Oaks Christian has a magical Potter too
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Knew I was going to be in the Westlake Village area this afternoon, so I dropped by Oaks Christian High to check out how Chris Potter, pictured left, and the rest of Lions football team (4-2 overall) were preparing for Friday’s annual Ventura County rivalry game with Oak Park (4-2).
Wait a minute. In order for it to be considered a rivalry, that’d mean Oak Park would’ve had to win more than one game in the seven meetings between the schools that are separated by a mere five miles. Let the Eagles think what they want though.
Where was I… Oh yeah, Potter. This guy is does it all for Oaks Christian, ranked No. 21 this week by The Times. Over the course of the two-hour practice, the 6-foot, 180-pound senior lined up at eight different positions. About the only thing he didn’t do was supply his teammates with some “fine quality H2O”, you know, like Adam Sandler, pictured right, did in the movie ‘The Waterboy.’
‘There’s no doubt about it, we’re a better team when Chris is out on the field,’ Coach Bill Redell said.
Not only is he the starting quarterback, but he’s a lockdown corner on defense, often matching up with the opponents’ top receiver. Potter averages 19.17 yards on punt returns and 21 on kickoff returns. And did I forget to mention that he took over the punting, kickoff and place-kicking responsibilities two weeks ago?
‘I don’t ever want to regret not leaving it all out there on the field,’ Potter said. ‘That’s just the way I am. I only know how to give 100%, all the time, in everything I do.’
You can’t argue with the results. Look at his numbers on Maxpreps.com. Potter is a statistician’s nightmare.
‘There’s been times when I’ve had to literally wring out his soaking wet jersey after a game,’ said his father, Dana, also the quarterback coach at Oaks Christian. ‘I know he gets exhausted but would never admit to it. He’s having too much fun.’
Potter committed to Boise St., choosing the Broncos over the likes of Oregon, Colorado St. and San Diego St., but won‘t have to do nearly as much at the next level. Instead, he’ll likely focus on the punt and kickoff return game, initially, before moving onto to his projected full-time job as a receiver.
In the meantime, it’s reasonable to expect more of the same from Potter, which is a little bit of everything, well done.
- Sean Ceglinsky, guest blogger
-- Potter image by Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times
-- ‘The Waterboy’ image by Touchstone Pictures