Who can stop Danny Mosier?

Who can stop Danny Mosier?

BREAKAWAY BACK-Royal High's Danny Mosier has carried the Highlanders to a 4-0 league record. Through seven games this season, Mosier leads all Ventura County backs with 1,213 yards.

By Kyle Jorrey

jorrey@theacorn.com

Royal High senior Danny Mosier is the type of running back who sends defensive coordinators into early retirement.

That’s because whether it’s second and 3, or third and 15, the 5-foot-8 Mosier has the natural ability to make defenders miss with his blazing speed and pin-point cuts. He’s become a one-man, quick-strike offense.

Instead of worrying about having to toss the ball down field, Royal has learned it can simply hand the ball to Mosier, provide an acceptable hole and watch him go. In doing so, the Highlanders have become instant contenders.

Just ask the Agoura Chargers, who were sitting comfortably with a 16-0 halftime lead before Mosier burned his oponents on touchdown scampers of 63 and 71 yards in the game’s final three minutes. Royal came out on top, 31-24.

"By the time the fourth quarter came around I just figured the defense didn’t have enough juice, and I knew my teammates were looking to me to do something," Mosier said. "That’s just my competitive nature, I hate to lose."

And the Highlanders haven’t been losing, at least not since head coach Gene Uebelhardt decided to scrap a more pass-oriented spread attack for a new strategy—stack the line and get the ball to No. 34.

Recently the team has strung together four consecutive Marmonte League victories, with Mosier making the difference in every one of them. During that four-week period, he’s broken Royal’s single-game rushing record twice, rushed for 982 yards, scored 14 TDs, and basically left the rest of the Marmonte grabbing for his ankles.

"I just love being the work-horse," the senior said. "I want my teammates to know that we’re in good hands when I have the ball."

Long before Mosier ever picked up a football, his father, David, a native of Chicago, introduced him to "Sweetness," otherwise known as Walter Payton.

Though too young to have watched the Hall-of-Fame Chicago Bear running back on live TV, the young Mosier got a glimpse of his amazing moves by watching video cassettes.

"My dad used to show me tapes of Walter Payton, and immediately, I wanted to be just like Walter Payton," said Mosier, who dons Payton’s No. 34 as a tribute.

And though he’s got a long way to go before he can measure up to the likes of the NFL’s former all-time rushing leader, Mosier said the type of player he has become has lot to do with his appreciation of Payton’s brand of football.

"The type of football that I like smash-mouth football—hard-hitting defense and running the ball on offense," said Mosier, who also starts in the defensive secondary and returns kicks. "I knew if we could run the ball and control the clock our defense could do the rest . . . I think our defense is this team’s biggest strength."

Expected to breakout his junior year, Mosier suffered a serious ankle injury that forced him to hand off the team’s running responsibilities to his good friend and teammate, Matt Morris, who Mosier calls "the second-best back in the Marmonte League."

Morris filled in well in Mosier’s absence, but all that time away from the game had the 17-year-old hungry for a big year in 2004.

"It was really hard for me to see the guys out there that I had grown up playing with and not be able to contribute on offense," Mosier said. "So over the summer, I just focused on building myself into being the key player this year."

Over the off-season, Mosier focused not only on improving his game, but also making sure his current offensive linemen were doing the same thing.

As he worked out with current Royal starters Jon Sanders, Tim Brown and Ryan Reese, Mosier knew early on that this year’s group of Highlanders could do some real damage.

"I’m pretty close with all of my linemen, two of them used to block for me when we were with the Vikings," Mosier said. "They are the reason I’ve been so successful—they make the holes and I run through them.

In the offseason, Mosier and Grace Brethren standout Chad Kackert made themselves a friendly wager over which Simi Valley tailback would have a more productive year. With just a few weeks left, it looks like this one might come down to a photo finish—the backs are currently Ventura County’s No. 1 and No. 2 rushers.

"We met over the summer and formed an alliance of Simi Valley running backs—we knew were the top backs in our divisions and we just wanted to see who could run for more yards and more touchdowns," said Mosier, who is looking to blow by Royal’s single-season rushing record this week against rival Moorpark. He only needs 57 yards.

But more importantly, the senior has his sights on getting his teams’ first Marmonte League title in more than 10 years, and then making a run on the CIF Div. IV title.

"Oh yeah, we want the ring big time," Mosier said. "Coming into this season ... we had worked so hard for it and had no injuries. I really believe this is a team of destiny."