At his Berry Best

Originally, he didn't want to even play football.

On Friday, Justin Berry -- the basketball player -- was all over the gridiron, strong-arming Lighthouse Christian Academy's 50-20 season-closing win over Brethren Christian Senior High School of Huntington Beach.

He mangled running backs and quarter backs. He caught a chest-thumping kickoff and man-handled his way past five opponents for a spectacular touchdown in the first half. He executed a double block to enable a teammate to score a TD. It is Fall, and he crumpled players on kickoff like Fall leaves.

It was the last game of his senior year, and the 6'2", 180 pounder -- that's not Rasp Berry but Razzle-Dazzle Berry -- played as if powered by six energy drinks.

"Freshman year I didn't want to play. I played because my brother was playing. I didn't really like it," Berry said. "But my second year, I trained hard and worked hard at it. I ended up doing really good. Best memories of my life. It was definitely worth it. You get physically stronger and mentally stronger."

The Saints ended a very good season of 8-man CIF Southern Section football with a 6-3 record.

Brethren Christian came out strong with speedy sweeps to zip upfield and score on their first possession. The executed a double reverse that turned into a pass for the touchdown.

But Lighthouse wasn't daunted. It was Berry who caught a pass to open Saints scoring, and with the conversion, they edged ahead 8-6.

The Saints appeared to size up their opponents and nail them down. Junior Hosea Ashcraft smothered a fumble to change possession, which the Saints carried on to a touchdown. On the Warriors' possession, Saints defense drove them back into a safety.

Then came the play of the game. Berry caught a chest-thumping kickoff and ran to the far side of the field. He didn't necessarily run fast. He watched his opponents. He caught two off-balance and he strong-armed three to skip into the end zone. Saints fans erupted in delirium.

With the subsequent conversion, it was 24-6.

Brethren was not reeling on the ropes. The Warriors, rebuilding their football program just this year, still had some tricks up their sleeves.

Double-covered, their wide receiver managed to catch a ball over his head and falling one yard short of a touchdown in one mind-blowing play. It was one of two TDs to bring the Warriors within a hair's breadth of Lighthouse.

Levi Photenhauer, the whirling dervish, who will spin and run circles around opponents, produced the same magic he'd done all season to finish the half with another LCA touchdown.

At half, the Saints strategized to shut down the Warriors' passing game, and the defensive line amped up its physical game. Hosea made not one but two helmet hits on the quarterback. He says both were accidental. But it totaled 30 yards of penalties.

The Warriors couldn't find an answer to the Saints reconfigured game. Levi Photenhauer snatched an interception. Marcus Scribner, who recovered incredibly from a horrifying kneecap mangling earlier this season,scored two touchdowns with his bruising runs that inspire fear into opponents. Berry dextrously blocked one and then another in quick succession to stamp Scribner's passage over the border and into the TD zone.

Not bad for a guy who only ever wanted to play basketball.

Pictured: Justin Berry center, with his brother, Shane, and his dad, Ken.

Here's the playoffs elimination loss against Hillcrest. Read about the lightning-interrupted first half of Lighthouse's game against East Valley High and its Monday second half conclusion. Read about LCA's loss to Calvary Baptist La Verne. Here's an article about how sidelined team captain willed the Saints to victory over Cal Lutheran HS of Wildomar. This is the article of how LCA powerhouse Marcus Scribner was injured and how the Saints beat Teach Academy anyhow. This article talks about how Coach Zach Scribner lost his house but won two games. Read about how one player learned to have a good attitude as LCA overcame Discovery Prep. Lighthouse Christian Academy opened with a loss here.