Belt boyz

By Michael Ashcraft --

The boys certainly lashed the leather.

Lighthouse whooped Discovery Charter Preparatory of Sylmar 52-0 on Friday night and steps into playoffs for the first time in 7 years.

Jeremiah Love wrote Belt Boyz on his nose strip. On one kickoff return, Jeremiah received the ball and ran it up. In two more plays (which he ran), he made the touchdown.

"I need to redeem myself," he said before the game, referring to the "Waterman" article that he didn't like to much.

Caleb Campos didn't redeem himself. He proved himself.

He's a musician who dodged joining the football team for two years. The boys -- always strapped to fill the 8-player minimum at a school of 40 kids -- begged him to join.

"I was scared to join," he admits. "It was due to fear. I let fear take over me."

But during his senior year, he debuted.

"I couldn't imagine a future to live with myself not overcoming my fears," he adds. "I couldn't imagine, looking down the road, see myself as too scared to do something."

It was his rookie year, and they made him one of the QBs. After some poor throws in the first half, he locked in and blocked out fears and connected with receivers.

Not only did he make TD passes, he made TD runs.

He didn't run out of bounds to avoid the hits. He spun out of the tackles.

"Lamar Jackson!" last year's QB shouted from the sidelines.

It was the last game of the regular season, but it was Eli Mendez's first game.

"Since the beginning of the season, I was chipping away at my mom to get permission to play," he says.

He was put in the field in the second half. "There was some fear, but once you're on the field, you forget everything and focus on helping your team," he says.

Lighthouse Christian Academy of Santa Monica is 4-1-1 (yes, it tied a game) -- a very probable entry into playoffs.