Daily Pilot Football Player of the Week, Louis Day: Day of

Reckoning

Barry Faulkner

Luis Day will always remember his first big hit. So will his ribs.

The crucial collision occurred two short football seasons ago, when

the then-Costa Mesa High sophomore, with only one season as a Pop Warner

reserve under his belt, was thrust onto the varsity scout team, a.k.a.

human blocking dummies for Mustang starters.

“(Getting drilled by a teammate) was my initiation to real physical

football,” said Day, who took his lumps, but also more than a few mental

notes, while awaiting his chance to turn the tables.

“I learned you better be aggressive, or you’re going to get hurt. And

I learned it’s fun to knock someone else on his butt, instead of the

other way around.”

Having grasped his lessons well, Day is now the black helmet at the

end of the tunnel for opposing ballcarriers. Though a scant 170 pounds,

the 6-foot-3 senior somehow generates enough force to deliver what one

NFL coach calls “Woo” hits, so named for the audible reaction they prompt

from the satiated crowd.

What most coaches like to call “bringing a load,” is more like a

parcel in Day’s case. But the violence delivered is often enough to send

the ballcarrier and the ball their separate ways.

One such dispersal occurred when the Daily Pilot Player of the Week

sacked the Bolsa Grande quarterback in Friday’s 52-0 nonleague win. The

Mustangs’ strong-side inside linebacker also recovered two Matador

fumbles and was in on numerous tackles.

His contributions, however, are not limited to dispensing physical

pain. As a pass-catching tight end, he can finesse his way past entire

secondaries. His two receptions against Bolsa covered 52 yards, including

a 36-yard touchdown toss from Patrick Hulliger, on which only the end

zone broke his fluid stride.

“We wanted to leave him at wide receiver (where he started all 11

games last fall),” Mesa Coach Jerry Howell said, “because we knew he’d be

a tough matchup for those 5-8 and 5-9 cornerbacks. But we needed someone

to play tight end and he was the best choice.”

Day’s pass catching, still a valuable asset to Orange County’s highest

scoring offense (100 points in two games), is now supplemented by his

blocking ability.

“He gets into guys so quickly, he’s able to block guys much bigger

than he is,” Howell said.

Day got into one Matador defender in the open field Friday, levitating

him with a blindside block that sprung teammate Mike Gardiner for a

touchdown.

Day, also a soccer standout and the reigning Pacific Coast League long

jump champion, enjoys the diversity his two-way assignment demands.

“I don’t put any more value on offense or defense,” he said. “I think

they’re equal. If I make a sack or I score a touchdown, they’re both

helping the team. I’m happy to do whatever helps the team.”

Day admits his lean physique makes it a challenge to do battle with

opponents who can outweigh him by as much as three digits. But, since all

attempts, including countless protein shakes, have failed to fortify his

lithe frame (he’s gained five pounds in two years), he simply does the

best he can.

“You just have to go as hard as you can as fast as you can and try to

get lower than the other guy,” he said. “One of the coaches said I weigh

170, but I play like I’m 210. I thought that was a pretty nice

compliment.”