Daily Pilot Football Player of the Week, Fahad Jahid: Eagles’

motivational speaker

Barry Faulkner

While he appreciates the roar of the crowd, it’s the awkward

silence that can envelop a huddle that ultimately motivates Estancia High

football standout Fahad Jahid.

An increasingly outspoken leader, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound

fullback-inside linebacker tries to keep walking the walk, so he can talk

the talk.

“If you make a bad play, you go back to the huddle and all you hear is

quiet,” said Jahid, a senior three-year varsity starter. “If you try to

say something in those situations, guys think ‘What the heck is he

yelling for, he isn’t doing anything.’ You have to make plays to be a

leader.”

Those who have seen Jahid in action this fall, would not accuse him of

coming up short in either department.

“Fahad really is the guy who sets the tone for us,” Eagles Coach Dave

Perkins said. “He is our leader.”

In Friday’s crucial Pacific Coast League victory over Corona del Mar,

Jahid set the tone by punishing the Sea Kings between the tackles.

“All you hope for from a fullback is three or four yards,” Perkins

said. “But it seems like whenever you look up, Fahad is lumbering into

the secondary, carrying three or four guys on his back. Once he gets

going, usually all the first guy can do is hang on for dear life and hope

the posse gets there soon.”

Jahid held the posse off long enough to collect 117 rushing yards,

including a 4-yard touchdown, on 17 carries against the Sea Kings.

He also played well defensively to earn Daily Pilot Player of the Week

recognition.

“He’s so experienced on defense, he really knows what he’s doing,”

Perkins said. “He’s very good at reading the play and getting to the

ball.”

Jahid, who was too heavy to play youth football, picked up plenty

watching older brothers Shahab and Frough come through the Estancia

program.

“I was a ball boy in 1995 (Frough’s senior year), when they made the

CIF playoffs,” Jahid said. “I have a lot of memories of that season. I

really remember when Frough came home after they lost in the first round

against La Mirada. I was scared to talk to him, so I just left him

alone.”

Thanks to Jahid’s heroics, the Eagles clinched their first postseason

berth since ’95 and remain in the hunt for the Pacific Coast League

title. And Jahid is hoping he’ll be readily approachable after at last a

few playoff games.

“We’re not proud to just be in the playoffs,” he said. “We want to

take it somewhere. If we can win some playoff games (no Estancia team has

won one since 1980), we’ll have done something we can be proud of.”

Many forecast a season to be proud of for this senior-laden Estancia

squad, which backed up preseason expectations with a 2-0 start. But

back-to-back nonleague losses to Canyon and Santa Ana Valley followed,

forcing Jahid to verbalize his frustration.

“I think it was after the Canyon game that he really stepped it up,”

Perkins said. “He’d always been a kid who worked hard in practice and

never missed a workout. But I think he decided it was his senior year and

he wasn’t going to let people get by with anything but their best. He

still works his tail off, but he also makes sure everyone is responsible,

even with little things like keeping the team room clean.”

Jahid said he is cautious not to overstep the fine line between

harping and helping. But he also believes his experience has value,

particularly on the field.

“I try to help whatever way I can,” Jahid said. “To me, the game seems

like common sense. I think I know what I’m talking about.”

Jahid’s rushing effort against CdM, for which he thanked his offensive

line, gave him 814 yards for the season, 1,016 for his career. But he

knows his limitations.

“I know I’m not the fastest guy around, so there’s nothing better than

those runs of 20 yards or more. I don’t know how I’m able to break

tackles, I just try to run hard.”

The Eagles would be hard-pressed to find a more valuable presence, in

or out of the huddle.