Angel Jimenez took the handoff before colliding with a couple of Pinewood players three to four yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Inevitably, the Anzar High tailback dragged along defenders for several more yards as his legs kept on churning like pistons.
The scene repeated itself time and again in the Hawks’ 60-42 loss on Oct. 30. There was Jimenez, the bowling ball, going up against the Pinewood defense, the pins. When the ball connects, the pins go down.
And so it was for Jimenez, who rushed for 178 yards on 26 carries, including touchdown runs of 20, 3 and 1 yards. Despite the loss, Jimenez was proud of his teammates’ effort.
“It feels good knowing everyone kept their heads up no matter what,” said Jimenez, a burly 5-foot-7, 186-pound senior. “It means a lot that we played our butts off. Even though we lost, we gave a great effort.”
Anzar (3-5 overall, 1-3 league) plays its season-finale at Trinity Christian of Monterey on Friday in an 8-man Mission Trail League game. Now in the twilight of his prep career, Jimenez’s senior season has been his best yet—but not just for his impressive on-field production.
It’s the fact that Jimenez is still on the field that counts the most. Due to grades, Jimenez hasn’t been able to complete a full season. Jimenez credited the current coaching staff along with former Hawks coach Luis Espinoza for helping him improve in the classroom.
Espinoza is an on-campus teacher who was the head coach of the team for the program’s first four years of existence.
“I’ve been ineligible for parts of the last two seasons, so it feels good to play my entire senior year,” he said. “I thank my coaches for pushing me, especially coach Espinoza. Luis is an incredible coach, and he’s showed me a lot. He’s showed me a lot about life and what it means to be a man. He’s always been on my butt to get my grades up.”
Jimenez said it was Espinoza’s constant reminders and actions that set him up to have his best grades yet.
“Right now my GPA is a 3.3, and hopefully I keep this up and work hard in everything I do in life,” he said.
Jimenez has dedicated his senior season to the loved ones in his life, including his girlfriend, Valerie Armas, and his mom, Tina. Jimenez admitted he was headed down a life of trouble during his seventh-grade year.
“I got suspended and mom didn’t know what to do with me,” he said. “I saw my mom cry and it hurts, and I knew I had to start proving people wrong. No one thought I would do anything in life, and I had to prove them wrong. I put my mom through a lot and gave her a lot of stress. She’s put up with five boys, and it wasn’t easy and it still isn’t easy. She’s my role model, and all I want to do is make her proud.”
After last week’s performance, Jimenez credited his offensive line of Ben Whitman, Cody Fisher, Austin Io, Rogelio Torres and R.J. Scally for opening up seams to run through. He also credited other teammates for supporting him, including Andrew Huaracha, Eddie Mohssin and Rod Amescua.
Jimenez said football has helped him stay on the right path, as the sport has taught him discipline, focus and to never give up. That’s the way Jimenez carries himself on the field—he lowers his head like a ram, invites contact and keeps on moving until the whistle blows.
“I go hard on every play,” he said. “I give it my all, and it feels great when I can break tackles. My attitude is to keep on going and never give up.”
It shows.
