Football: Never mind the stats, Pollack was a team player first

Where do you start when looking at the highlights Johnny Pollack compiled for the Douglas High football team this season? Just be sure not to ask coach Mike Rippee because he won't know where to start.

"Just about every play was a highlight," Rippee said. "You never knew what was going to happen. I've never seen a running back like him. He's unique. He just wouldn't go down, and it's not because he weighs 280, either."

The 6-foot, 176-pound senior running back rushed for 1,277 yards to help the Tigers post a 7-4 overall season record. And that just covers the offensive side of the ball; he was a stalwart from his middle linebacker position on defense as well. Overall, he was good enough to earn first-team recognition both ways on the Northern 4A all-region and All-Sierra League lists - in addition to earning Player of the Year honors for the league and region.

"Johnny is just a great kid. He deserves everything he gets," Rippee said. "He played because he loved the game. He's a throwback player ... a kid who would have been successful in any era. He could have stepped out on the field in the 1950s ... he could have played without a facemask."

Statistically speaking, Pollack's best showing came in a season-ending 23-20 overtime loss at home on Nov. 6 against McQueen in the first round of the region playoffs, when he compiled a career-best 244 yards on 28 carries. He also rushed for 175 yards and threw for one touchdown during a 35-32 regular season loss earlier in the year against McQueen.

More important than those numbers was the type of player and teammate Pollack was. To illustrate how Pollack was more than a star on the field, Rippee likes to tell one story that is right out of the "Water Boy."

"Every group on the team has different responsibilities to do at practice, whether it's bringing out the ice chests or whatever," Rippee said. "Johnny brought that stuff out every day and he always took it back in. That shows his humility and the type of team player he is. He was a senior and a captain on top of that, as well as a great player, but he never put himself above anybody else."

It was always a team effort, if you ask Pollack.

"I just try to help anyway I can," he said. "It's always nice scoring touchdowns and making tackles, but I feel every play I made was for the team, not for myself. It's the entire team, too, not just the 11 guys on the field. All the guys on the scout team, they're the ones who push you to become a better player at practice every day."

Determination? Consider the Damonte Ranch game on Oct. 3 when Pollack rushed for 241 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries in a 35-20 victory.

The game was much closer than the score indicates, as the Tigers rallied from a 13-0 deficit after one quarter and 20-14 after three quarters before taking the lead for good on Pollack's 6-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

However, it was his 21-yard touchdown run with 3:22 to go in the fourth that perhaps best exemplifies Pollack's toughness. Running inside on the right side, he broke into the secondary before he began attracting Damonte Ranch defenders. One ... two ... then three and four Mustangs. By the time Pollack powered inside the 5, seven defenders were on a pile he carried right into the end zone.

"It was just zone blocking where the back finds a hole. Sometimes the hole isn't there and you have to do the best with what you have," Rippee said.

"That's Johnny. He has his own unique style; he just keeps his legs moving and he refuses to go down."

As it turned out, Pollack sustained a mild concussion in the game that kept him sidelined a week later against Wooster. He returned the next week to rush for 98 yards and one TD against Bishop Manogue. He was also part of a defense that turned back Bishop Manogue with three stands in the final 10 minutes during a critical 28-21 win at Keith Roman Field.

"The thing about Johnny, we've had some really good running backs over the years, but those guys have just played offense," Rippee said. "Johnny played both ways; he was our Mike backer and he played sideline to sideline, but he never showed that fatigue. He never wanted to come off the field, and that's pretty impressive."

The season simply ended too soon, as far as the Tigers were concerned. The playoff defeat against McQueen was tough, especially the way it ended when McQueen scored the game-winning touchdown on a fourth-down play that appeared to be stopped on the goal line.

"I think it was a good season overall," Pollack said. "We believe we could have done more, it just didn't work out that way. That (McQueen playoff game) was a tough one to lose. We had him stopped and he got away, but that's football. That's why you love the game.

"You bond with your teammates," he added. "When you play together, you sweat and bleed with them, you have friends for life."

Rippee believes that love for football will take Pollack to some college field.

"I will guarantee this, Johnny will go somewhere and play football," Rippee said. "He played Mike backer for us, but I see him playing somewhere as a strong safety. He just needs a little bigger stage."

Pollack is looking forward to that opportunity.

"It's more than a game; I'd like it to be a lifestyle," he said. "I just want to be out there playing. It's doesn't matter where."

Pollack would be an asset to any football program, or to any community, Rippee insists.

"Some people say kids aren't like they used to be, well, I invite them to come down here and meet my kids," the coach said. "They're great kids, and Johnny's one of them."