Getting To Know: Lakewood QB Jesse Scroggins
Being Jesse Scroggins has got to be a pretty cool thing these days.
The popular Lakewood High School senior is arguably the best quarterback on the most prolific team in the Long Beach area, and after his prep days are over, the Lancers captain will be heading to USC to play for Pete Carroll.
As excited as Scroggins is to be part of the Trojans machine, he’s committed completely to finishing out his senior year on a high note with the teammates/friends he's known since his early childhood.
Lakewood (7-1, 4-0) has already made history with its 21-14 victory over Poly on Oct. 9— a feat that snapped the Jackrabbits' 80-game Moore League win streak— but with wins over Millikan and Wilson, the Lancers would win their first Moore League title since Ronald Reagan was president (1982) and head to the playoffs on a nine-game win streak.
Scroggins has completed 100 of 159 passes (63%) for 1,474 yards and 23 touchdowns. He has only been picked off three times all season, and his numbers would be even greater if he hadn't sat out five quarters of football with games out of reach.
All this success isn’t anything new, Scroggins is 24-7 in his third year as the signal caller for Lakewood and each year has become more mature as a player and a person. He's thrown touchdowns in 28 of the 31 games he's started, including 19 straight and to 11 different receivers this year. All that equals 63 career touchdowns to just 15 interceptions.
Scroggins' arm strength is that of an elite quarterback, but it’s his God-given instincts that separate him from the pack. His journey to stardom at Lakewood, however, is solely attributed to the courage of his parents, Jesse Sr., and Jeri, who rose from less than ideal conditions to provide for their three children.
Jesse Sr. met his future wife in the U.S. Army, and continued on to the U.S. Postal Service where they've both been employed for over 20 years. It’s the poverty and adverse conditions that both parents have risen above that truly exemplifies the American Dream.
“My wife lived in a one-room shack as a kid and I was around the projects where people I knew were in gangs, doing drugs, getting pregnant and going to jail,” says Jesse Scroggins Sr. of his past. “I knew this wasn't the kind of life I wanted and it was certainly not the type of life I was going to provide for my kids.”
With a solid home life in place, young Jesse’s first athletic break came in the seventh grade when he met Thadd MacNeal at a football camp at Los Alamitos.
MacNeal, a former quarterback in the San Diego area, took Scroggins under his wings and is credited by both father and son as being the man who has gotten Scroggins to break out of his shell.
“Coach Mac has been my main mentor since the seventh grade,” Scroggins said. “I wasn't maturing my sophomore year, and I decided I needed this man and that he knew what he's talking about and we haven't looked back since.” MacNeal has produced 12 quarterbacks for the Division 1 level, so his credibility is very high among his players.
For MacNeal, it’s taken patience to get Scroggins to the high level he performs at now.
“Jesse used to be a kid who liked to joke around and we weren't always sure he would take this as seriously as he should, but he's grown into a leader and he leads by example,” MacNeal says of his quarterback. “As a former quarterback, I am very hard on that position and want to make him a perfectionist. I want to condition him for the next level.”
The Lancers and their coaching staff are focused on Millikan and Wilson over the final two weeks, but took the time to look back at their first victory over Poly in 26 years.
“The quarterback gets all the credit and all the blame (fairly or unfairly) for how their team does, and the difference between last year and this year is that Jesse's maturity allowed him to make plays and he made the difference. It was an unbelievable feeling to be part of it and I think I had over 100 text messages and 50 emails after that game.”
A humble Scroggins took very little personal glory after handling the Jackrabbits.
“This is something we'll always be remembered for and be proud of, but we truly did this for all the alumni here at Lakewood that worked so hard before us and that supported us,” Scroggins said. “My cell phone was out of order for four days because people were just blowing it up.”
In the area, there is a lot of animosity in the sports world, but Scroggins wanted to make one thing clear about Poly football.
Said Scroggins: “A lot of people talk and say things that don't always come off as respectful, and I think what gets lost is that we all have a tremendous amount of respect for what Poly has been and what their tradition is. It’s that success and tradition that they've earned that makes beating them such a great feeling.”
Lakewood's lone loss (28-27) came to a top-ranked Crenshaw team that has outscored its opponents by 242 points in seven games. The loss served as a wake up call to a team that was showered with pre-season predictions this summer.
“They are a great team, but we learned early that we couldn't make the mistakes we did and expect to beat quality teams,” MacNeal said.
Scroggins is far from the only star on the Lancers roster, and it’s the friendships he has developed that mean as much or more than his success on the field.
Defensive back Dion Bailey is heading to USC with Scroggins, while Justin Utupo (Notre Dame), Kevin Anderson (ASU, 26 catches, 479 yards and seven touchdowns), leading tackler Todd Barr, Keanu Kalolo and three-year starter Brennen Kelly have all had huge years for Lakewood.
“Jesse is a great teammate and is someone that’s fun to just watch, because he's that good,” said Kevin Anderson. “He and the rest of our teammates have come together and become the team people expected us to be because we worked so hard together and are a very close unit.”
Lakewood hopes to finish with a Moore League title and a Pac-5 championship, but for Jesse Scroggins Sr., his son has already turned his sacrifices into a touchdown.
“Jesse has options I didn't even know were possible when I was a kid, and he's made my wife and me proud that he's become a role model to our younger kids (Jerin and Jessica) and to others. I am more proud of what he is off the field than what he's done on it, because as parents, we worked so hard to provide this opportunity for him to turn out this way,” Mr. Scroggins said.
For Jesse, his parents are his heroes, his coaches are his mentors, and his teammates are valued friends he hopes to remain in touch with over his lifetime.
“Having these guys as my friends made the journey so much more meaningful, and I know I'll be remembered as the quarterback that finally beat Poly, but if I could tell my younger teammates one thing to remember me by, it would be that hard work pays off,” Scroggins said.
For MacNeal, Scroggins will be remembered as “the best quarterback in Lakewood history that broke all the major records, and someone who trusted me and wanted to become the best player he possibly could be.”
Regardless of what bloggers who don't like Lakewood will inevitably say, Scroggins and his Lancers teammates have answered all their critics with one word: SCOREBOARD!
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