By Aram Tolegian
here’s not too many people who can take on a car moving at 30 miles per hour and win. Los Altos High School lineman David Tolmachoff is one of the exceptions.
The experience wasn’t by choice. It certainly provided a scare and lots of pain. Yet the unintended consequences like adding to Tolmachoff’s almost folklorish presence at school have been priceless for his teammates and coaches.
Tolmachoff will get one last chance to add to his legacy Saturday when the two-way standout lineman leads Los Altos against Colony in the CIF-Southern Section Central Division championship.
“We really just keep him around for the entertainment value,” Los Altos head coach Dale Ziola said of Tolmachoff. “But he’s a huge asset to the team. We’re glad he’s on our side and not someone else’s side.”
And yet despite all of the big sacks while playing defense and opening huge holes for running backs while playing offense, the thing Tolmachoff’s coaches and teammates are likely to share are the time he took on a moving car and won.
On May 21, the day after Los Altos’ school year ended. Tolmachoff and teammate David Jimenez were on campus to meet with University of Colorado recruiter Jim Jeffcoat. Following the meeting, Tolmachoff headed home on his bicycle. What happened next could have been tragic.
“I was right in front of the school, normally I cross (the street) right in the same spot and I guess I didn’t see the car because once I pulled out, there was a (Toyota) Scion and I took it head on,” Tolmachoff said. “After that, I just remember being airlifted and the lights in the hospital. I don’t remember anything beside that.”
Scoreboard: Tolmachoff 1, Scion 0.
Box score: Tolmachoff: Concussion, broken jaw, scrapes, bumps and bruises. Scion: Totaled.
The photo of the dented and cracked Scion are in Ziola’s phone and he shows them as a story prop. Whomever hears the story and sees the picture of the car usually laughs in amazement. But the day of the accident still haunts Ziola.
“It was right front in of the school, and as I’m running down the street to see what happened, I saw the car before I saw David, and all I was thinking about was how I’m going to have to call his parents and tell them he just got hit by a car and is dead,” Ziola said. “Then, I saw David alive and sitting up. He was bleeding profusely, but he was still responsive.
“It was pretty lucky that he just walked out of it with a broke jaw and scrapes and bruises. It was scary at the moment. Now, it’s a whole lot of fun. We even had a teacher dress up for Halloween as David and walk around with a cardboard version of a Scion.”
Tolmachoff spent three days at USC Medical Center. When he got out, he still had to contend with a jaw that was wired shut for six weeks. For a lineman, that can be particularly problematic given their penchant for big meals. That’s also turned into somewhat of a joke for Tolmachoff and his friends.
The 6-foot-1, 235-pounder gladly shows the video taken on his cell phone of what two Double-Doubles and fries from In-N-Out look like before and after they’re placed in a blender and eaten through a straw.
“It tastes exactly the same through a straw, you just can’t chew or anything,” Tolmachoff said. “You have to put a lot of liquid in there because you can’t blend it exactly. So I would put beef broth or vegetable broth in there.
“I was doing protein shakes at the same time, but after a while it gets tiring and you have to do new things. It’s a different experience. I wouldn’t eat dinner with my family because I would see them eat food, so that was a little hard. You always feel hungry.”
Tolmachoff healed and was ready to go by the start of the season. His previous claim to fame had been the freakish things he could do in the weight room, like flipping 45-pound plates in each hand as though they were cookie sheets.
A major reason why Los Altos is playing a 14th game this season is because of its line play and a major reason the line play has been so good is Tolmachoff, who has helped pave the way for a punishing ground game and racked up 88 tackles and 12 sacks while playing defense.
“When I got hit, the first thing that went through my mind was ‘Am I going to die?’ I’ve hit cars before, but not like that,” Tolmachoff said. “Then, I wondered ‘Am I going to be myself again?’”
“Now, when I’m on the football field and I get hit by someone, I’ll be like ‘that’s a weak hit, I’ve been hit by car.’”
