O'dea, Dubose And Big Dreams -- Tiny Back Won't Let Size Stop Him

Edgar DuBose can dream big, but realizes he's too small to follow in the football footsteps of his cousin Demetrius, a standout linebacker at Notre Dame now with Tampa Bay of the NFL.

"I have dreams, but they're far-fetched," said Edgar, a talented - but tiny - running back for O'Dea High School.

Yet Edgar has the chance today to accomplish something Demetrius never did - win a state football championship. The Irish (12-0) play Lake Stevens (12-0) in the Class AA title game of Kingbowl XVIII. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Kingdome.

When Demetrius played at Seattle's O'Dea, from 1986 through 1988, along with two other cousins of Edgar, Jeff Jordan and Jason Thomas, the Irish never got past the quarterfinals - something Edgar was quick to point out when Demetrius was in town two weeks ago for a game with the Seattle Seahawks.

"I had to rub it in his face a little bit," he said.

A bold move, perhaps, considering Demetrius is 6 feet 1 and 240 pounds and Edgar checks in at maybe 5 feet 4, 150 pounds. The Kingbowl program lists him at 5-10, 160, but he must have been wearing stilts for that measurement. Edgar insists he's 5-7. Teammate Ryan DuBose, another cousin, also is listed at 5-10, but admits he's 5-7 - and has three inches on Edgar.

The DuBose family is close-knit. Edgar's father and Ryan's father are brothers and Demetrius' mother is their sister. Edgar and his father lived with Demetrius and his mother during Demetrius' final two years at O'Dea. When the cousins got together growing up, they generally played baseball, not football. Edgar remembers going with Ryan to all Demetrius' high-school football games - but not necessarily to cheer for him.

"They used to play at West Seattle Stadium, and Ryan and I would play football on the sidelines," Edgar said. "We never really watched the game. We just came to play football."

Jerry Jordan - Jeff's brother - was the first member of the DuBose family to play football at O'Dea, graduating in 1983 and going on to play at Oregon State. He held the school's rushing record of 220 yards until Edgar broke it with 240 yards this year in a game against Garfield.

Jeff, who played four years of defense for the University of Idaho, owns O'Dea's season (1,114 yards) and career (2,316) rushing records.

Edgar, who rushed for 501 yards last season and 83 as a sophomore reserve, could break the season mark today. Playing behind those talented cousins has motivated Edgar, by far the smallest of the lot. Demetrius is still the biggest.

"I just want to be better than them, that's all," Edgar said.

Being smaller than everyone else on the field has driven him, too.

"Being little, people don't think nothing of me," Edgar said. "I like that. It drives me to see them on their backs."

Tony Human, Lake Stevens' 1,000-yard rusher who doubles as a defensive back, admits he was fooled at first when he saw Edgar on tape.

"You look at him and you think, `Gosh, he's about as big as my little brother,' " Human said, referring to Trevor Human, a Lake Stevens freshman. "But he's quick."

According to Ryan, who starts at free safety, Edgar may be small, but he thinks big.

"He just has that mentality - he wants to be good," Ryan said. "He doesn't give up. He tries hard and he likes competition. He doesn't think about his size. What he likes best is running over somebody bigger than him."

Edgar has rushed for 1,049 yards and 14 touchdowns, despite missing 2 1/2 games with a sprained left ankle.

After suffering the injury midway through the Rainier Beach game, Edgar missed the playoff opener with Shorecrest and played only on special teams against Capital in the quarterfinals. He returned last week against West Valley of Yakima, but gained just 43 yards on 13 carries. He enters today's game at about 90 to 95 percent, he said after yesterday's Kingdome practice.

Edgar's football career may well end today, but - win or lose - at least he and Ryan will have the family bragging rights when it comes to playing in Kingbowl. They are the last of the DuBose cousins. But don't be surprised to see another family member or two pop up at O'Dea in a dozen years or so.

"Jerry's got kids," Coach Monte Kohler said with a smile.

According to Edgar, the boys are age 2 and age 4 months.