Independent Player of the Week

Mike Sciacca

Phillip Smith has come quite a long way in such a short period of

time.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound primary wide receiver who also starts on

defense at Ocean View High -- whether it be at strong safety, defensive

back or linebacker -- was a fledgling on the field just five years ago,

as an eighth-grader playing Junior All-American Football.

Now, as a senior, Smith, an articulate, poised young man, is on the

verge of becoming Ocean View’s all-time leader in single season receiving

yardage. With 956 yards to his credit, Smith needs just 45 more to earn

that distinction.

Just last week, during the Seahawks’ crucial 48-41 victory over

Saddleback that earned the school a CIF playoff berth, Smith caught just

six passes, but they covered 129 yards and included touchdown receptions

of 34, 60 and 26 yards.

It’s a far cry from when he was a youngster who played sporadically in

the eighth grade.

“I thought I could be pretty good at it, but I’ve come along further

than I originally ever thought I would,” said Smith, who has received

several hundred letters from Division I schools, including all the

members of the Pac 10, Big 10 and Big West conferences. “I thought, maybe

I’d play for fun, for school pride, but it’s become so much more than

that.”

Smith, whose twin brother, Neal, is the starting center on the Ocean

View varsity basketball team, also is the Golden West League’s reigning

400 champion in track and field and a member of the school’s Business

Academy. He wouldn’t have given football a serious thought, he said, if

Bill Houston hadn’t encouraged him in the eighth grade.

“When he told me that he thought I could be good at it, I thought he

was joking,” Smith explained. “He planted that seed in me, and always

told me that with hard work I could become a Division I prospect. He was

the best coach that I ever had.”

Houston, who coached wide receivers at Ocean View, died suddenly

during the final week of the 1998 regular season. Smith doesn’t let the

memory of Houston fade, however.

“Whenever I’m moving toward the end zone, I picture Coach Houston

standing there, waving me on,” he said. “When I do get there, I point to

the sky to thank the Lord -- for his bringing Coach Houston into my life,

and for my family and friends. I had always planned on sending him

tickets to games had I made it to at a Division I school. That can’t

happen now, but I’ll still take him with me.”