BERG MEASURES UP AT LB.Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer LITTLEROCK - Jared Berg is too small to be a nose guard. The 5-foot-6, 170-pound Berg has heard it over and over again, and is content to let people believe what they wish. However he's been proving his critics wrong since earning job on Littlerock High's football team last season as a junior. A first-team All-Golden League selection last year, he's already totaled more than 100 tackles this year. The upset-minded Lobos (2-7) will be counting on Berg to play big when they play Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. High (9-0) in a Southern Section Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. playoff opener for both teams tonight at 7:30 at Glendale High. The game is loaded with subplots for Berg. His older brother Jon played for the Falcons in 1992 - a team that reached the Southern Section semifinals. His mother teaches at the same elementary school elementary school: see school. where Crescenta Valley quarterback Hudson Gossard's mother is a teacher. The reaction Berg gets when he tells people he's the Lobos' starting nose guard has become predictable. ``They're like, 'You play nose guard?' They don't even believe me sometimes. I just tell them to show up to a game and see for themselves.'' Berg has been told he really should be a linebacker or a cornerback. ``I just tell them, 'That's your opinion,' '' he said. He earned the job during a scrimmage against Rosamond as a junior. Littlerock coach Jim Bauer had a hunch hunch n. 1. An intuitive feeling or a premonition: had a hunch that he would lose. 2. A hump. 3. A lump or chunk: "She . . . he might be a good fit at that position, since he himself played nose guard in college on Cal Lutheran's 1971 national-championship team, and he's only 5-9. ``I enjoyed playing against taller people because I felt like I had a lot more leverage on them,'' Bauer said. ``If you're shorter and you're pretty strong and quick like he is, being short at nose guard kind of gives you an advantage in that you can get pretty good leverage and you can get under the taller guys.'' Berg has been playing youth football since he was 5. He loves the physical contact that comes with playing in the trenches and said there's nothing like the thrill of returning to a huddle after a quarterback sack In American football and Canadian football, a quarterback sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass. This often occurs if the opposing team's defensive line or linebackers are able to quickly get past blocking . He's not intimidated in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. by the bigger lineman on the other side of the ball and is unafraid of hard work. He plans to study underwater ocean welding welding, process for joining separate pieces of metal in a continuous metallic bond. Cold-pressure welding is accomplished by the application of high pressure at room temperature; forge welding (forging) is done by means of hammering, with the addition of heat. in college. Littlerock defensive co-captain Alex Jackson Alexander Skinner Jackson (May 12 1905 — November 15 1946) was a Scottish footballer. Alex Jackson was born in Renton in 1905. A highly-talented winger, known as the Gay Cavalier, he was particularly adept at dribbling and free kicks. , who's played with Berg since both were freshmen, said Berg has always worked hard in the weight room, which has helped him become the player he is. ``Jared's a little guy, but he's our little Tasmanian devil Tasmanian devil, extremely voracious marsupial, or pouched mammal, of the dasyure family, now found only on the island of Tasmania. The Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisi, formerly found also in Australia, is about 2 ft (60 cm) long, excluding the 12-in. ,'' Jackson said. ``He's the smallest guy out there, but he can go up against the biggest guy and he'll just keep working at it, going at people until they can't go at it anymore.'' Said Bauer: ``His motor never stops running. He has a strong work ethic work ethic n. A set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. work ethic Noun a belief in the moral value of work and competitive nature. Even when he gets blocked, he doesn't stay blocked. He pursues the ball until the whistle blows. It's almost like having an extra linebacker on the field because he ends up where the ball ends up.'' Berg wants to continue playing after he concludes his prep career. He knows he's probably too small to play nose guard at a Division I college; however, he wants a chance to prove he can play the position at a smaller school, and mentioned Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. as a possibility. Berg is relishing the opportunity to play on his older brother's former home field. He knows that on paper, his team's chances of upsetting the Pacific League titans are slim, but he loves his team and thrives on proving others wrong. Sound like the makings for a B-movie script? ``It's possible,'' he said. ``They thought we weren't going to amount to anything. We may have lost games, but our team is a hard-working team; when we come together, there's no stopping us.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Jared Berg (35) and Abraham Avalos are a contrast in size but have a similar purpose for the Littlerock football team. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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