King/Drew football has renewed energy from late addition, kicker Jhayson Aquino-Ramos
It's not often a kicker can give a football team renewed energy, but for the King/Drew football team in the City Section, Jhayson Aquino-Ramos has come up huge for the Golden Eagles (3-6).
Ramos was a late addition to the team. He offered his services to coach Joe Torres after a 14-12 loss to Gardena on September 22, which put the team at 0-5.
"He came up to me after our loss to Gardena and said, 'Coach, it looks like you guys need a kicker,'" Torres recalled. "We lost to Gardena 14-12. We didn't kick extra points."
Torres asked him one question: "Do you kick?"
Ramos' response: "Absolutely, I'm the best kicker on the soccer team."
It was a no-brainer.
"You got the job," Torres responded.
Ramos' best performance came in a stunning 36-27 league victory over Dymally on October 13 where he accounted for six points, including a sizeable field goal (and three PATs).
"When you take down a team like Dymally, with the rockets they have on their team, I think the team believes we can beat anyone," Torres said.
The big win was sandwiched between a 34-18 win over George Washington Prep and the team's most recent win over Fremont, 32-0.
The three-game winning streak has King/Drew eyeing a share of the Coliseum League title if it can beat Dorsey in its regular-season finale on Friday night at the LA Coliseum at 7:30 p.m.
"I don't think we're the same team many have watched earlier this season," Torres said. "We're looking to be dangerous."
King/Drew is led by junior defensive end/linebacker Chinedu Onyeagoro, who's tallied a team-high 68 tackles and 14 sacks this season. Onyeagoro is has garnered attention from high-level college programs like Arizona and Washington.
Note: Joe Torres was a guest on SoCal Prep Report, a high school sports show that airs live on LA36 in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. every Thursday night.
