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National girls win district, section By Dick Sparrer Trent Edwards might just have what it takes to make it to the ranks of the National Football League one day. But you can bet if he winds up in the NFL, he won't follow the same path that Jeff Garcia of the San Francisco 49ers followedÑat least, not when it comes time for the 28th annual Silicon Valley Youth Classic Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game on July 24. Not that there's anything wrong with the path that Garcia took to the NFL. It's just that the former Gilroy High School star was picked to the South all-star team as a quarterback, and never took a snap in the 1988 summer classic. Garcia was one of three quarterbacks selected to play for the South team that year. But little did he know going into the game that he would be the odd man out. "I went into that all-star week of practice thinking I was going to be one of the starting quarterbacks," said Garcia. "But there were three guys at the quarterback position, so right there I knew it was not going to allow much playing time." Garcia was joined at the quarterback spot by Dan Hall of Leigh and Hector Siqueiros of Independence. And it took a day or two of practice for him to realize that his playing time would be in jeopardy. "They utilized more of a running style quarterback, and I was more of a drop back passer," said Garcia. So South co-head coaches Randy Zimmer of Leland and Jeff Borges of Silver Creek made a decision. "After a couple of days, they asked me if I could play another position," said Garcia. "I told them I could play free safety, so I went over the defensive side of the ball." The position had to be rather foreign for Garcia. After all, his only experience with a defensive secondary prior to that game was studying it to attack its weaknesses. But as it turned out, that might have worked to his advantage. "Being a quarterback gives you a complete knowledge of the game, both offensively and defensively," said Garcia. "So I approached the position more from a quarterback's mentality." The strategy must have worked. Garcia had a big game in the secondary for the South, and helped his club battle the North to the only scoreless tie in the history of the all-star game. "It wasn't a very exciting game," he said. "But I was able to pick off a pass and get in on a few tackles. I got a chance to be the hitter instead of the hitee." "I had a real fun week on the defensive side," he added. "It was fun for me to get an opportunity to play a position I hadn't played." It's likely that Edwards will not have a similar experience. The 6-foot-5 sensation from Los Gatos figures to be behind the center for North squad on Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., at San Jose City College in the renewal of the summer classic hosted by the Almaden Rotary Club. Edwards, who is headed to Stanford University on a full-ride football scholarship after this game, will play his final high school game as a North all-star—and what a high school career it has been. The pinpoint passer led Los Gatos to back-to-back Central Coast Section Division 3 championships, and the Wildcats were 13-0 in each of those seasons. He lost just one game in his varsity career at Gatos, that coming in the CCS semifinals in his sophomore year. He made all-league, all-CCS, all-state and all-American teams as a senior, and will cap that career on Wednesday in the all-star game. Edwards may indeed follow Garcia and other former summer all-stars into the NFL someday. But one thing's for certain—this Wednesday night he'll be playing quarterback for the North ... not free safety. All-star notes LOCAL STARS: Edwards will be joined on the North squad by local stars Steven Nichols of Homestead; Sean Imai of Lynbrook; Ryan Katz and Drew Rogers of Monta Vista; and Scott Mueller of Cupertino. FORMER STARS: The 49ers Garcia is just one of more than a dozen summer all-stars who have gone on to play in the NFL. Others include: Doug Cosbie (St. Francis/Dallas Cowboys), Don Schwartz (Mitty/St. Louis Cardinals), Jeff Toews (Del Mar/Miami Dolphins), Rich Campbell (Santa Teresa/Green Bay Packers), Carl Monroe (Overfelt/49ers), Greg Woodard (Silver Creek/Oakland Raiders), John Tuggle (Independence/New York Giants), Ben Bennett (Peterson/Chicago Bears), John Faylor (Mitty/49ers), Erik Howard (Bellarmine/Giants), Randy Kirk (Bellarmine/49ers) and Pat Tillman (Leland/ Arizona Cardinals). Ken Caminiti (Leigh) and Bill Haselman (Saratoga) each played in the summer game, then went on to play baseball in the major leagues. Caminiti was an all-star for the San Diego Padres, and Haselman has been a catcher for the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers. Millard Hampton (Silver Creek) played for the South in the first all-star game in 1974 and went on to win and Olympic gold medal. SOUTH HOLDS EDGE: The North rolled to an impressive 24-17 South last summer, but the South still holds a slim 13-12 edge in the all-star series (two games ended in ties). The North has won eight of the last 11 games. TICKETS: Tickets for the game, sponsored by the Almaden Valley Rotary Club, are priced at $10 (children under 8 will be admitted free with a parent). Proceeds from the game benefit Rotary Club charities. Parking is free. |
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