“I think there’s a pride in the program now,” Crawford, 39, said. “We’ve gone from the first year I was here we had 28 football players to 52.”

Judging change in a program based simply on its win-loss record is foolish. The truest indicator of change is the players’ attitude. And that’s where Crawford’s influence is clear.

Senior linebacker Javier Guerra, with his coach nowhere in sight, offered this evaluation of the Saints: “We have to stick together as a family. Individually, we’re not fast, we’re not strong. But as a team, we’re a powerhouse.”

Players don’t talk like Guerra did unless they’ve been preached to over and over again by a coach who stresses the importance of teamwork. Crawford has made Locke into a team that’s unified and motivated.

Another example of the type of individual Locke’s football team has attracted is 6-foot-1, 210-pound tight end-linebacker David McBride, the Saints’ best college prospect, who has a 3.3 grade-point average.

He had never put on shoulder pads until trying out for football for the first time as a freshman four years ago. This is how he describes himself now: “I’m quiet, cautious and very nice.”

Who should fear McBride with that kind of endorsement?

Everyone, because once he steps onto a field, McBride becomes physically aggressive, sacrificing his body for the good of his team.

“The football field changes me,” he said.

What makes McBride so genuine and original is that he hasn’t been jaded by years of misleading information fed to him as part of what some consider to be the football experience. He’s playing to have fun and understands about life’s most important priorities.

“I’ve always wanted a good education,” he said. “Playing sports wasn’t a big deal. Graduating and going to college, that’s a big deal. I’m trying to stay focused and not let outside things affect me. I’m staying humble and quiet.”

Other coaches have begun to notice the changes at Locke.

“Locke has a chance to take City,” said Los Angeles Jordan Coach Elijah Asante, whose team lost to the Saints, 27-6. “Their team is absolutely the strongest in the weight room. You’re talking about speed and 12th-grade aggressiveness.”

Linebacker is probably the Saints’ strength with McBride, Guerra and 6-2, 215-pound senior Travis Fountain. Running back Isaac Williams has been effective, as has senior quarterback Torrey Harkness.

There are many tough games ahead, starting with Friday night’s nonleague matchup against Marine League power San Pedro, but somehow, some way, Crawford has his players believing in themselves and in what it takes to succeed.

That makes Locke a team to be reckoned with.

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