6 Prep Backs Break 1,000-Yard Barrier

See the six Westside high school running backs. See how they’ve run--each for more than 1,000 yards, which may be the first time so many local rushers have done so well in one season.

Last season was the year of the running back: Santa Monica High’s Glyn Milburn, who set the state single-season rushing record of 2,718 yards and scored 39 touchdowns.

None of this year’s top rushers have come close to breaking the records of Milburn, a freshman at Oklahoma this year. But each has contributed a great deal to the success of his team, and each has cracked the 1,000-yard barrier, which is generally regarded as a hallmark of excellence.

The six--in no particular order of excellence--are St. Monica wingbacks Mike Wagner and Diallo Hall, Mario Mattison of Fairfax, Erick McKinney of Venice, Mark Harper of Santa Monica and Jay Langan of Brentwood’s eight-man team.

Wagner, a 5-foot 8-inch, 160-pound senior, and Hall, a 6-1, 185-pound junior, have led the Mariners and first-year head Coach Angelo Jackson to a 9-1 regular-season record--the best the school has posted in many years.

After years of losing, St. Monica was carried aloft by the winged-T formation, one that has puzzled defenses by stationing the Twin Terrors, Wagner and Hall, outside their offensive tackles. In most offenses, the running backs set up inside the tackles.

Their speed and elusiveness out of a seldom-seen offensive alignment brought the Mariners a lot of yardage and scoring. Wagner rushed 102 times for 1,136 yards and scored 23 touchdowns, including four on kickoff returns--of which the longest was 95 yards, the shortest 83. Hall had 110 carries for 1,065 yards and 20 touchdowns, including four on pass receptions.

The Mariners also benefited from being moved from the very strong Camino Real League to the not-so-strong Santa Fe League. But Hall and Wagner, who also excelled as pass receivers, and their teammates would probably have done well at any level this year.

Mattison, only a sophomore, was an unexpected find for Co-Coaches Ron Price and Earl Smith, former coaching mates at Crenshaw, who are in their first year at Fairfax.

The 5-10, 165-pounder also plays defensive back and on kickoff and kickoff-return teams. He moved from Detroit a couple of years ago, was discovered by Price and Smith on the B team this fall and was moved up to the varsity a couple of days before the first game.

In his first three games, Mattison was used sparingly, carrying only 13 times for 91 yards. In last week’s 7-0 victory over Manual Arts, he played only in the first half and left the game with a groin injury. He is said to have recovered.

So Mattison compiled the following statistics in what amounted to just 5 1/2 games in leading the Lions to a 6-3 overall record and the Metro League championship: 146 carries, 1,329 yards, 7 touchdowns. On defense he had one interception and averaged three unassisted tackles and five assists a game.

Santa Monica’s Harper was only one of four tailbacks Coach Tebb Kusserow was planning to use this year. But the 6-foot, 155-pound junior won the starter’s job by the second game and became another in Kusserow’s assembly line of finely tuned running and scoring machines. He gained 1,540 yards in 260 carries and scored 27 touchdowns, all on the ground, in leading the Vikings to a 7-2 overall record and the Bay League title.

McKinney played only his senior year for Venice (he lived in Missouri for most of his high school years), but the 5-9, 160-pounder made it a memorable year. Without him, the Gondoliers finished 1-7 overall last year; with him this year, they were 7-3.

He was a good part of Venice’s offense, returned kickoffs and was also a top defensive back. He gained 1,269 yards on 177 carries and scored 11 touchdowns, eight rushing and three on pass receptions.

In eight regular-season games and one playoff contest, Langan rushed for either 1,126 or 1,079 yards on 141 carries and scored 25 touchdowns, and Brentwood won eight of nine games and the Delphic League championship.

Brentwood Coach Pat Brown is still trying to find out whether his statistician had included Langan’s 80-yard touchdown run on a fake punt in his rushing totals. If it was included, he rushed for the smaller total.

OK. Who’s the best among the six? We’re not glad you asked.

Harper, with 27 touchdowns, is easily the best at scoring. Wagner’s four long scoring runs on kickoff returns probably make him the best in that category. The best pure runner may be Mattison, or McKinney, or Wagner, or Hall--or Langan or Harper. The best receiver may be McKinney, or Wagner, or Hall, or Langan--all were good at that. Mattison or Harper may be good pass catchers, but they were on teams that seldom put the ball in the air.

One coach who had watched Mattison said he wouldn’t trade his 1,000-yard runner for the Fairfax back. But he added that Mattison may be “the best I’ve seen. He’s outstanding. I can’t believe he’s a sophomore.”

Fairfax Coach Price said that Mattison “is a tremendous finisher. I’ve never seen a high school kid who does this so consistently: driving forward and pushing (as many as) three tacklers backward.”

Santa Monica Coach Kusserow said that St. Monica’s Wagner “is probably the quickest back on the West Side and is in a system that causes defenses a lot of problems.”

As for Santa Monica tailback Harper, Kusserow said there is “no question our offensive line is good, but Mark has earned every yard that he’s gotten.

“He is a tough, very physical performer, with good quickness to the line of scrimmage, good vision. He improves the more times he carries the football.”

Kusserow said that Harper has also benefited because fullback Damian Lunetta, who would normally block more than run in Santa Monica’s offensive scheme, has run well this season. That has not allowed defenses to key on Harper.

St. Monica Coach Jackson said Wagner “has all the moves and is very fast. He is stronger than people think he is. He’s small but very powerful because of his (weight) lifting.”

Jackson said Hall missed three games last year because of an injury and might have surpassed 1,000 yards if he had played every game as a sophomore.

Hall is stronger this year, particularly in the legs, because he did a lot of leg lifts before the season, Jackson said. He added that Hall weighed about 150 pounds last year “and couldn’t take a lot of licks.” Now he can, he said.

Jackson said Wagner and Hall also were defensive backs last season but that this year he has used them only on offense, which has added to their effectiveness as runners and pass receivers.

Fairfax Coach Price said that Venice tailback McKinney “is a great player” who not only runs well but catches the ball. I like him. He is very smooth.”

Venice Coach Dellinger also likes McKinney. “He’s a very quick hitter,” Dellinger said, adding:

“He is very powerful and has good leg strength; he can lift close to 400 pounds doing leg squats. He has tremendous spring in his legs. He gets hit and bounces off tacklers; he runs through tackles. He has great speed, and once he’s loose, he’s tough to catch. He’s a good tackler and blocker and covers well on passes.

Brentwood Coach Brown concedes that it is easier for a running back to gain yardage in eight-man than in 11-man football. But he adds the proviso that it is not as tough only when “you can get by the line.”

If a back gets by the defensive line, he said, “he has a lot of room because a lot of times there are only two defensive backs.” Late in the season, however, defenses began taking the outside sweep away from Langan, and the 6-1, 175-pound senior had to make a lot of his yardage the hard way--between the guards, the coach said.