DEALING WITH A LOSS OFF THE FIELD PLAYING ON CANYON QB STAYS POSITIVE DESPITE FATHER'S DEATH.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE  LOCAL

CANYON COUNTRY - You wonder how he can smile, let alone rocket a football 55 yards down the field without taking a step.

And not just any old smile.

No, Ben Longshore's smile is one of the best. It's boyish and disarming, like it comes up all the way from his toes. The kind you need a genuinely sweet nature to qualify for.

All you have to do is be around Longshore and his smile for two minutes before you start grinning too. But how do you keep smiling around a kid like this when you know he just lost his father? What do you say? How do you act?

In April, Ben's father, Todd Longshore, died suddenly at the age of 49 from a blood clot in his lung.

The news shocked this tight-knit community.

``I'll never forget it,'' Canyon High football coach Harry Welch said. ``I get this voicemail at 6:45 a.m.: `Coach Welch, this is Ben Longshore. I won't be at practice today. My father just died.' I just started crying. I ran over to his house looking for him and kept going back. I kept telling people to cover my classes, because I had to find him.''

Everyone felt the same way. Numb.

Teammates came in a constant stream over to the Longshore house. Even Canyon's cross-town rival, the Hart of Newhall football team, sent something.

But still, no one knew what to say ... except Ben Longshore.

``I know where my dad is,'' he said, still smiling. ``It feels like he's still around 24-7, watching me, and I don't want to let him down.''

Judging from the rave reviews Ben Longshore has drawn this summer, his father would be more than proud.

``He's blossomed,'' Welch said of Ben Longshore. ``I think he's honoring his family with his effort. He's progressed so well, he's probably one of the best quarterbacks I've ever coached.''

That list goes a full 30 years back and it includes Ben's older brother Nate, who is now the starting quarterback at California.

But Welch didn't stutter when he made the statement. In fact, he couldn't stop glowing about the way Ben has been playing this summer.

``It's almost funny how well he's throwing right now,'' Welch said. ``I did not see a better quarterback on any of the teams I saw this summer.''

Longshore did well enough on the summer camp and passing league circuit to draw recruiting interest from a handful of Pacific-10 and Mountain West conference schools, although most are holding back on a scholarship offer until they see how he performs in games.

Canyon's star running back, J.J. DiLuigi, noticed the difference in Longshore right away.

Instead of leaving right after practice, Longshore stays afterward to work on his skills. In the weight room, he pushes himself harder than anyone. The other day, he benched 280 pounds at the end of a hard upper-body workout. He volunteers to run with the fastest group for conditioning.

``He's really putting it all out there,'' DiLuigi said. ``Most people would go into a slump if something like that happened to him. But instead of going, `Oh, pity me,' he's really pushing himself hard. He's like a new kid.''

Don't misunderstand DiLuigi, however. Ben wasn't lazy before this year, just more passive. Last year, Welch declared that Longshore and senior quarterback Austin Civita were even coming into the season opener. But in the end, Welch went with the senior. And all Civita did was lead the Cowboys to a Southern Section Div. II championship.

Longshore took Welch's decision about as well as you could expect. But deep down, he knew he could be starting if he'd pushed a little harder.

``It was right there in front of me, but I just let it sit there. I didn't go after it,'' he said. ``I guess I just thought it would come to me.''

Meanwhile, older brother Nate found himself on the sideline for a different reason. Instead of becoming the next quarterback prodigy of Cal coach Jeff Tedford, Longshore was in a cast.

After beating out highly-touted junior college prospect Joe Ayoob in summer practice, Longshore seemed poised for a breakout year. But in the first game, a Sacramento State defender rolled up on his lower leg, breaking it.

``It happens. It's football,'' Nate Longshore said. ``But it was tough watching the team and not being able to help them.''

The brothers talked often last year, both yearning to get out on the field.

It was around this time that Ben's focus started to change. With his senior year staring him in the face and only a few late-game snaps to show for his first two years of varsity football, whatever passivity he'd had vanished.

His workouts got more intense, his mental focus sharpened.

And then his world was turned upside down.

It would've been understandable if he went into a funk. Or if he needed an extended break from football. But the Longshore family is too strong to let that happen.

``Right after my dad died, Nate came home, and the first thing we said to each other was, `We gotta do this, We gotta do this,''' Ben recalled.

Added Nate: ``You don't even really have to talk about it. You just look at each other and you just know.''

A few days after Todd Longshore died, Welch reminded Ben about an elite quarterback camp in San Diego that he'd been invited to and asked if he was still going to attend.

``His mother, DeAnn, said, `I don't think so, Ben,''' Welch said. ``Ben looked at his mom, with all this emotion, and said, `Dad was going to take me.'''

That pretty much settled it. A few days later, Welch and his wife drove Ben down to San Diego. Nate came down to support him. And even with a heavy heart, Ben was selected as the top quarterback in the camp.

``All of a sudden, all these eyes were open and people saw the potential,'' Welch said. ``And I think he did too. ... The rest is history.''

Go ahead, you can smile. Ben is. And somehow, you just get the feeling his dad is, too.

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Canyon High senior quarterback Ben Longshore, who will be the starter this season for the Cowboys, will try to lead his team to another Southern Section title.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Ben Longshore, middle, with his parents Todd, left, and DeAnn. Todd died in April because of a blood clot in his lung.

(3) From left, Todd Longshore, who died in April, with sons Ben, who will be the starting quarterback at Canyon High this season, and Nick, who will be a senior offensive lineman at BYU.

Photo courtesy of the Longshore family