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.........................CLICK HERE FOR ...HP-JORDAN PIX


By RON GUILD, Sports Editor 04.OCT.07

Most of the attention directed at Jordan High School’s James Boyd, especially college recruiters, is for the way he throws the football.

But opposing coaches are finding out the hard way he’s causing just as much havoc on the other side of the ball in his pursuit of their quarterbacks.

Huntington Park was the first Eastern League team to make this discovery last Friday in a 27-17 Jordan victory.

“He was in our backfield all day,” Spartan coach Leroy Wilson said after watching Boyd record four sacks from his defensive end spot and pass for 275 yards and two touchdowns in the league opener for both schools. “He’s a good athlete and you have to give it to him, playing quarterback and defensive end.”

At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, the junior is already attracting attention from college recruiters for his considerable passing skills. A week after throwing for 290 yards and three TDs against Southern Section power Esperanza, he completed 22 of 35 and also ran for a score against H.P. to help the Bulldogs improve to 2-3 overall. He’s thrown for a City-leading 830 yards.

“James was dominant on both sides of the ball,” Jordan coach Elijah Asante said.

Jordan, which faces Bell (0-4, 0-1 after a 27-7 loss to Roosevelt) Friday, used the passing of Boyd to surge to a 13-3 halftime lead, then extended the advantage to 27-3 through three quarters.

His one-yard sneak ended a streak of 17 straight pass plays and gave the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead with 6:20 left in the half.

Boyd’s 26-yard scoring pass to Deshawn Beck and 60-yarder to Eric Hunter, as well as a three-yard run by Artis Smith enabled Jordan to build a cushion Huntington Park (2-3) could not overcome.

Meanwhile, the defense was doing its part.

Boyd was putting constant pressure on H.P. quarterback Oscar Ramos and Glenn Johnson intercepted his third pass of the season.

Asante said the tough preleague schedule that included Dorsey, Edison and Esperanza (all losses) is paying off.

“This is what it is all about,” he said. “It’s league. The other games were just warmups, scrimmages to get us prepared for league. This is a milestone for us because Huntington Park is the defending league champion. These guys are so well-coached that if you are not prepared going in, you are not going to win.

“This is big for our development and big as far as league goes. If you don’t win, the chance to win the league championship is slim and none.”

Huntington Park, which took an early 3-0 lead on a 31-yard field goal by Jonathan Vasquez, tacked on fourth-quarter TDs by Eric Cartegna (seven-yard run) and Cesar Acuna (two yards). Ramos completed five of 14 for 57 yards.

“We played well at times and not so well at others,” Wilson said. “At least we didn’t quit. We’ll try to bounce back from this. We’ve got South Gate next, so we’ll just try to do better. The thing is, I don’t think anybody is going to go through this league undefeated.”

This will be the league opener for South Gate (0-4), a 47-21 loser to Belmont last Friday.