Home Cookin': Orange Bowl trip a sweet sendoff

Armond Armstead lines up as a prep in shoulder pads for the final time Friday.

The Pleasant Grove High School defensive tackle bound for USC on scholarship is on the West team in the All-American Bowl, to be played at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

For Armstead, it's more significant than four quarters of hitting with and against some of the country's top talent. This marks the finale for the Orange Bowl, home of the Miami Dolphins for a generation, the Miami Hurricanes during their heyday and host to five of the first 13 Super Bowls.

"It's an honor," Armstead said Monday from Atlanta during a layover.

He turned down an invitation to play in the Holiday Classic game at Grant on Dec. 22 because of a bruised left knee. He banged his leg in his first basketball scrimmage after helping power the Eagles to a 10-2 season in football, and the 6-foot-6, 285-pound senior lay on the floor in a moment of anxiety. His career – high school, USC and beyond – flashed before him, his hands clutching his knee.

"I was really scared for a moment," Armstead said. "I was in pain, but the MRI didn't show any tears. It was just a bruise."

Still, Armstead hardly played basketball for three weeks. He deemed himself fit and ready for the All-American Bowl, however. Armstead will play defensive tackle, though he might play some defensive end at USC, given his mobility.

Upon his return, Armstead said he will focus on basketball. His college future is set, with national letter-of-intent day Feb. 6. And he has words of advice to others with football scholarships who have given up other sports: Keep competing.

In the spring, Armstead said he will put the shot and throw the discus in an effort to squeeze as much as possible from his prep athletic career.

"Basketball helps me with football, with quickness and moves, and it's fun to play basketball," Armstead said. "Guys should play every sport they can. Don't let a scholarship in one sport stop you from playing in another."

More All-American

Houston Roots of Rio Linda also is on the West team. The senior was among the Sac-Joaquin Section's leading rushers with 1,750 yards and 20 touchdowns. He made The Bee's All-Metro second team as a defensive back. He will get looks on offense and defense Friday.

Tupou power

Fenuki Tupou of Center has started at offensive tackle this season for Oregon, which played in the Sun Bowl on Monday. He'll return to the Ducks for his senior season in 2008 with a likely NFL future as a 6-6, 322-pound mountain mover. He played at Sierra College before being recruited by the Ducks.

"Dominant, dominant player," Sierra coach Jeff Tisdel said.

Krula's exit

It's been a mixed bag of hurt and emotions for Zach Krula. The Valley graduate has started games on the offensive line for Arizona State during his career, but he has logged far too many hours in the training room rehabilitating a bum ankle with a maze of surgical scars.

He missed most of the 2005 season and the entire 2006 season with ankle injuries. He was granted a sixth year of eligibility for this fall and made a full recovery. He regained his starting spot at tackle under first-year coach Dennis Erickson, basked in a 10-win season and a co-Pacific-10 Conference championship. But the Holiday Bowl against Texas last week? Missed it with an injury.

Krula wants to be an elementary school teacher, perhaps the biggest one anywhere at 6-7 and 318 pounds.

Bears and bowls

Cal had visions of a national championship with a lot of local flavor, soaring to No. 2 in the country, but then lost six of seven games down the stretch before winning Monday's Armed Forces Bowl.

Three key players who aim for better fortune next fall are Grant pals Worrell Williams at linebacker and Syd Thompson at cornerback, and James Montgomery of Cordova at tailback. Williams and Thompson are starters, and Montgomery might be. The battle probably will be between Montgomery and Jhavid Best, though Best has been slowed in recent weeks with a hip injury.

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