His presence is felt as LCA crushes Cal Lutheran

Even though he was side-lined by a season-ending injury, Marcus Scribner was felt in full force out on the field.

Lighthouse Christian Academy overwhelmed what they feared would their toughest rivals of the season Friday when they crushed Cal Lutheran High School of Wildomar 44-6.

From the sidelines, Marcus, LCA's talisman, willed his team to win what was touted as a type of UCLA-USC encounter.

Marcus shouted screamed. He glowered and glared at the opponents. He hobbled up and down the field on his crutches coaxing his buddies onward. He sounded like a fourth coach.

Marcus' runs were fearsome in the Saints' first four games. He had speed. He caught opponents off balance and dodged them with kungfu quickness. He made opponents regret trying to hit him. The muscle-bound junior relished a good smashup.

Then last week he dislocated his kneecap. His dad, a football player in his heyday, feared his son would never play again, ever.

But -- it would seem by divine intervention -- the kneecap, moved Kafka-esque out of place on the field, ultimately was deemed to be recoverable 2-5 weeks by doctors at the Long Beach hospital.

Marcus will be back for his senior year.

In the meantime, the 12-man Saints squad, now a mouse that roars, needed to step-up and fill the enormous hole.

Garrett Lahood ran the ball like never before. In previous games, he ran straight into tackles and even hit the back of his own blocker and fell to the ground. It was an own-tackle.

On Friday, Garrett produced some magic with his feet, some spins and skipped out of tackles like the Stealth bomber eludes radar. He bore a striking resemblance to his good friend, Marcus.

"Marcus was giving me all the tips in the world. He was training me. He was going to the practices even though he was hurt," Garrett said. "He was a really good friend teaching me. Basically, we just had to go as a team and push hard. The line made holes. That's made me able to run, just firing off and making holes."

Levi Photenhauer is always fast. He burns players every game.

But it seemed that on Friday he was at least 50 percent faster.

"God's given me legs, and I'll use them," Levi said. "Our team puts tremendous effort it. Everyday we run sprints. Everyone has improved."

Newcomer Jeri Ballard is now the king of turnovers. Last week, he intercepted a pass to stop a late Blair High School push. On Friday, he pounced on a fumbled ball to again frustrate foes.

Big man Justin Berry did some banging tackles, providing raw power in the absence of Marcus.

Coach Zach Scribner chalks up the victories to the Christian faith that the team adheres to as a private school in Santa Monica.

"Every week we get better. When you have a group of guys like this where everybody is committed to practicing hard, there's almost no limit to what you can do," Zach said. "They're listening and doing everything we say. We have very godly atmosphere on our team where prayer is important, God is important and when you're priorities are right, it's very easy to put football in its right perspective. It's just a game. It's more like a family."

I was told to watch the team before the game in the locker room because teenage boys -- TEENAGE BOYS -- were praying sincerely and earnestly. I must confess, it really was something to see. They prayed for Marcus. They prayed to do their best. They prayed against injury. I don't think they prayed to win.

The concept of praying to win stumbles on theological difficulties (Would God favor one Christian team over another, or a Christian team over a non-Christian? Doesn't He have more important things to worry about?).

Yeah. And the way coaches growl at players with hyperbolic language about hitting hard also could be hard to reconcile with Jesus' admonition to "turn the other cheek." But anyhow, the Saints are big on football, and somehow they follow both the Bible and the playbook.

So prayer and football are pretty much irreconcilable. Nevertheless there they were, praying. And it was refreshing to see because it seemed to be influencing more than just the gridiron. It seemed to be influencing character.

Here are kids not fooling around with drugs. They're not ditching class. They're not screwing around with girls. They're doing homework, respecting their parents and... winning games.

"Hey, this is not just a Friday thing," said Lucas Moraida, defensive coordinator for the Saints. "This has to make a difference in your character on Monday."

The game was over. There was a victory to win on Monday, he was saying. This team is more than just sport.

Among the pictures: Garrett Lahood smiling, the players praying before the game.

Here's Lighthouse's season-ending victory over Brethren Christian of Huntington Beach. Here's LCA's playoff hopes-dashing game against Hillcrest. Read about the lightning-interrupted first half of Lighthouse's game against East Valley High and how they finalized the victory the next Monday. Read about LCA's loss to Calvary Baptist La Verne. 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.