In Good Hands

Mike Sciacca

Denny Flanagan has had nothing but time on his hands these past few

days to contemplate the outstanding season he and the Edison High

football team completed last Saturday night.

The senior receiver has been afforded the time because he came down

with a touch of the flu Sunday night, following the team’s year-end

banquet, and was absent from school through Tuesday.

It can certainly be said that he seems to catch just about o7

everythingf7 that comes his way.

Just two days earlier, on center stage -- actually, it was center

field at Edison International Field -- of the CIF Southern Section

Division I football final against No. 1 Long Beach Poly, Mr. Sure Hands

seemed to catch every ball on every big play. He finished the night with

11 receptions totaling 160 yards and more importantly, four of those

receptions resulted in touchdowns.

The four touchdowns, each pass coming from Tommy Grady, went like

this:

* On a fourth down gamble in the opening quarter, he hauled in a

three-yard pass for a 7-0 Edison lead.

* He scored on a 15-yard pass just before halftime to pull Edison into

a 14-14 tie at the break.

* Another fourth down pass reception, this one made in the third

quarter, came as he slid on his knees near the end zone pylon and put

Edison ahead, 21-14.

* He split two defenders and broke away from a would-be tackler near

the goal line and scored from 22 yards out with 4:40 to play, bringing

Edison within 34-28.

The four TDs tied a career best for the 6-foot-1, 180-pound speedster,

and his outstanding performance came in front of about 50 family members.

“It felt great to have a game like that before my family and friends,

but it would have been better to have won the game,” said Flanagan, whose

raspy voice reflected the way he felt. “Being sick at home has helped me

gain a perspective on what a great season our football team had.”

Flanagan certainly won’t be forgotten in the Edison football annals.

In fact, he has rewritten a few of the school records.

Against Poly, his 11 catches gave him 65 for the season, a total that

broke the previous Edison record for receptions in a season, 63, a record

that stood for 12 years.

“Denny had an unbelievable game and an amazing season,” his coach,

Dave White, said. “He’s not real big, but it’s all about heart, and Denny

has plenty of that. Well, that, and speed.”

In addition to the four touchdown receptions in a game, other school

records that now bear his name include: touchdowns in a single season (20

-- he doubled the previous mark of 10), career touchdowns (28), and

yardage in a single game (239).

He is being courted by several Division I schools. Nevada-Reno coaches

came calling Monday night, but he says he’s getting the most attention

from Colorado State and Cal Berkeley.

At Sunday night’s team banquet, he shared the team MVP award -- voted

on by the players, with teammate A.J. Martinez, and also shared the

coveted Matt Hombs Award with Marcus McCutcheon.

The award is presented to the player/players who best exemplifies the

characteristics of Hombs, and the coaching staff chooses the recipient

who they feel strives to be the best he can be, both on and off the

field.

Hombs was an all-CIF player for the Chargers and served as team

captain and was named MVP by his teammates for the 1982 season. He was

killed in an automobile accident while on a recruiting trip to Boise

State in January of 1983.

“That award means an awful lot to me and I feel very honored to share

it with Marcus,” Flanagan said. “Our coaches aren’t just interested in

winning. They really care about you as a person off the field, too.”

He says he’ll take about a month off from sports before he begins

training for the upcoming track and field season.

Flanagan, who has designs on becoming a teacher, is Edison’s record

holder in the high hurdles (14.29). He was the lone junior to compete in

the high hurdles state final last June and placed seventh overall, and he

runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds.Before heading back to bed Tuesday

morning, Flanagan revealed that he played the championship game with a

lingering groin injury. Coupled with a few lumps he sustained against a

hard-hitting Poly defense and the flu, bed rest is the perfect tonic.

“It’s been school and football, football and school for the past

several months,” he added. “It will seem strange not heading back out to

practice when I get back to school. But I can use the break.”

* MIKE SCIACCA is the education and sports reporter. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.