Orange Lutheran's Ayles on path to success
There was a time Blake Ayles had doubts.
Throughout his freshman season at Orange Lutheran, he was never quite sure of himself. That is, until Week 10, when on a third-and-12 against Placentia Valencia he took an out pass from quarterback Aaron Corp, made a linebacker miss a tackle and ran over a defensive back.
With the first down came the confidence and the understanding "that I would be big part of the Lancers the next three or four years."
A huge part, actually. Since that moment, Orange Lutheran has won two Southern Section titles, including the Pac-5 championship last year and then the inaugural Division II State Bowl.
Ayles continues Lutheran's lineage of talent. He enters this season as the nation's No. 3 tight end prospect, according to Rivals.com. Like former teammates Aaron Corp and defensive end Mike Reardon, Ayles has committed to USC after spurning offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Miami, and Ohio State.
Aaron Corp and Reardon are Trojan freshmen this year, leaving Ayles as the Lancers' go-to guy despite both running backs, returning, Ricky Pemasa and Tyson Seneca, returning.
When the subject of his star tight end arises, Coach Jim Kunau doesn't dawdle describing Ayles' growth as a player and person.
Kunau breaks into a discussion of "servant leadership," explaining that Ayles is "someone who puts the interests of his teammates above his own."
As for Ayles and his outlook on 2007?
"If I get 10 balls this year and we win state again, I'd be happy," he said.
Although he does not have Aaron Corp passing to him anymore -- senior Blake Hyepock will take over as quarterback -- Ayles will certainly have more than 10 receptions. But his attitude proves Kunau's point.
"If I was a quarterback, I'd be throwing to him all the time," said Huntington Beach Edison Coach Dave White, who was once a quarterback at Edison and Oregon. Last season, White's team lost the section title to Orange Lutheran, 30-20. "He should catch about 65 balls this year."
Athleticism and soft hands are Ayles' strengths, and he is an exceptionally clutch performer. During his freshman season in the 2004 Division VI title game, Ayles he made a handful of blocks that sprung Aaron Corp for big plays in a 35-6 victory over Newport Harbor.
He came back in the second game of his sophomore year and had seven receptions and two touchdowns in a 27-21 victory over Mater Dei, helping set the stage for the Lancers' emergence as a major player among big schools despite a student enrollment of about 1,200.
During his junior season, Ayles had 43 receptions for 616 yards and three touchdowns. He had five catches or more against Valencia, Santa Margarita and Mater Dei, and four against Long Beach Poly and Edison.
The only thing preventing him from being a five-star recruit, Kunau said, is "to become a consistently outstanding blocker, and he's really on the threshold of that.
"He really has an outstanding work ethic. A lot of blocking comes from being unselfish. He's taken seriously his desire to become an outstanding run and pass blocker.
"That's one reason why, a year from now when he reports to SC, he will have a chance to compete early on. He will go in as a very good athlete and extremely physical at the point of attack."
Ayles will play both sides of the ball this season, replacing Reardon at defensive end, but his specialty will be on offense.
"He's an athlete playing tight end, and in high school you don't see that as much anymore," White said. "He's going against linebackers and strong safeties, and it's a mismatch because he's so athletic, so big. . . . He's a throwback to the old days. The guy's blocking in the run game, and running patterns in the pass game. He was pretty special last year."
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