PLENTY OF SUCCESS FOR THIS DYNAMIC DUO.Byline: GERRY GITTELSON CANYON COUNTRY - For Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Christian sports standouts Stephen Mercier and Orlandi Pena, the wonderful ride is winding down. After starring in various athletic ventures over the years - Mercier has gained All-Southern Section honors in football and baseball, and Pena has done so in football, baseball and soccer - the fearsome fear·some adj. 1. Causing or capable of causing fear: "The Devil is a fearsome enemy" Jimmy Breslin. 2. Fearful; timid. twosome are preparing to graduate next month. Just enough time to win another section baseball title, perhaps; the two have remained busy switching sports through the seasons each year. It's been a successful journey, with Mercier and Pena helping the football team rise from a winless season when they were freshmen to 8-man finalists their junior year. They helped carry the baseball team to a Southern Section championship last year, the first in school history. They also were on the soccer team, helping Santa Clarita Christian to its best finish - the second round of the playoffs - last season. Of course, Mercier and Pena have to wonder if they could have measured up at a larger school, such as Canyon, which is just down the block but a million miles away in terms of athletic distinction. ``Well, I used to play baseball with guys like Tommy Milone and Brandon Marcias (from Saugus) and Derek Sedam (from Hart),'' Mercier said. ``But usually I don't really think about how I would compare. We've seen some tough football competition, but we just don't get the turnout that you see at the other schools because we're so much smaller. But it's still tough, believe me.'' In some ways, Mercier and Pena are like folk heroes A folk hero is type of hero, real or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. on the tiny campus at the end of a cul-de-sac just down the street from the town's movie theater. ``You should see the way some of these little elementary kids here look up to Stephen and Orlandi as these big athletes,'' said Garrick Moss, the school's football and baseball coach. ``We're very much like a family here, and I don't think Stephen and Orlandi even realize how some of the kids feel about them.'' The school's principal, Derek Swales, fully realizes the impact Mercier and Pena have made. They have helped pull Santa Clarita Christian from the intimidating 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. shadows of the four neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. Foothill League schools, all with large-division titles in various sports over the years. ``I believe our goal at this school is to do everything we can with excellence,'' said Swales, 36, who was a top basketball recruit in Canada but turned down several scholarship offers so he could attend bible college A Bible college is an institution of higher education in which the course of study specializes in biblical studies. This curriculum differs from the focus on academic programs of Christian liberal arts colleges or research universities, which may include, but are not limited to, . ``For our students, winning games is very important for school spirit. Kids love to win, and a winning atmosphere is wonderful. But our goal has always been to put God before sports.'' Swales estimates that 70 percent of the 170 high school students at Santa Clarita Christian play at least one varsity sport. And he points out that 99 percent of the school's graduates attend college. As expected, Mercier and Pena plan to go to four-year schools. Mercier is weighing partial baseball offers from small colleges Westmont, Vanguard Vanguard Any of three unmanned U.S. experimental satellites. Vanguard I (1958), the second U.S. satellite placed in orbit around Earth (after Explorer 1), was a tiny 3.25-lb (1.47-kg) sphere with two radio transmitters. and possibly The Master's, and Pena has committed to The Master's, where he plans to play soccer. They say they will miss this bustling bus·tle 1 intr. & tr.v. bus·tled, bus·tling, bus·tles To move or cause to move energetically and busily. n. Excited and often noisy activity; a stir. little school. ``I don't think it's really begun to sink in that's it's going to be over,'' Mercier said. ``I still think about football a lot because I couldn't play in our last game (because of a non-football injury). And baseball is going really well right now. But, yes, I'm going to miss it.'' No Santa Clarita Christian athlete has received a Division I athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. They are common in the United States, but in many countries they are rare or non-existent. . Moss believes Mercier and Pena might be worthy, but he's realistic about the stigma stigma: see pistil. Stigma mark of Cain God’s mark on Cain, a sign of his shame for fratricide. [O. T.: Genesis 4:15] scarlet letter of small-school athletics athletics or track and field also track-and-field games Variety of sport competitions held on a running track and on the adjacent field. It is the oldest form of organized sports, having been a part of the ancient Olympic Games from c. . ``I've seen all of those public schools, and Stephen and Orlandi can play with anyone in this valley,'' Moss said. ``The thing is it's so difficult for a school like us to schedule a game against Canyon or Hart because we might have three or four guys that are legit le·git adj. Slang Legitimate. , but the rest are just kids who might be athletic but didn't grow up playing the game.'' Mercier and Pena are scheduled to represent the school a final time at an all-star football game in June. Then they'll hang up their red-and-black football helmets a final time. And you can bet they'll do so with pride. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Senior Stephen Mercier has starred in football, soccer and baseball during his time at Santa Clarita Christian. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion