From LBPOSTSports.com (story by Mike Guardabascio and J.J. Fiddler):
Nobody would blame Jerry Stone if he were a little nervous. After all, he’s a junior, he’s not very big (5’11” and 196), and he’s preparing to face one of the hardest-hitting defenses in the country this Friday, when his Lakewood Lancers host the Poly Jackrabbits at Cerritos College in a CIF Semifinal. But Jerry Stone is not nervous. Outside of the Lancers’ film bungalow, still chewing the cookies he’d been snacking on while watching tape, he smiles when asked to describe how he feels about the upcoming game: “Excited.”
And why shouldn’t he be? Stone’s performance this season has his teammates, and their fans, feeling pretty juiced too. While Stone is on the field, the Lancers are 8-0, and averaging 35 points a game; without him, they’re 2-2, and score 23. But his impact doesn’t end on offense—their defense allows 20.5 points a game without him, and just 15 with him. That’s the reach of a breakout player who averages 193 yards of offense a game, and who’s gained 1,547 yards of total offense in eight games, with 18 TDs and a yards-per-rush average of over eight. In his first two playoff games, against Servite and Mission Viejo, Stone has 447 yards rushing and receiving, and 5 TDs.
It’s worth noting that Lakewood’s coaches aren’t particularly surprised: Thadd MacNeal, head coach of the Lancers, said before the season that, “Jerry Stone is going to light up the Moore League.” He said it again after Stone gained just 70 yards in his first game, against Crenshaw. “Trust me.” And while Stone genuinely seems uncomfortable with taking too much credit for his team’s success, his coach gives him plenty anyway. “Jerry plays hard on every down. He does everything we ask him to.”
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