Lakewood senior Jerry Stone, the leading rusher on last year’s team that reached the CIF-Southern Section Pac-5 football semifinals, has been tackled by the law and is out for the season.
Stone, 17, was allegedly the wheelman in a gang-related drive-by shooting in Compton on Aug. 21.
Lakewood is ranked No. 11 nationally and No. 3 in California by MaxPreps.
Although no one was injured in the shooting, Stone was charged with nine criminal counts, including two counts of attempted murder. He is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 2 in Compton Juvenile Court, and the L.A. County district attorney’s office filed a motion to have Stone tried as an adult.
Coach Thadd MacNeal said it came as a total surprise: “He’s very well liked by his teammates and his coaches. Everyone loves that kid. When he’s at Lakewood, he’s fine.”
Stone was also charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of permitting another person to shoot from a vehicle, one count of allowing a loaded firearm into a vehicle, one count of residential first-degree burglary and one count of hit-and-run.
This is not the first time Stone let down his team or himself. Lakewood forfeited four games last season after it was learned that Stone had been academically ineligible, according to the Los Angeles Times. He rushed for 1,450 yards (averaging 161.1 per game) and scored 18 touchdowns for Lakewood, which lost only three games. Two losses were to Long Beach Poly, the second in a Southern Section semifinal, 20-10.
Stone’s absence will open the door for someone in the Lancers’ balanced offense: Alley Long, a junior who last year broke his collarbone but rushed 21 times for 139 yards; Terrance Woods, a senior who played on the junior varsity team after transferring from Artesia; and Rashaad Wadood, a junior who also plays cornerback.
“These are all real good high school running backs, but Jerry was a special back,” MacNeal said. “It remains to be seen what these guys do with the opportunity, but I don’t see us changing our offensive philosophy a lot. At the end of the day, we still have the best quarterback around.”
USC-bound quarterback Jesse Scroggins and Arizona State-bound receiver Kevin Anderson are two reasons Lakewood feels it can dethrone Moore League rival Long Beach Poly. They play Oct. 9.
Scroggins completed 57 percent of his passes for 2,462 yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season. Anderson caught 50 passes (15.2 yards/catch) and 11 touchdowns, and Chris Davis caught 40 passes (10.5 yards/catch) with two touchdowns.
Poly has won 79 consecutive league games since 1994, but returns only four starters and none on defense from the squad that won the Southern Section Pac-5 division. Poly lost the State Division I Bowl Championship, 25-21, to Grant of Sacramento.
Lakewood begins its season Sept. 4 at Los Angeles Crenshaw. The host Cougars are led by running back DeAnthony Thomas and linebacker Hayes Pullard III and are the prohibitive favorite to win the L.A. City Section title. Lakewood is the Pac-5 favorite based on rankings, which make this a huge intersectional matchup that has State Bowl Championship ramifications. Lakewood won last year’s game, 42-34.
Other stories around the Southland:
2. Poly isn’t doing itself any favors in this rebuilding year. The Jackrabbits play Sept. 3 against Anaheim Servite at Long Beach Veterans Stadium. Poly is ranked No. 10 by MaxPreps, and Servite is No. 5.
Given Poly’s tradition, teams looking for payback probably should take advantage now. Whether Poly remains an elite team or not, it is playing an elite schedule. After Servite, it faces Ventura St. Bonaventure (No. 2), Harbor City Narbonne and Oceanside (No. 11) in nonleague games. Narbonne was a City Section co-champion last year and, with most players returning, received a transfer from Acton Vasquez, Chad Dashnaw. Oceanside played in last year’s Division II Bowl Championship.
If Poly is undefeated when it plays Lakewood, coach Raul Lara might be having a good laugh. He told the Long Beach Press-Telegram that, heading into September, only two players had locked up starting positions on a defense that last year allowed only 10 points per game: junior defensive end Corey Waller and junior linebacker Josh Fasavalu.
3. Fontana Miller had about a dozen players disciplined after they participated in hazing of underclassmen. Principal Heather Griggs told the Riverside Press-Enterprise that 10 to 15 players were involved and committed “verbal and physical abuse.” Griggs met an audience of about 300 players and parents last week to educate them on the dangers of hazing.
Given its seriousness, hazing probably should be discussed annually during the spring season in advance of the following year. Hazingprevention.org indicates about 80 percent of high school athletes suffer some sort of hazing experience. In some cases, it may appear harmless, but the young athletes who commit the hazing often don’t realize how much is too much.
Additionally, under California law, violators can be found guilty of a misdemeanor or felony depending upon the victim’s injury.
4. The advantage of having 11 weeks to play 10 games is evident as wildfires around Los Angeles threaten a number of schools because of A) proximity or B) air quality. It allows schools to take a conservative tact when dealing with disasters, and that’s almost always a good thing.
On a loosely related subject, so many schools now utilize Zero Week, thereby building in a bye week somewhere in the schedule that Zero Week ought to be renamed. How about Week 1, which it is?
Three dots and a cloud of dust
Sophomore Jeremy Sanchez of St. Bonaventure broke his leg and is expected to be out for the season. It was anticipated he would have a big season at wide receiver. . . . Oxnard Hueneme athletic director Dave Laut was shot and killed at his Oxnard home on Aug. 27. Laut, 52, won a bronze medal in the shot put in the 1984 Olympic Games. . . . Los Alamitos boys basketball coach Russ May resigned to accept a position at Cerritos College. Los Al won nine Sunset League titles in 10 years. . . . Reseda boys basketball coach Keith Higgins resigned to accept a position at the former Compton College, now El Camino Compton Center. . . . Casey Morales has been named athletic director at his alma mater, Santa Fe Springs St. Paul. He is the baseball coach.
Recruiting news
Lonnie Kauppila, a shortstop from Burbank, has committed to Stanford. . . . Austin Wilson, an outfielder from North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, has committed to Stanford.
And finally
There’s too much violence in this notebook, and it leads to a pet peeve: Guns at games. There are still schools that use pistols as a means of informing game officials and fans that a quarter is over. How many times have officials needed to be alerted by gunshot that the quarter is over? Basically, never.
In this day and age, there’s no excuse for condoning a stray gunshot, even if it’s just from a starter’s pistol emanating from the press box at the top of the grandstand. No excuse whatsoever.
Martin Henderson began covering Southland preps in 1993 for the Los Angeles Times. He contributes to the Orange County Register, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and San Bernardino Sun, and offers up motorsports opinions at Racescribe.com. You can reach him at southlandpreps@yahoo.com.
