ATHLETE OF THE WEEK : Migratory Byrd : With New Season, Taft Running Back Takes Wing for End Zone

A former basketball player named Geese Ausbie would have been proud that a guy nicknamed Birdman showed a little panache in his dash to the goal line.

“I’m not sure what it was,” Taft High Coach Tom Stevenson joked. “But it looked like some sort of Harlem Globetrotter move.”

The trotter, Taft tailback Kelvin Byrd, was in the process of making a 22-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and the only player in his path was Lincoln safety Jose Maciel.

Byrd juked him with a spin but in the process added an accidental behind-the-back move with the ball.

Instead of cruising in for the score like a forward on a fast break, Byrd was picked clean when Maciel swooped in and stole the ball at the 10.

“The next thing I knew the guy was running 70 yards toward the other end of the field,” Stevenson said.

It was the only embarrassing moment for Byrd, who spent most of Friday afternoon tearing off long runs of his own. Byrd, a 5-foot, 9-inch, 183-pound senior, burned Lincoln for 193 yards in 22 carries and finished with a career-high 3 touchdowns as Taft easily won its nonleague opener at Lincoln, 33-0.

By the time Byrd bungled, in fact, Taft led, 26-0. Byrd, who was suffering from the effects of the flu and was not at full strength, was scheduled to come out of the game about the time he lost the ball.

“I thought he was getting a little winded,” Stevenson said. “But he begged me to let him back in there so he could redeem himself.”

Byrd returned, though redemption was hardly necessary. At the time of the fumble, he already had scored on touchdowns runs of 1, 16 and 21 yards.

Thereafter, he rushed for an additional 41 yards before calling it a day with six minutes to play.

It was the second-best performance of Byrd’s career, topped only by a 224-yard effort in a 33-14 win over San Pedro in a playoff game last year.

“It didn’t seem like I had 22 carries at the end,” Byrd said of the Lincoln game. “But I had to take some deep breaths after every play. Especially on some of the longer runs.”

For the second consecutive season, Byrd will shoulder much of the Taft load. Last year, he carried for a school-record 1,168 yards, but Stevenson says that number won’t fly this year.

The sky is the limit and statistical ascension is expected.

“I think Kelvin’s a 2,000-yard guy,” Stevenson said. “He has the talent, and if we block for him, that’s reachable.”

Byrd might be able to blast his way for extra yardage on occasion, too. Thanks to an off-season weightlifting program, the slightly built junior of 1987 has added 15 pounds.

The extra strength has allowed Byrd to run through opponents as well as around them. That could come in handy this week when Taft plays host to Southern Section Division I power Servite of Anaheim on Friday.

Servite tailback Derek Brown, a 5-10 senior who rushed for 221 yards in the Friars’ 45-0 win over Marina of Huntington Beach last week, has 392 yards in 2 games.

Last year, Taft played Division I contender Crespi and lost, 44-0. Taft, like its standout running back, is considerably stronger this year, Stevenson said.

“We’ve got a challenge ahead of us, just like last year,” Byrd said. “If we play them with a straight head, we should do pretty good.”

And if Byrd can stay pointed straight ahead , he should do fairly well, too.