BUENA PARK – A patient wife, a loyal dog and a great quarterback.
As the old saying goes, those are the three things a good football coach needs in his everyday life.
“I’ve got two of them,” Buena Park’s Anthony White laughed. “My wife won’t let me get a dog or else I’d have all three. I still sleep pretty well at night.”
By those standards, the fifth-year coach has gotten quality shut-eye over the first few weeks of the season. His Coyotes have opened on a tear, sprinting out to a noteworthy 3-0 start.
A former cornerback himself, White – who doubles as the team’s defensive coordinator – quickly notes his defense “still hasn’t given up a touchdown this season.”
In a day and age where fantasy football and scoring is king, however, it’s the Coyotes’ offense that has caught everyone’s attention.
To this point, there statistically has not been a better duo in Orange County than junior quarterback Zach Taylor throwing to senior wideout Jaylinn Hawkins. In Taylor (1,137 yards), Buena Park boasts the county’s leading passer. Conversely, being his favorite target, Hawkins (575 yards) has emerged as the area’s leading receiver.
Through three outings, the Coyotes have outscored their opponents by a combined total of 143-6.
“The first few games have been real fun,” Hawkins grinned. “Overall as a unit, we’re just really connecting. It’s nice to see how we’ve grown and developed. The hard work’s paid off.”
While the product on Friday nights has been a joy to watch, there were some major question marks surrounding Buena Park headed into the fall.
The one sure thing the Coyotes had was Hawkins – a four-star recruit at receiver who has received offers from nearly every Pac-12 school. As a junior, the 6-foot, 180-pounder flourished in the Coyotes’ up-tempo offense, finishing last season with 54 catches for 777 yards.
With All-County running back Deven Boston and receiver Nik Needham graduating and going on to play college ball, Hawkins knew he’d inherit the role as Buena Park’s primary weapon this season.
In the spring, he joined Steve Calhoun, the team’s offensive coordinator last season, at Laguna Hills High while Calhoun prepped a number of college athletes for the 2014 NFL draft.
Hawkins ran routes alongside USC receiver Marqise Lee, who wound up being a first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He caught passes from current USC quarterback Cody Kessler. He even got the better of eventual first-rounder and current Green Bay Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
“It’s good to compete to see where you’re at,” Hawkins said. “Those were top-notch dudes, so you see what you need to do and I got to see where I was at.”
When Buena Park returned to the field during the summer, Calhoun was no longer a part of the Coyotes coaching staff. Now calling the plays was Jude Oliva, a lifetime friend and former Jr. All-American Football teammate of White.
Another new face was Taylor, a St. John Bosco transfer who quarterbacked the scout team for the 2013 Braves – widely regarded as the best high school team in the country.
“Once I came here, I saw right away there was so much talent,” Taylor said. “I wanted to lead these guys, and I wanted to give them something to be proud of.”
The chemistry between the new offensive coordinator, the first-year starting quarterback and the star receiver has proved to be a thing of beauty. Averaging close to 50 points a game, Taylor, Hawkins and a collection of Coyotes’ skill players can be seen after practice working on routes, getting their timing down, and continuing to build off their already impressive rapport with one another.
Taylor is the easiest to spot at practice, as his helmet has a GoPro camera attached to the top of it, filming the quarterback’s performance which is later broken down at film study.
“There’s no cheating my way out of reads,” the junior joked.
Whatever the method to their madness may be, it has worked.
In what’s shaping up to be the best statistical year for county quarterbacks, Taylor leads all passers in yardage (379 ypg) and is tied for third with 11 touchdown passes.
Despite missing Buena Park’s game last week against Warren because of a bruised knee, Hawkins remains tops among receivers in yards per game (287.5), yards per catch (35.9) and touchdowns (6).
“It’s fun to see what these guys can do when the lights turn on,” White said. “Last year, Zach was playing JV games at 3 o’clock. He got his opportunity here. Now he’s starting on Friday nights and he’s getting to show what he can do.
“As for Jaylinn, he’s been one of the pillars of our program since I’ve been at Buena Park. This is what we all hoped he’d become.”
Having an explosive offense is something most coaches dream of. Fortunately for White, he doesn’t have to dream anymore. He can enjoy his slumber nowadays.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
