James Burns: Merced College's Turner finds hope in words

You know he's serious because he looks you dead in the eye.

And never blinks.

When he talks about the pillars of his program -- the three Ps: principles, performance and potential -- Mark Kaanapu has the look of a Billy the Kid or a Butch Cassidy.

His focus is unflappable, his eyes as strong as the words coming out of his mouth, so full of aim and conviction.

And you can see that aim and conviction in one of his players who, because of a spider bite, may never play for him again.

If Merced College had a Staring Contest Club, without a doubt, Kaanapu would be president.

As it is, he coaches tackle football.

And life skills.

On this particular Thursday afternoon, his office and fieldhouse are consumed by game preparation.

At the center of the room, the coaching staff gathers after practice. Some pace. Some sit.

They talk about players and strategy and Saturday morning's team breakfast. Which stands to reason, because half the men in the room could probably still put their fist down on the line.

In two days, Merced College would host Chabot College in their Golden Gate Conference opener. It was a big game for a number of reasons: 1) because the Blue Devils had lost three straight; 2) because it was the first game in Golden Gate Conference play; and 3) it was a home game.

By now, we know that the Blue Devils took care of their check list and chased the Gladiators out of town like they kissed their sister.

Final score: Merced College 42, Chabot 20.

The win is a building block, Kaanapu said. He loves building blocks.

"We're still young, we're still learning how to be winners," Kaanapu said after Saturday's game. "This team has shown flashes of how good it can be. Now we need to show it from start to finish."

Which brings us back to last Thursday's stare, and a message that seemed to transcend football.

"What you do today affects what happens tomorrow," the first-year coach said. "They're young, and we (the coaches) have to remember that.

"But when you're young, you always think, 'Oh, I've always got tomorrow.' Well, we know tomorrow isn't promised. These guys need to learn that what they do on the practice field, in the classroom or out in the community today is going to affect their lives."

His words are the last thread of hope for former Merced High star Garrett Turner, the running back whose star may have been dimmed forever by a freak injury.

After erupting onto the scene as a freshman in 2007, Turner's sophomore season was cut short when his eye swelled to the size of a balloon after being bitten by a spider.

He missed the Blue Devils' final six games.

Merced College had hoped to obtain a medical red-shirt and one more year of eligibility for Turner, but its request was denied by the state.

His case went in front of the Northern California Appeals Board, a panel of five people, mostly college presidents.

They agreed -- Turner's case didn't meet the requirements of medical red-shirt or a hardship.

Turner was informed of the decision in late September. He would never play a down for Merced College again.

He felt jilted.

Still does.

"Two years over a spider bite?" Turner asked. "I only played four games as a sophomore, and I can't play none this year."

That doesn't mean the former 2,000-yard back at Merced High is resting on his laurels.

When Kaanapu gives his "today and tomorrow" speech, he might as well be talking about Turner.

The 5-foot-7, 175-pound back still shows up at practice, wearing pads and his familiar No. 20 jersey.

He mostly plays on the scout team now -- anything to stay close to the game.

"I'm fitting to be the best running back they'll see all season," he says proudly.

Turner thanks Kaanapu for the opportunity to remain a teammate, even if his contributions are relegated to practices, Monday through Thursday.

"He tells me to keep my head in it. He doesn't want me to lose focus because I'm not playing," Turner said of his conversations with Kaanapu.

"You know, I found out the week before Feather River, and it was rough," Turner said. "He told me he still wanted me on the team and to come out to practice. He pretty much said I was going to Feather River with the team, no matter what, and that made me feel good."

Turner still has ambitions of playing at the Division I level. That fire burns bright -- brighter than ever before.

On Thursday, moments before Kaanapu's "today and tomorrow" speech, Turner loitered outside the fieldhouse.

Still in pads.

Twenty minutes after practice.

Why? He wasn't ready to go home; wasn't ready to take the jersey off.

"I don't want this to be the last time I play football," he said. "Where ever I go, I'm going to have a chip on my shoulder. It's bad now."

So he spends his todays practicing and punishing his body, hoping there's a football game somewhere in his tomorrows.

And you know he's serious when he says that, because he looks you dead in the eye.

Sort of like Kaanapu.

James Burns is sports editor of the Sun-Star. He can be reached at jburns@mercedsun-star.com.