From respectable football to shameful futbol

Marcus Scribner was born of good football stock, with a faultless football heritage (his dad played and his grandfather made it to the NFL).

Discussions about sports at home invariably disparaged soccer as wimpy because players flopped, throwing themselves down in sham pain to try to draw free kicks. Despicable stuff for the hardened athlete who takes pride in shaking off being body-slammed at sprinting speeds by shipyard workers with an understated: “I’m good.”

So where did Marcus go wrong? How did the LCA junior who literally spends all year eating, training and working out in preparation for running back and linebacker on the Saints 8-man football team…

...wind up playing futbol?

Rumors are hereby confirmed: Muscle-bound Marcus is Lighthouse Christian Academy’s star forward. It’s his third year dallying in the shameful sport.

Whispered: And he likes it.

“Soccer has been such an amazing experience for me,” he confides with certain trepidation that if things get misconstrued, his manhood might be called into question. “It has built friendships that I normally would not have made by not playing soccer.”

Through soccer, Marcus became a fast friend of Erhan Meric, LCA’s Turkish star last year. Erhan was a timid kid with fleet feet and wunderkind skills on the pitch. Erhan led the Saints to a perfect season last year (though LCA was overwhelmed in playoffs).

Because Erhan was so shy, Marcus might never have made his friendship had it not been for soccer.

But forming friendships is not the only upside.

Because he’s so fiercely competitive, Marcus has learned a lot. He can dribble, juke, give-and-go, header, spin kick, shield the ball and run into space with his frightening physique to muscle his way to goal. As his skills set grows, he starts to enjoy the game.

His haul so far? Twelve net-rippers, second only to the native player Hosea Ashcraft.

Make no mistake though. He’s nowhere near jettisoning his dream to play NFL. Soccer, if played at all, is mostly a chance for him to improve his endurance and sharp his footwork for football.

“I definitely feel soccer has improved my football ability,” he says. “It is a great way to stay in shape during the offseason and it has helped me to improve my endurance and my quickness on the field.”

Actually, it was his dad who urged Marcus to play. That’s surprising because Josh Scribner -- in addition to being pastor of the parent organization Lighthouse Church and principal at the sister Lighthouse Church School -- is the quintessential gym rat and weight trainer.

When he preaches, congregates rightly worry that those rippling muscles underneath might burst his dress shirts like the Lou Ferrigno. Yeah, Pastor Josh Scribner was raised respectably on a steady diet of football, football and more football. His only exception to the football-only rule was surfing, which he naturally excelled at.

But Lighthouse has only 45 kids, and that contributed heavily to influence Marcus to join soccer.

With such a low enrollment, teams are actively encouraging any available bodies to fill a uniform, especially if they have any athleticism.

So Marcus’ dad heeded the need and told his son to do what he tells congregants to do every Sunday: support church ministries.

“Dad told me all of the running and quick movements would help me in my football games,” Marcus says.

As the Saints season draws to a close and LCA aims at a solid second place (LCA is 9-2) in the CIF Southern Section’s Omega League, Marcus is not regretting his decision.

Can this be published? “All in all I love soccer and I would encourage everyone,” he says.

Read here LCA's last reported game against Pilgrim in December.