Quite A Ride -- Star Of Year Singor Mobley Unstoppable To State Titlists
Sometimes Curtis High's Singor Mobley makes his own linemen feel a little silly.
As a result, he became the butt of a well-intentioned joke between guards Jim Gallucci and Aaron Albertson.
``We'll joke with our offensive coordinator about Singor,'' Gallucci said. ``Sometimes he'll be running and he'll have six guys on him, dragging them along, and all we can do is sit there. What do we do? Do we pull guys off him? Do we push him forward? He just refuses to go down. When you see that, it makes you want to block for him all the more.''
That kind of effort helped Mobley, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior halfback, earn The Times' State Star of the Year honor as the best high-school football player in the state.
The only way to stop Mobley, as demonstrated by Newport in the Kingbowl, is to let Curtis pass.
Mobley rushed for only 57 yards in his final high-school game, but that hardly mattered. Mobley needed another 100-yard game like the Sahara needs sand.
``The season went very well for me . . . I liked the way it finished with us being champions,'' Mobley said. ``We learned to be together, like a family.''
The final-game heroics belonged to quarterback Brian Jensen, who threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns as Curtis won its second consecutive Class AAA state championship.
``They gave us the pass, we didn't have to work for it,'' Gallucci said. ``If we had the ball more we would have given it to Singor to establish the run and run the clock down.''
Mobley rushed 225 times for 1,573 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. He also caught four passes for 49 yards, returned three interceptions for 31 yards, returned 13 punts for 136 yards and 10 kickoffs for 275 yards, and amassed 2,064 all-purpose yards. He had a season- and career-high rushing total of 211 yards against Sumner. His longest run was 97 yards for a touchdown against Richland in the state semifinals.
Curtis finished its season 12-1. The then-No. 1-ranked Vikings lost their only game during the fourth week of the season, 10-7 in overtime, at Pasco. Mobley had 137 rushing yards in that game.
``Singor doesn't get caught up in how he did. He gets caught up in how the team does,'' Curtis Coach Bob Lucey said. ``No doubt, he played a great role in our team's success. He never left the field. The only team he wasn't on was the PAT (point-after-touchdown) team.''
That explains where Mobley was the night of the Kingbowl. He received only 12 handoffs, but spent most of the game thwarting Newport's wishbone as a defensive back. He and fullback Brian Smith led the team in tackles with 10 each against the Knights. Lucey remembers Mobley missing only one tackle in three seasons.
``As far as I'm concerned, he's the best safety I've ever seen,'' said Gallucci, who has played with Mobley since the third grade. ``I never see receivers get hit the way he hits receivers.''
Maybe that's why Mobley's favorite player is safety Ronnie Lott of the San Francisco 49ers. Mobley picked off only three passes this season, but Lucey said most quarterbacks tried to throw away from Mobley.
``It's the highest compliment you can pay a defensive back,'' Lucey said.
One of his interceptions was against Richland quarterback Brian Edwards, another candidate for State Star of the Year. Edwards passed for 2,451 yards and 30 touchdowns and rushed for 1,238 yards and 15 TDs. Curtis beat Richland 14-9, as Mobley rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns and deflected two Edwards passes.
In a South Puget Sound League game against Puyallup and quarterback Damon Huard, another State Star candidate, Mobley had another 100-yard game, including an 81-yard touchdown run, to lead Curtis to a 54-28 victory. Huard completed 119 of 219 passes for 1,813 yards and 24 touchdowns.
``On offense, you sort of get the glory, but on defense you get the hits,'' Mobley said. ``I like both.''
Mobley has played both ways since his sophomore season, when he gained more than 600 rushing yards. He was an all-league safety and halfback as a junior, when he rushed for more than 1,000 yards. As a senior he was named the SPSL's defensive MVP and was one of the league's offensive players of the year from the Sound Division, sharing the honor with Huard and Spanaway Lake's Sheridan May.
``He's the type of player you don't see often,'' Lucey said. ``He has played to every bit of his potential. From a coach's point of view, that's been satisfying to see.''
Singor, who also is a sprinter, hurdler and long jumper on the track team, is considered one of the state's top two football prospects (with Huard) and wants to play in the Pac-10 Conference. He was recruited by 11 Division I schools, including Notre Dame and Miami and eight Pac-10 schools, but mentioned Washington, Washington State and Arizona as his favorites.
``The best thing about Singor is that he thanks others for his accomplishments whenever he gets back to the huddle,'' Gallucci said. ``He never lets it get to his head.
``As a team captain, he was real calm, but he knew how to get us going. He leads by example. He always knew what to say. When I hurt my knee, he was real supportive. I'm really going to miss him.''
'89 Times Star fitting in
-- Whatever happened to The Times' first Star of the Year?
Nate Holdren, former Richland High School standout selected by The Times as the top prep football player of 1989, was the No. 3 quarterback for University of Michigan this season and made the Wolverines' traveling squad. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound freshman intends to play baseball as well for Michigan.
At Richland, Holdren passed for 1,830 yards and 20 touchdowns, ran for 640 yards and 17 touchdowns. Many of his school records were broken this season by his replacement, Brian Edwards.
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Singor Mobley / Bio
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-- Name: Singor Mobley. High school: Curtis of Tacoma.
-- Ht.: 6 feet. Wt.: 180. Year: Senior.
-- Pos: Halfback and safety; also returns punts and kickoffs.
-- Colleges: Recruited by 11 Division I schools, including eight from Pac-10; leaning toward Washington, Washington State and Arizona.
-- Honors: SPSL defensive MVP and co-offensive MVP.
-- Career: Rushed for more than 600 yards as sophomore, and more than 1,000 as junior.
-- 1990 season: Rushed for 1,573 yards and 16 TDs, totaled 2,064 all-purpose yards; three interceptions. Led Curtis to 12-1 season and two consecutive state Class AAA championships.