Undersized Center Is Very Worthy

Call it audacity, call it foolishness, call it spunk. Whatever the motivation, Johnathan Worthy of Huntington Beach Edison is starring in a weekly reality show in which he puts on shoulder pads, lines up as the 5-foot-9, 190-pound starting center for the varsity football team and tries to survive hand-to-hand combat with behemoths.

“I sort of get knocked over,” Worthy says, “but I just have to strive to get better.”

You don’t know whether to stare in curiosity or close your eyes in horror at the spectacle of this tiny senior taking on opponents 60 pounds heavier and five inches taller.

It’s both heartbreaking and heartwarming to see someone being knocked down, then getting back up again and again.

“I love the guy,” Edison quarterback Nick Crissman said. “He’s blocking guys twice his size. He goes all out every play.”

Edison has had 5-9 centers in the past, but Worthy’s size is accentuated this season because he’s surrounded by huge linemen, including 6-6, 290-pound tackle Martin Coleman and 6-4, 250-pound guard Jonathan Schoenberger.

Both are quick to provide support for Worthy, with Schoenberger frequently helping on double teams.

“He’s a little bitty guy,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “He does what the coaches ask and battles his butt off.”

It’s a surreal scene watching Worthy prepare to snap the ball with his eyes looking straight ahead at the nose tackle. It seems as if a mismatch is about to take place. But leverage and staying low can help a smaller blocker succeed, especially if the player believes in himself.

“You can’t have any fear,” Worthy said. “I don’t feel intimidated at all. It’s fun being low because when the guy stands up, you can take advantage of that.”

Crissman, the quarterback, might need a chiropractor by the end of the season because he must stoop so low to take the snap from Worthy.

“I have to get lower, but I’m comfortable with it,” Crissman said.

Worthy clearly is at his best during plays that require him to make a quick block. He’ll attack the legs of his target, allowing either the running back or the quarterback a moment to do what they need to get done.

Last week, going against Anaheim Servite’s 250-pound Stuart Hein, Worthy struggled at times, getting called for a holding penalty while desperately trying to prevent Hein from penetrating the backfield.

But play after play, he competed, with his uniform full of dirt afterward.

“He brought it every play,” Hein said.

The bottom line is with Worthy as the starting center, Edison is 4-0 entering tonight’s nonleague game against unbeaten Santa Ana Mater Dei at Orange Coast College. And most impressively, he’s doing it against Division I linemen.

Worthy received plenty of practice last season as the scout team center. He was asked to block the Chargers’ 6-2, 265-pound All-Southern Section lineman Romney Fuga.

“He taught me to stay low,” Worthy said. “If I didn’t stay low, I was going to get run over.”

And that’s the nightmare for us former centers from flag-football days.

Remember how the opponents used to “can” the small center? The fact Worthy isn’t budging in tackle football is inspirational.

Every down he competes is a triumph of the heart.

*

For those wondering how to spot the next top high school player, pay attention to the water boys. They’re frequently can’t-miss prospects.

Khaled Holmes, Mater Dei’s 280-pound standout offensive lineman, was a water boy as an 8-year-old at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake.

Edison has two water boys who figure to gain attention by 2012 or so. Garrett White, 8, is the son of the Edison coach, and Tico Fuga, 9, is the brother of Romney Fuga.

Garrett, after seeing his brother, Hunter, score a touchdown, said, “I’ve got big shoes to fill.”

That caused Tico to reply, “Hey, I’ve got bigger shoes to fill.”

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