By Robert Morales
Staff Writer
Dylan Lagarde played quarterback for Poly High for four weeks, then transferred to Los Alamitos after the Jackrabbits lost at Oceanside to fall to 1-3.
At the time, Jackrabbits coach Raul Lara said he told Lagarde he was going to make a change to Chris Leachman, and that Lagarde checked out shortly thereafter.
The rumor mill has since been working overtime, but Lagarde has kept his reasons for the move to himself. Lagarde's father, Marvin, politely declined to speak on the record about the subject at Los Al's practice Wednesday.
One thing is certain: Lagarde is now the Griffins' quarterback. As fate would have it, Los Al (8-2) will square off with Poly tonight in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Pac 5 Division playoffs. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Veterans Stadium.
The Jackrabbits (5-5) had to win their last three regular-season games to qualify for the playoffs, so Lara wants his charges to concentrate on winning the game, not the high emotions they may have because they are going against a player who left the team.
Easier said than done.
"I think it's only common sense that the kids are going to have a little bit of that," said Lara, whose team is two-time defending Pac 5 champion. "We are trying to make that not be an issue. Our main issue is to win and move on in the playoffs.
"But think about it, if you were a player, wouldn't you be thinking that? Deep down inside, it's there."
Lara said his biggest concern is the Los Al running game led by junior Nick Richardson.
"Their offensive line is probably one of the better lines we have seen in a while," Lara said. "Then, with that great running back ... we have to stop the run."
Richardson has rushed for 1,800 yards and 15 touchdowns.
It seems Lara may be getting through to his players about where their focus should be. Defensive lineman Michael Teo, who leads the Jackrabbits with 85 tackles, spoke about that Wednesday at Poly's practice.
"I see him as just another quarterback on another team," Teo said of Lagarde. "I gotta do my job. Everyone does their job on defense, we're going to win. We gotta focus on winning the game, stop the run and stop the pass."
John Barnes, the longtime Los Al coach, was asked if he was worried Poly players might get carried away in going after Lagarde.
"It's a good question," Barnes said. "And the answer is probably no to all of that. I believe that is why you have referees, so the kids get protected in football games. They're going to go after Nick Richardson because he is going to have the ball more."
The Jackrabbits will be led tonight by Leachman, who has passed for 823 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions since taking over the controls. Speedy receiver Kaelin Clay leads with 23 receptions for 438 yards and four touchdowns, and tight end Earnest Pettway has 18 receptions for 241 yards and two touchdowns.
Poly may be just 5-5, but Barnes knows the Jackrabbits are formidable.
"I think it's going to be wire-to-wire, a tough game for both teams," Barnes said. "Poly has kind of hit their stride. They still have the same good players everywhere and I don't think the coaches have lost their marbles, like people think."
As for Lagarde, he spoke briefly to the Press-Telegram as he was walking to the parking lot with his father Wednesday evening at Los Al.
"It's going to be fun," he said of playing his former teammates.
"I have a lot of friends over there. After the game, we're not going to be mad at each other. We're still going to be friends."
robert.morales@presstelegram.com

By Doug Krikorian
This should have been the biggest week of the young life of Dylan Cook, a Los Alamitos High senior who was the starting quarterback for the Griffins in their first six games of the season, five of which they emerged victorious.
After all, Los Alamitos opens the CIF playoffs Friday night against Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium, and it would have been a memorable challenge for a 17-year-old who has been involved in the successful Griffins' program for four years.
But, instead, Dylan Cook will not be practicing with the team this week, will not be on the field with his teammates Friday night, will probably be seated in the Los Alamitos student section watching the proceedings with conflicted emotions.
Oh, he insists he'll be rooting for the many kids he's played with since he was in Pop Warner League, but it's doubtful he would shed a tear for the Los Alamitos coach, John Barnes, should the team stumble against Poly.
You must understand that it is Dylan Cook's firm belief that he was mistreated badly by Barnes, a Los Alamitos institution the past 30 years with 15 league and four CIF titles on his resume, to the point he felt he had to depart the team on Oct. 18 to maintain his dignity.
That came a couple of days after the Griffins dropped a 23-20 decision to Newport Harbor and after an afternoon practice in which, according to Cook, Barnes called him over for what turned out to be a conversation that Cook found humiliating.
One must understand that a couple of weeks earlier a sophomore quarterback named Dylan Lagarde, who began the season as a starter at Poly, somehow dropped out of the skylight and wound up at Los Alamitos as a midseason transfer in a curious development that arched a few skeptical brows in the area.
Well, apparently, Barnes was enamored by Lagarde, and he informed Cook that Lagarde would be competing for his position.
"He (Barnes) told me we want to do what's best for the team," related Cook. "And then he asked me, 'Can you promise me you'll win the next four games?' And I responded, 'Yes.' And he said, 'I don't believe you can.' I was stunned, hurt. How do you play with someone who doesn't believe in you?"
Dylan Cook's mother, Mendi Cook, a senior rep in the Griffins' booster club, happened to be at practice that fateful day, and later met with Barnes in his office.
"To put it mildly, the conversation didn't go well," she says.
"Barnes just gave me the run around, and was pretty arrogant in the way he talked to me."
When asked to respond Wednesday, John Barnes said, "All our players compete here every day for a job. If we have kids here legally, we owe it to our team as coaches to make sure everyone gets such an opportunity. To be honest with you, I was saddened when Dylan quit. I like him very much as a person, and worked with him closely. He was a valuable member of our team."
It's unfortunate such a scenario unfolded since Dylan Cook had been involved in Los Alamitos football since 2006 when he was a starter on the its freshman team.
He also was a starter for the junior varsity team the past two years, although his sophomore season was cut short when he suffered a broken collarbone.
He had become a popular figure this season on the team - he wound up completing 40 of 68 passes for 505 yards and five touchdowns in a ground-oriented attack - and he insists he didn't depart because of the presence of Lagarde, whom he says he likes and considers a friend.
"Dylan left an abusive coach who didn't appreciate him," says Bill Riggs, Mendi Cook's fiance who has been like a surrogate father to Dylan. "The kid is 17. He doesn't have to be talked to in such a belittling manner."
Dylan Cook related another incident involving John Barnes that he found strange.
"As we were walking off at halftime of the Newport Harbor game, he said to me, 'Tell your family to stop talking badly about me.'"
Dylan Cook says he would like to continue to play football as a walk-on next season at Golden West College, but not as a quarterback.
"I've gone through enough turmoil playing quarterback," he says. "I'll go out for defensive back."
The 6-foot, 175-pound Cook, a handsome youngster with deepset brown eyes and a thick shock of light brown hair, insists he's not too depressed over what has happened, but his mother says otherwise.
"Dylan keeps everything inside," she says. "Of course, what has happened bothers him. He was so dedicated so long to Los Alamitos football. He had a 102-degree temperature the week of the Narbonne game. He shouldn't have played, but he did anyway. He gave so much to the program."
But now Dylan Cook's only athletic endeavor is surfing on days when the waves are breaking right.
"What have I learned from all this?" he says, echoing a reporter's question. "I found out life sometimes is just not fair, and sometimes it's hard to trust people."

Edison 41, Millikan 6
Lakewood 27, Newport Harbor 14
Los Alamitos 24, Poly 13
Mission Viejo 38, Wilson 10

Western Division:
Gahr 35, St, Francis 28
Warren 42, West Torrance 21
Culver City 27, Dominguez 20

Southern Division:
Garden Grove 35, Bellflower 7
Norwalk 41, Rancho Alamitos 13
Segerstrom 21, Mayfair 17
La Mirada 30, Santa Ana 13

Mid-Valley Division:
Valley Christian 24, La Canada 21

Northwest Division:
Centennial 21, Harvard-Westlake 20

1. Lakewood
2. Los Alamitos
3. Warren
4. La Mirada
5. Norwalk
6. Poly
7. Wilson
8. Millikan
9. Gahr
10. St. John Bosco

Edison vs. Millikan

Orange Lutheran vs. Notre Dame

Dana Hills vs. Mater Dei

Lakewood vs. Newport Harbor

Servite vs. Wilson

Los Alamitos vs. San Clemente

Bishop Amat vs. Fountain Valley

Mission Viejo vs. Poly