Alemany’s Desean Holmes makes presence known in win over Dorsey

When given the opportunity to explain his side of the story, Desean Holmes wanted one thing to be known: “Don’t believe everything you hear,” he said.

Considering some of the things that have transpired in the last couple of months, the message was understandable.

Controversy surrounded the senior receiver from Mission Hills Alemany once whispers started to circulate this spring about his transfer to Pasadena Muir. The reasons for a change of scenery were thought to be many, most of the scenarios not even worth mentioning.

In reality, however, Holmes was dealing with the sudden deaths of a grandmother and aunt. With a clear head now, and the rumor mill quiet again, he was focused Friday night in Alemany’s 45-15 intersectional victory over Dorsey at Rancho Cienega Park in Los Angeles.

“Two deaths in a month, and it happened to the people I loved, that was hard to deal with,” said Holmes, a USC commit who re-enrolled at the San Fernando Valley school in the summer. “Honestly, family comes first for me, you always want to do right by them.

“I wasn’t worried about what people were saying. Everyone talking, they didn’t know me or about the situation. I can’t stop people from making up stories. The whole time, in the back of mind, I knew that Alemany was the best fit. I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere.”

The Warriors (4-0) are indeed a good fit. Though he didn’t have an eye-opening effort against Dorsey (1-3), Holmes delivered a 43-yard reception to help seal the outcome. And the presence of the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder opened up things for teammates.

Dominic Davis, for one, benefited from having Holmes on the offensive side of the ball. The senior running back, who committed to Washington State in late July, finished with 215 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns, one on a 99-yard interception return.

“Desean is great player, one of those guys who makes everyone else around him better. You can’t teach that. But maybe more important, he’s a great kid,” Alemany Coach Dean Herrington said. “We’re a big family at Alemany. Our door is, and was, always open for him.”

The Dons put up a good fight in the showdown despite limited practice time this week after the Los Angeles City Section placed restrictions on workouts due to high temperatures.

“Our plan was to keep track of Holmes, but we knew someone else on that team could beat us. You just have to go with your gut and stop the go-to-guy,” Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said. “There’s a reason why colleges were after him and he’s going to end up over at USC.”

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