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Katella running back TJ Ashmeade overcame several hurdles to earn a spot in Thursday's Brea Lions  Orange County All-Star Game.
Katella running back TJ Ashmeade overcame several hurdles to earn a spot in Thursday’s Brea Lions Orange County All-Star Game.
Dan Albano. Sports HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Staff Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.

FULLERTON TJ Ashmeade knows about beating long odds and staying motivated.

The running back from Katella has earned a spot in the same backfield for Thursday’s Brea Lions Orange County All-Star Game as standout runners from Mater Dei (Justin Allen) and Servite (Nick Loppicola).

The Orange and Trinity leagues don’t often join forces but they will Thursday for the North.

“Coming from a smaller school, I have a lot more to prove,” Ashmeade said after a practice this week at Fullerton.

“But I think I proved myself in practice and I definitely will prove myself at the game.”

The Jamaican-bound Ashmeade, who is 6-foot-3, 195-pounds, rushed for 3,450 yards the past two seasons, his only significant years of playing football.

He grew up playing soccer and cricket in Jamaica.

“I played a little (football) sophomore year (at Katella) but I didn’t really do anything,” he said. “I was just there learning everything. … I’m still learning every part of the game.”

Ashmeade’s raw speed, size and dedication helped him succeed quickly at Katella.

“I just love the game,” he said. “(It’s) a good way to get anger out.”

Ashmeade also knows about overcoming challenges off the field.

He spent some of his childhood living in Jamaica’s capital city of Kingston.

“It was not an easy life,” he said. “It was rough. (There were) gunshots.”

Ashmeade said his mother, Sharon, left the island country to make a better life for him and his brother, Jervin, in the United States. Ashmeade later arrived in Florida when he was almost 9 and reunited with his mother. But about two years later, she died of breast cancer.

“I was young so I didn’t really understand everything,” he said. “But it was tough.”

Ashmeade said his father and step-father have been in and out of his life since, so he has lived with friends and other family members.

Jervin, 19, is in jail. Ashmeade recently visited him at Theo Lacy Jail in Orange but Jervin — a former Katella athlete — has since been transferred.

“He just took the wrong path,” Ashmeade said, who didn’t elaborate on his brother’s case. “He’s been in-and-out (of trouble) for the last two years now.”

Ashmeade said self-reliance and the support of friends and Katella coach Fred DiPalma helped him reach Thursday’s game at Orange Coast College. He now lives with the Ellison family.

“I’m so thankful (for them),” he said. “They’re going to be at the game.”

Ashmeade plans to continue playing football at Santa Ana College but also has a plan to help other youngsters like himself. He wants to study psychology and become a social worker.