In California, the state where quarterbacks are groomed to be great from a young age, a trip to Santa Monica High on Friday night was the perfect way to see two future standouts with accurate arms, swift legs and leadership skills to brag about.
The game between Laguna Beach, led by 6-foot-4 Minnesota commit Jackson Kollock, and Santa Monica, led by 6-3 junior Wyatt Brown, happened just a short walk from the Santa Monica Pier, where the sandy beach and its famous ferris wheel attract tourists and visitors.
“We should have a surf competition and football competition the same day,” Laguna Beach coach John Shanahan joked.
Except the quarterbacks prefer sticking to land.
“I’m the only kid who doesn’t,” Kollock said of surfing. “I’m the most non-Laguna Beach kid.”
Luke Jolley of Laguna Beach catches a 50-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game.
(Craig Weston)
Kollock was on the winning side Friday, passing for 115 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 84 yards in Laguna Beach’s 21-9 victory. Brown was 16-of-31 passing for 179 yards with two interceptions that led to two touchdowns for Laguna Beach (2-0).
With his father a personal trainer, Kollock also plays basketball, runs track and even won a Southern Section shot put title last spring after the track coach asked him to try the event to help the team get some points in another meet. In football, he passed for 3,174 yards and 41 touchdowns for a 9-2 team last season.
Even at 220 pounds, he moves well. “Speed has been a big thing for me throughout my whole career,” he said.
Brown, 16, has grown an inch, gotten faster and stronger after a sophomore season in which he was never fully healthy because of a minor elbow strain. Left-handed, he played through any discomfort and got Santa Monica to the Southern Section Division 9 championship game before losing to Rio Hondo Prep 29-27.
The story about Brown involves his love for football. When he was in seventh grade, he started showing up to Santa Monica practices. When he was in eighth grade, he’d show up with a pen and notebook to learn plays.
“I knew I wanted to be the starting quarterback as a freshman and was going to do everything I could,’’ he said. “I’ve never missed a practice since.”
Like Kollock, Brown is an athlete. He plays basketball, likes to show people he can dunk with his vertical leap and was an elite soccer goalie until leaving the sport in eighth grade.
In the first half, both had moments to show off their arms. Kollock threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Luke Jolley on their first offensive play of the game. Jolley had an interception the play before. Brown had an 83-yard touchdown pass to Charles Cravens nullified because of an illegal procedure penalty. Kollock’s rushing skills were impressive. He gained 74 yards in six carries to lead Laguna Beach to a 14-3 halftime lead.
Minnesota-bound quarterback Jackson Kollock.
(Craig Weston)
Cravens was a star for Santa Monica at receiver and defensive back. He had seven catches for 112 yards.
The quarterbacks will never be surfer dudes, but perhaps next time they can have a boogie board competition. You’ll be hearing about both for years to come.
In other games:
Friday night’s game at Gardena Serra matching the Cavaliers against Warren was halted at halftime with Serra ahead 36-0. Serra coach Scott Altenberg said the decision was made by Warren’s administration. There were issues with crowd control. Warren played without quarterback Madden Iamaleava, a UCLA commit.
Santa Margarita upset Corona Centennial 31-15. Trent Mosley scored three touchdowns for the Eagles, who built a 24-0 halftime lead.
On Thursday night, freshman Richard Dunn of Hamilton finally made his season debut. He was 13 last week and ineligible to play. He turned 14 and made seven tackles at middle linebacker in Hamilton’s 12-6 win over Manual Arts.
Sophomore defensive end Emmett Corwin, who transferred from Windward after the school dropped football, had two sacks and six tackles in Brentwood’s 21-0 win over King/Drew.