Brock Berlin 1999

BROCK BERLIN, Evangel Christian Academy

1999 Mr. Football

By NAKIA HOGAN

Written for the LSWA

Brock Berlin of Evangel Christian Academy has always had talent. But the senior quarterback, recently voted the Gatorade Circle of Champions National Player of the Year, has had to put in extra work to get this good.

He traded in summer vacations to work on throwing out patterns. He spent countless hours lifting weights and studying film. But Berlin never seemed to mind. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior is one player who has the work habits to match the numbers he has put up. As a result, Berlin was a unanimous choice for the Farm Bureau/Mr. Football award given to the state's top player by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

"His work ethic makes him different," Evangel coach Dennis Dunn said. "He trains as hard as any quarterback I've ever seen. He has done all the little things to make himself better. "He doesn't take for granted that he has some tools. He develops and refines those tools. He'll be in the weight room all hours of the day working like crazy. And that sets him apart."Dunn is one coach who knows plenty about quarterbacks, having coached two other stars, Josh Booty and Phillip Deas. And Dunn knew he had a good thing going when he saw Berlin's take-charge attitude and passing accuracy as a sixth-grader at the school.

"As a sixth-grader we could see he would be a future great," Dunn said. "But definitely as an eighth-grader we knew in a couple of years he was going to be the man."By the time Berlin finished his career he was the man with many records. Most notable was his 60-0 on-the-field record as a starter and four straight state titles.

That mark does not count three ECA regular-season forfeits in 1998 because of an ineligible player. The mark does include wins over Texas powers like Dallas Carter, Tyler Lee and Marshall. This year, the Eagles downed two Louisiana powers, West Monroe and John Curtis.

After winning three straight 3A titles, the Eagles won the 5A crown earlier this month. The title-game win over West Monroe capped a season in which Evangel was ranked No. 1 nationally by several services, including Fox Sports.

When it comes down to numbers, Berlin has some of the most impressive for a high school quarterback. All told, he passed for more than eight miles in yardage.

Berlin threw for 4,654 yards, 54 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as a sophomore. As a junior, Berlin's totals were 4,834 and 54 more touchdowns. Finally, this past fall he passed for 4,219 yards and 36 touchdowns, yielding just eight interceptions.

Although those senior season totals aren't as gaudy, the move to 5A made a difference.

Evangel has just 600 students and was competing against schools for more than 1,000 students each week. In order to diversify, Evangel developed a new approach. Berlin's passing was part of an offensive effort that included the school's first 1,000-yard rusher. In addition, Berlin gave way to a back-up when the score in many games was lopsided.

"I feel like I improved every year because I worked so hard in the off-season," Berlin said. "The passing stats may be a little misleading, but look at our running stats this year. Teams were playing the pass more, so we ran."There were other national awards for Berlin, including ESPN's Scholastic Sports America Football Player of the Year award and the Class 5A Outstanding Offensive Player award from the LSWA.

But Berlin still isn't satisfied. He hasn't put away his footballs. He's still throwing passes and lifting weights during the holiday season.

Next month Berlin will enroll at Florida. And he wants to be in the lineup when the Gators open the 2000 season.

"That has always been my dream," Berlin said. "I wanted to play football and be good at it. So I'll just continue to work hard."