L.A. WATTS SUMMER GAMES : Engbrecht Adds Color to Canyon’s Football Title

Canyon High quarterback Chad Engbrecht was hard to miss after the Cowboys defeated North Torrance, 20-12, for the championship of the L. A. Watts Summer Games seven-on-seven football tournament on Saturday.

Engbrecht was wearing a brightly colored Kansas City Chiefs’ jacket--his reward for being named the most valuable player in the tournament--while his teammates were clad in the traditional white Canyon football T-shirts and green shorts.

The jacket was plenty stylish, yet it was ironic that a print of Chiefs’ linebacker Derrick Thomas adorned the back of it. After all, the sack-happy Thomas makes life miserable for NFL quarterbacks, while the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Engbrecht caused a lot of grief for defenses Saturday at El Camino College in Torrance.

Engbrecht completed 19 of 32 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns against North Torrance as Canyon won the L. A. Watts Games title for the second time in four years. He was 18 of 33 for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 14-7 overtime victory over Beverly Hills in a semifinal Saturday morning.

Not bad for a guy who threw one pass last season while backing up Kevin Bialas.

“I think I’m doing better than I was, but I still have a lot of work ahead,” said Engbrecht. “My receivers really helped me today. They turned some incompletions into completions.”

Canyon wide receiver-defensive back Jim Zopelis did that better than anyone, catching seven passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in the title game. He had 14 receptions for 229 yards and two touchdowns for the day.

“They’re the ones voting, but I don’t see how (Zopelis) could have been overlooked for the MVP,” Canyon Coach Harry Welch said. “He converted some big third-down plays for us.”

Leading North Torrance, 13-6, midway through the second half, Canyon drove 60 yards in 11 plays for the touchdown that clinched the victory. Zopelis had two third-down catches totaling 26 yards in the drive, including a seven-yard touchdown reception. Teammates Billy Sivley had 10 receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns for the day, and Andy Cleland caught nine for 51 yards and a touchdown.