Zumwalt ends year with stellar game

ANAHEIM — Jordan Zumwalt did his best to hide his face Saturday night at Angel Stadium.

After a stunning loss to Servite High, the Edison star linebacker sunk into the rain-soaked grass. As he sat, his shoulders slumped over as he bowed his head. A TV cameraman rushed to him, wanting the classic crushing loss scene, but Zumwalt didn’t want any of that.

“Don’t tape me right now,” he said. “Get that camera out of here.”

All season long, the spotlight has been on Zumwalt. Most times, the 6-foot-4, 218-pound senior has welcomed it. But after the Chargers’ first loss of the season that came at the worst possible time, he just wanted to reflect alone. He wanted solitude to think about a great season that nearly ended with a CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division championship.

Instead Servite won the title with a 16-6 victory.

“It sucks,” Zumwalt said of the loss. “We all played our hearts out. [The Friars] deserved it.”

During the game, which included some heavy downpour in the first half, Zumwalt was trying his best to earn the win. As he put it, he left it all on the field, recording 10 solo tackles and 15 assisted tackles. He also caught the Chargers’ lone touchdown, a one-yard reception thrown from Matt Viles that came on fourth down.

On that play, Zumwalt took a hard hit, but held on to the ball. After the game, he was experiencing a different type of pain.

He didn’t want to cry, but he couldn’t hold back the emotion, as his friend and teammate, Luke Gane, hugged him.

“It’s a tight-knit family,” Gane said of Edison. “We love each other.”

If the Chargers are indeed a family, Zumwalt would most likely be the big brother, the one who led. That was certainly the case on defense. He averaged 13.7 tackles per game and made the type of hits that had college recruiters chasing after him.

Zumwalt has verbally committed to Stanford. But he wasn’t thinking too much about the Cardinal on Saturday night.

“I love these guys to death, man,” Zumwalt said. “I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I wish I could stay here for the rest of my life, but I can’t. I hope when I get to college, we’ll win it all. I want to win it all more than anything.”

That passion showed during his stellar game against the Friars and during a standout season. The championship game wasn’t the only time he recorded 20-plus tackles.

He also had 26 tackles, all solo, in a 34-6 win against Newport Harbor, and he had 24 tackles (11 solo, 13 assisted) in a 27-10 victory over Los Alamitos.

Quite impressive, considering he had to deal with constant attention or as most call it, hype. But Zumwalt lived up to it in many people’s eyes, including his coach’s.

“He had a great career,” White said of Zumwalt. “He’s one of the best defensive players to ever come through our school. He’s a great football player. He’s going to play a lot on Saturdays and he has a chance to play on Sundays if things go right. He meant a lot to our program. He’s got a lot of passion for football and he’s a great football player. I’m just proud to coach him.”

Zumwalt wanted to bring more pride with a championship Saturday. That’s why the loss was so painful for him.

As the rain poured before the game, Zumwalt said he was excited for the battle. He described the game as fun, but the outcome was certainly less than pleasant.

Still, Zumwalt left his mark at Edison for sure, White said.

“He’s a great athlete,” White said. “He’s 6-4, he can run. He’s going to fill out and he’s got a football mind. He’s a tough kid. He has everything.”