A RIVALRY RENEWED GABLE, LUCKY MEET AGAIN -- THIS TIME AS USC, NEBRASKA STANDOUTS.Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL Staff Writer C.J. Gable hopped onto a desk in the coach's office at Sylmar High, still wound up over his just-completed 300-yard game in a first-round City Section playoff victory over Eagle Rock in 2003, when an assistant coach came over with some news that took the smile off his face. Pete Carroll Peter C. Carroll (born September 15, 1951, in San Francisco, California) is the current head coach of the University of Southern California Trojans football team, having held that position since 2001. and the entire USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. coaching staff were at North Hollywood High
game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship . ``Man, when is Pete Carroll going to come see me play?'' Gable said. Carroll sees a lot of Gable these days. He's one of USC's primary ball carriers as a true freshman True freshman is a term used in NCAA sports, indicating that an athlete is playing the sport in his first year of college, rather than redshirting for one or more years to protect future college eligibility. . Lucky is one of the few recruits to get away from Carroll in recent years, choosing Nebraska. Gable and Lucky, the two best running backs to come out of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. this decade, will renew their rivalry Saturday when the Cornhuskers face USC at the Coliseum Coliseum: see Colosseum. . If their past battles are any indication, it could turn into a classic. Gable and Lucky always seemed to bring out the best in each other. As a sophomore who was splitting carries, Gable rushed for his first 100-yard game on varsity with 143 yards and two touchdowns against North Hollywood. But Lucky was the main story, rushing for 168 yards and two TDs, adding another score on an 85-yard kickoff return and making a touchdown-saving deflection deflection /de·flec·tion/ (de-flek´shun) deviation or movement from a straight line or given course, such as from the baseline in electrocardiography. de·flec·tion n. 1. on defense in the final seconds of a 26-26 tie. In Gable's junior year, Lucky was the big senior recruit getting all the attention. Coaches from half the Pac-10 schools were on the sidelines On the sidelines An investor who decides not to invest due to market uncertainty. on the sidelines Of or relating to investors who, having assessed the market, have decided to avoid committing their funds. when North Hollywood came to Sylmar. Gable saw it as an opportunity to make an impression. On one play, Gable remembers taking a pitch to the right side, shaking some defenders, turning back all the way around to the other side of field and gaining 60 yards before lowering his shoulder and plowing over a North Hollywood player on his way out of bounds. He looked up and saw a Pac-10 assistant coach right there. ``I just shook my head at him like, `Yeah, Lucky's not the only one who's good around here,''' Gable said. ``I knew if I ever wanted myself to be known, I had to shine over him.'' Gable did just that, totaling 352 yards and scoring fourTDs as Sylmar beat North Hollywood 40-28. Lucky had 233 total yards and three TDs. ``He caught my attention when he hit the 250-yard mark,'' Lucky said. ``He was running wild. Our defense couldn't stop him.'' Through the end of his senior football season, Lucky had never had a conversation with Gable. But they got to know each other during track and field season that spring, and Lucky gave Gable some parting advice. When Lucky turned the Trojans down, USC ended up not taking a tailback tail·back n. Football The back on an offensive team who lines up farthest from the line of scrimmage. tailback Noun Brit a queue of traffic stretching back from an obstruction in the 2005 recruiting class, making the position a priority when Gable was coming out the following year. Lucky, who grew up in Dallas and came to North Hollywood when he was 12, never felt a connection with Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . He wanted to leave the area for college. For USC to have its entire coaching staff watching Lucky showed how much the Trojans wanted him. They don't do that for many players. ``This was a really good prospect coming up,'' Carroll said. ``He's got a good combination of size and speed that you're looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. in an all-purpose type of back. ... He's one of the guys that got away from us.'' Lucky was the top player in Nebraska's recruiting class, though his college career started slowly. He played in all 12 games and earned the starting kickoff return job, but he ran the ball just 43 times for 139 yards and no TDs last season. ``I was frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: with the playbook last year,'' Lucky said. ``It's a big playbook. In the offseason, I looked at the playbook every day to get the whole scheme down. Now I feel pretty comfortable with my game, knowing the plays and doing what I do.'' Though he is still splitting carries, Lucky is turning into the focal point focal point n. See focus. Nebraska expected. He rushed for his first 100-yard game last week, though it came against Division I-AA Nicholls State. He leads the Huskers with 182 yards rushing, averaging 5.9 yards per carry, and he has scored twice. Lucky has a year up on Gable, who's entering his second collegiate game. But, judging by his first game against Arkansas, Gable is ready. He had 12 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. ``I'm sure he remembers the last game I played against him, and he wants to get me back,'' Gable said. ``It's exciting that we both made it here, and we can keep our rivalry going in college. If we're both doing our best, it should be a good game. We'll come out and try to represent the Valley.'' matthew.kredell@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1 -- color) THEN ... GABLE John Lazar/Staff Photographer (2 -- color) LUCKY Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer (3 -- color) no caption (C.J. Gable) (4) USC tailback C.J. Gable ran for 51 yards and a TD in his first game two weeks ago at Arkansas. Brian Bahr/Getty Images (5 -- color) ... AND NOW (Marlon Lucky) Dave Weaver/Associated Press |
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