ORANGE COUNTY ALL-STAR FOOTBALL GAME : King Finally Gets a Royal Welcome

ORANGE —  Malcolm King broke loose for a 91-yard touchdown run last fall for Buena Park High School. In the end, though, it didn’t make much difference.

King had eight interceptions, the most in Orange County last season. But those didn’t make much of a dent, either.

It didn’t matter that King ran like a sprinter and tackled like a linebacker, Buena Park’s 1989 season went the way the past four had--badly.

The Coyotes were battered and bruised almost from the opening kickoff, finishing with a 2-8 record. One victory came against Magnolia, which lost all 10 games it played. Another, a 21-13 victory over Sonora (2-8) on Oct. 20, represented the high point of the Coyotes’ season; it ended a 28-game Freeway League losing streak.

In November, after a season-ending, 35-12 loss to Sunny Hills, Buena Park Coach Rick Foley resigned to pursue coaching positions closer to his home in Moreno Valley. In his three seasons, Buena Park was 7-22-1.

King, a defensive back/slot back who will play for the North in Friday’s Orange County all-star game at Orange Coast College, suffered through those losing seasons as best he could.

The worst part was the woofing from the opposition.

“You can’t say anything,” King said before a recent all-star practice at Orange High. “There’s nothing you can say. You’ve got nothing to back it up.”

Often, he said, the Coyotes ran onto the field with little doubt in their minds that they would lose.

With winning seemingly out of the question, King focused on more attainable goals--grabbing an interception or scoring a touchdown each game. With eight interceptions in 10 games as a senior, King came close.

As the season progressed, King developed into one of the best defensive backs in the county and earned a scholarship to play at Cal State Fullerton.

Buena Park’s losing record did not concern Titan Coach Gene Murphy in the least.

“Mark Collins’ senior year in high school, his team didn’t win a game,” Murphy said of the former Titan defensive back who was a second-round draft pick of the New York Giants in 1986. “Like with Malcolm, sometimes guys stand out. Sometimes (playing on a losing team) works to your advantage.”

Losing hasn’t hurt King’s friendly disposition.

“He just bubbles,” Murphy said.

King could have transferred to a school with a winning tradition, but he would have missed his friends. He figured what was the fun of playing if it wasn’t with your buddies? So he stayed at Buena Park.

“I liked the guys I played with,” King said. “If I left, they probably would have done worse.”

And despite playing on a losing team, King did make an impression on others.

“From what I know of him, he’s pretty good,” said Coy Collins, a running back from Loara and a teammate on the North team. “A lot of people get judged because they come from a small school. I can tell he can play.”

Tom Meiss of Orange, the North coach, was unimpressed the only time he saw Buena Park play.

“We played them in a passing league game (last summer),” Meiss said. “We weren’t overly impressed with anything they had. We had no idea what to expect. We didn’t know if we were getting a Pinto or a Thunderbird.”

Meiss got his first good look at King during the North’s practice last week.

“He can fly to the ball,” Meiss said. “I’m impressed with his ability to cover sideline to sideline.”