South El Monte’s Sal Tovar running wild leading undefeated Eagles

tovar

By Robert Morales
It was Tuesday, and South El Monte High junior running back Sal Tovar was being photographed by this newspaper in the middle of the school’s football field. His boyhood pal, junior quarterback Daniel Olmos, was standing some 25 yards away.
So, Olmos was asked, what kind of a fellow is Tovar?
“He’s a nice, hard-working guy,” Olmos said. “Pretty funny, too.”
Funny how?

“I don’t know specific examples, but maybe making like certain jokes at certain times,” Olmos said.
Eagles head coach Frank Gallardo described Tovar in a separate interview.
“Everybody knows he’s the best player on the team right now as far as rushing and stuff,” he said. “And he still plays around, honestly, like a little kid. He has that kind of personality. He takes it serious when he’s on the field, don’t get me wrong. When he’s on the field, he’s a very serious player.
“But off the field, he’s not a clown, but he gets a little silly sometimes. So it’s good that he’s enjoying football. That’s what it is. He’s really enjoying it.”
For good reason. Tovar has rushed for a whopping 1,022 yards on 113 carries – a 9.0 average – and 14 touchdowns in just the first four games of the season. He’s averaging 255.5 yards a game and he has twice scored four touchdowns in a game.
The Eagles, just 3-7 a year ago, will take a record of 4-0 into their Mission Valley League opener Friday night against visiting Gabrielino (2-1).
All kidding aside, Tovar is largely responsible for that mark. Tovar, 16, has a hard time wrapping his head around his sizzling start.
“At first, it’s hard to like really think about it,” said Tovar, who as a sophomore went for 1,179 yards and seven TDs while averaging 7.7 yards a carry and 117.9 a game.
Tovar then finished the thought with the obligatory line all running backs give.
“But I have to give it all to our linemen,” Tovar said. “They’re the ones who are giving me the holes. All I’ve gotta do is just run. They’re making things easy.”
There is nothing easy about what Tovar is doing. He went from averaging 15.4 carries as a sophomore to 28 this season. Yet, he voiced no concern about how he may be feeling once the post-season is looming.
“The weight room has prepared me a lot, and the conditioning we do with coach, it’s preparing us for the long run,” said Tovar, who emphasized just how hard he hit the weights this past off-season.
Gallardo, in his second season at the helm, said Tovar’s added strength has helped make him more versatile.
“He’s a little bit of a slasher,” Gallardo said in describing the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Tovar. “And this year, that’s what has changed a little bit. He’s become more of a power runner, also, when he needs to be.
“Last year he was just strictly a slasher. This year, he still has that slashing ability, but when he needs to lower his shoulder and pump his legs, he’s starting to do that now. Every game, we see him doing that
Olmos agreed.
“He’s basically probably one of the biggest parts of our team because without him – I mean, our O-line, too – but those together, our O-line and him, is a pretty good product for our team,” Olmos said.
As is Tovar’s way of going about his business. Seriously, yet fun-loving.
“Yeah, pulling pranks, or if somebody falls or something, somebody gets hit hard, just make fun of them,” he said, explaining some of the shenanigans.
He doesn’t just dish it out.
“They come right back at me, too,” Tovar said, smiling slyly. “Like last week at practice, one guy just pushed me and I fell really hard and they were laughing at me. It’s funny.”
When it’s time to run the ball for real, Tovar is no joke.
“Yeah, I just like to enjoy the game, just have fun while I’m doing it,” he said. “But when it comes down to it, I have to get the job done.”
He’s doing that, and then some.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email