Becoming the man his father wanted.

Byline: JON GOLD

The last thing one would expect Pedro Murguia to want to talk about a few days after the death of his father, Max Valdez, is his transformation from pre-teen gangbanger to soccer star for San Fernando High. Or his newfound success in the classroom.

Most of all, you wouldn't expect him to want to talk about Max.

It's too soon, the pain of losing his dad still too fresh. One would think, anyway.

But Murguia insists he's OK.

This is a player who had two assists the day after his father's death to help the Tigers beat Kennedy 3-0. They open today's City Section playoffs at home against Lincoln at 3 p.m. San Fernando (14-3-4 ) is seeded second, the highest for any team in the region.

Murguia never considered not playing in the final game. That's not what his father taught him.

"He wanted me to do what I had to do, to keep going on with my life," Murguia said. "But I wanted to play for the team - not only for him."

Last year, there was no team for Murguia.

Despite earning a spot on the San Fernando varsity team as a freshman, poor grades kept Murguia sidelined, academically ineligible. Murguia sat in the stands watching his teammates play the sport he loves, knowing that he stole the opportunity away from himself.

"Last year, I didn't care," Murguia said. "I didn't care about anything. I didn't want anything out of life. Now it's changed. I see. I see now."

He sees a future, a life, a 3.1grade-point average, college, hope and success.

And then his father passes away, and in an instant, everything changes.

Or, at least, it could have.

Murguia refuses to let it.

He played Friday because his father would have wanted him to. But he also played because he understands responsibility now, perhaps for the first time.

"Him coming out and playing was proof that he is trying to get out of a bad situation," San Fernando coach Norman Mejia said. "He wants better for himself. I told him, 'It's easy to quit. It's harder to do the right thing.' This is proof."

It is proof that Murguia is ready to accept the challenges of the world without reverting back to the past.

Now Murguia is the man of the house, and he knows it. He has some experience, being the eldest son.

Whenever Valdez walked out of his house, he looked Murguia directly in the eyes, squared his son up and put it plainly: "It's your turn now."

Often, Pedro did not listen. Looking after his mother and four siblings was not a priority.

It is now.

"He told me, 'You're going to be the man now,"' Murguia said of Valdez. "I already know what to do. But now I feel like him. I feel how he did it."

But in order to take the responsibility, in order to truly become the man that he wants to be, Murguia has had to confront the past.

He wanted to get out of the gang lifestyle, rid himself of the disease of apathy. But would the gang allow it?

"I tell them that I want out, and they understand," Murguia said. "They tell me that they want me to get out of here. They don't want me to be like them, to be on the streets. They want me to get my family out of here."

Murguia is an extension of all his friends who have not been able to get out of the lifestyle, of all those who had a dream but lacked the discipline or fortitude to catch it. He has matured in one year as much as some do in a lifetime, ready to take on the world. Even Valdez's passing won't stop him.

"He's 16 years old, and when something like this happens, it forces you to mature," Mejia said. "I think he'll be ready for it. I don't think I would be ready. I can't expect him to take full responsibility. But he's doing everything he can. I think he's ready to step up a little bit more."

He shouldn't have to. No one should lose their father at 16. Thing is, Murguia doesn't believe he's lost Valdez.

"He's going to be there for me still," Murguia said. "He was there when I was a kid. Wherever I go, in my heart. Whatever I do, in my heart. At my games, in my heart."

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Photo:

San Fernando's Pedro Murguia used to run with a gang, but now he has become a soccer player and a stellar student.

Gene Blevins/Daily News