Childhood friends Cowell, Llamas and Parker lead Kares

Cowell is a middle linebacker- tight end who last week played despite a separated right shoulder suffered in the first round. But he's used to the pain by now, the sweet success being no match for it.

"The first time it happened I was in shock," said Cowell, who separated both shoulders last year but returned in time for the playoffs to lead the Kares to their 12th CIF championship.

"But when it happened again this year, I was, like, `Oh, not again.' "

Cowell is a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy. Since the Kares don't have a bona fide kicker, Cowell's taken on that role and has fared quite well in converting field goals and PATs.

"He just started doing that for us because we don't have a kicker," Kares coach Ken Drain said, "and he's done real well considering it's not his primary job."

His primary job? Playing the role of intimidator. At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, his mere presence gets the job done.

"Cody's been the kind of guy they look to as the tough guy in the middle," Drain said.

"He's big and strong. We refer to him as the enforcer. He's the guy that other teams don't want to run into, plus he plays tight end. But he's an even better blocker when we run behind him."

It's uncommon for quarterbacks to play defense, but Llamas is the exception to the rule. He's a 6-foot-1, 190- pound linebacker packing a lot of muscle behind every hit, which is why he rarely goes down on a sack.

That he's playing defense at all took some convincing, but it's paid dividends for the Kares, who have given up 59 points all year, an average of less than six points per game.

"At the beginning of the year they didn't want me playing defense," Llamas said, "but I kind of convinced them, so I hit the weight room and went through conditioning and it's paid off."

Parker plays a little of everything, and that he transitions well is something that impresses Drain.

"We move him around at running back, tailback, split end, defensive back and sometimes a little linebacker," Drain said.

"They're all very smart and knowledgeable players and good leaders. Without those guys, we'd be hurting, oh yeah."

It's irrelevant that Salesian will suit up more than twice the number of players compared to Rio Hondo Prep. The Kares have seen it before, and if anything it helps them.

"It's never been an intimidation factor," Llamas said. "We have such a small team, and seeing that makes other teams a little too confident, and then we come out with our 20-something guys and we bust them."

CIF championships are nothing new at Rio Hondo Prep, which won its first title last year.

That they're in prime position to possibly repeat for the third time in school history is pressure the Kares welcome with open arms.

"We like the pressure," Cowell said. "We perform better. We use it as an advantage, knowing how bad every team wants to beat us, and they want to beat us bad. We knew that from the beginning of summer, that we were going to prepare ourselves to go undefeated this season. That's always been the goal."

That the Kares have to defend their title is proving to be a bigger challenge than winning it last year, though.

"It's harder, because last year it was a big surprise when we won it," Cowell said.

"We weren't supposed to win and nobody wanted us to win, but now that our name is out there, there's a lot more pressure to win, and any mistake we do will be noticed by other teams and they'll want to pounce."

That the trio have played together for so long has built a strong bond, not just between the three of them but among them and their teammates as well and among anyone who's ever played football at Rio Hondo Prep. It's become a brotherhood.

"Like the guys from last year," Parker said. "We're still tight with them."

As they get ready to play Saturday, they'll think about inching closer to another CIF title, but perhaps more impressive is the lifelong friendship they'll cherish beyond the gridiron.

"Definitely," Parker said. "That will always be there."

miguel.melendez@sgvn.com