Nerd on the football team

By Michael Ashcraft --

Usually the nerds rule the classroom. They don't venture out onto the gridiron.

It's not their domain. They're not going to thrive there.

In the classroom, Kirollos Abdalla is a shark. But what good is the killer of the Seven Seas on land?

Nevertheless, there he is on the football team, slugging it out in a never-ending uphill battle.

A legendary military tactician once said out of 10 soldiers, seven are targets, two put up a fight, and only one is a true warrior.

So Lighthouse Christian Academy, student population 40, makes a varsity football team (8-man football). They recruit anyone and level up from target to fighter, from fighter to warrior.

While non-combatants may be terrified of bloodied bodies, the boys can benefit. Football offers a rite of passage into manhood. The hotter the fire, the stronger the steel.

"There's sort of peer pressure. All the boys who want to play football kind of bring all the other boys into football. I may or may not have fell victim to that. It's been a fun time, even though we've been losing."

This has everything to do with Lighthouse's loss Friday against Calvary Baptist School La Verne 36-52. While Calvary swapped players on and off the field to give them a breather, the Saints had no such reprieve. The offense is the defense.

"They played a heck of a game," said Coach Justin Kayne. "For having nine guys out here, and they put up 36 points, that's solid. They fought to the bitter end. They faced adversity. They rose to the occasion. Little things didn't go our way."

LCA football has the inverse record of LCA volleyball. The girls are undefeated; the boys are unvictorious.

There's logic to this: most of the girl volleyball players are on club team, whereas none of the boys, for whatever reason, have played Pop Warner.

Once upon a time, Lighthouse football was legendary, twice runner-up at State level. Those were the days when Pastor Rob Scribner (former LA Rams) and George Neos (former Dartmouth) coached the team.

Today's coaches were the players on those teams. They're trying to revive the glories of Saints football. They're making progress. Last year, LCA made just a few touchdowns. On Friday, they made 36 points. Two games were lost due to questionable ref decisions. Progress.

On Friday, the Saints were leading for part of the first half. For a few moments, the score was 28-20. It looked like the miniature team could become the mouse that roared. But mistakes were made and they went into half time 28-28.

In the second half, fatigue overtook the Saints. It's not that they weren't trained for this. LCA has a Hell Week to get ready for non-stop offense and defense. But other teams also have Hell Weeks.

It was 36-52. Tempers were flaring on the field and kids came close to fighting. Antonio Pellot was called for a personal foul when he over-tackled a kid. Refs reported he was running his mouth. Calvary has to double and even triple-team him to keep street kid from sacking the quarterback.

LCA stopped Calvary on fourth down with 2:32 on the clock, time enough to score another consolation touchdown.

Then, with 26 seconds left, Zeke Young threw an interception.

The home game fans went silent.

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About this reporter: Mike Ashcraft teaches journalism at the Lighthouse Christian Academy of Santa Monica.