The story of running back Maurice Drew can be found in a
bookstore near you. So can the stories of tight end Marcedes Lewis,
right guard Kevin Brown and defensive end Junior Lemau’u. The
four players played against each other in a high school game
between Concord De La Salle and Long Beach Poly that was
essentially a national championship. The game was documented in Don
Wallace’s recently released book, “One Great
Game.” “My mom bought me the book,” Drew said.
“I made a lot of friends during that game, both at UCLA and
USC.” Three years ago, the four players met in what was
hailed as the “High School Game of the Century.”
Drew’s team, De La Salle, had a 113-game winning streak at
the time. Long Beach Poly, for which Lewis, Brown and Lemau’u
played, sported five Top 100 seniors as players and was known as an
NFL factory. De La Salle handily defeated its more talented
counterparts, 29-15, behind Drew’s three touchdowns.
“For a while, (Drew would) always show us the book,”
Lewis said. “But he doesn’t give us a hard time about
it. We joke about it.” But after the game, the quartet became
friends. In fact, Brown frequently comes over to Drew’s dorm
room, and vice versa. Several other Poly players in that game now
play for USC. Running back Hershel Dennis, safety Darnell Bing,
defensive tackle Manuel Wright and right tackle Winston Justice all
played in that game as well. In particular, one memorable moment
occurred when Drew ran head-first into the hard-hitting Bing
““ breaking an arm tackle ““ and maintained his balance
enough to get into the endzone. “I’m sure he’s
going to want to get me back for that play,” Drew said.
“If the opportunity comes up again, I’ll do it
again.”
INJURY UPDATE: Center Robert Chai did practice,
but was restricted to individual drills. In the meantime, Paul
Mociler, who has played right guard for most of the season,
continued to take reps at center. Lewis also returned to practice,
but had no contact.
ANOTHER AWARD: Defensive end Dave Ball, already
a finalist for Lombardi and Ted Hendricks awards, has also been
named a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, given to college
football’s best defensive player.
BACKER ON BOARD: Linebacker Xavier Burgess
reportedly pleaded not guilty during an arraignment this past
Monday. He has been reinstated to the team and is expected to be
available for USC. Burgess has been charged with five misdemeanors
stemming from two separate altercations with a parking enforcement
officer.