CLOSER LOOK: Riv. Chr. QB Adam Ayres
Take a closer look at Riverside Christian senior Adam Ayres and you’ll see a player just scratching at his potential, and maybe not even playing his best sport.
Ayres is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound athlete playing the quarterback position for the Cougars (3-5 overall, 2-1 Arrowhead), a team fighting for a playoff spot.
Adam Ayres was 19 of 26 for 160 yards and three INTs, but ran for his team's lone TD in Week 8. / Dennis Pope Photography
His stats this season — 1,164 total yards and 11 total TDs — prove he can run and he can throw.
“Adam (Ayres) has always been a big stud for us, running, passing. Adam’s our workhorse,” Coach Mark Johnson said.
And if Ayres’ junior season was any indication, he can also pitch, hit and hoop.
Ayres struck out 39 batters in 23 innings last season for the 16-8 Cougars, who won the Warrior League with a 9-1 record. He also hit .484 and drove in a bunch of runs for a CIF-Southern Section playoff team.
He also scored in double digits four times last season for Riverside Christian (14-7 overall, 9-1 Arrowhead), a CIF-Southern Section playoff team.
He clearly has game, and he expects to win.
I caught up with Ayres following his team’s 14-6 loss to California School for the Deaf, Riverside on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011.
What was the biggest contributing factor to the outcome tonight?
“They didn’t have penalties. They executed their plays. They didn’t make turnovers. They drove the field and they scored,” Ayres said.
What will it take for your team to make the playoffs?
“I see we need to take our practices more seriously. We need to go into our next game, step it up, and win the rest of our league.”
Are you thinking about playing football after this season?
“I’m going through this year first, then after this year I’ll see what happens.”
However raw, Ayres has Division I talent. It’s there. And even though he might end up playing at a parochial Division II or III school someplace, it might not be playing football.
INLAND FIELDHOUSE 