Niles Hibbert
Compton Football

Compton Tarbabes Football Season Preview

It’s been a rebuilding process for Compton under head coach Calvin Bryant. The Tarbabes bottomed out with a winless season four years ago and have been steadily improving and getting their program back together the last three seasons under Bryant, who is in his second stint with the team.

“It’s my fourth year back so all the guys that had to start as freshmen, this is their senior year,” said Bryant. “We have four guys who are four-year starters.”

The Tarbabes were 5-5 last year, their best record since Bryant was fired several seasons back, and he’s hoping this is the season they can jump back to the right side of .500.

“Our guys have really bought in, they’ve put in a lot of work in the offseason, I think we’ll take it a little further this year,” said Bryant. “We’re feeling really good about what we have out there and about the future.”

Niles Hibbert is one of the four-year starters and will be this year’s star, featuring as both a running back in Compton’s run-heavy double-wing offense, and as a cornerback. Jesse Brew will quarterback the team and direct the Tarbabes’ misdirection-heavy offense, with Terrence Pratt likely to get plenty of touches while also featuring as a linebacker.

The secret weapon for Compton is that their offensive and defensive line might be the biggest in the Moore League after Poly’s–it’s certainly one of the biggest in the area. Jonathan Fernandez and Eduardo Garcia return but linemen like Israel Tornes (6-3, 330 pounds) and Syre Williams (6-4, 315 pounds) are a big part of why Bryant is so optimistic about his team this year.

“I think we have a shot to show some things in the division we’re in, we’re trying to vie for a playoff spot,” said Bryant. “We’re definitely not going to disappear–we want to fight for that position.”

As he does every year, Bryant also says his team’s double-wing might feature some new wrinkles.

“People might be surprised, we might be throwing the ball a little more,” he said. “It’s just hard for coach Bryant all these years running the ball, now you have an incompletion and it’s second and 10, I’m not used to that.”

Projected Starting Lineup

Offense

OL: Syre Williams

OL: Israel Tornes

OL: Lonzo Williams

TE/OL: Jonathan Fernandez

TE/OL: Tyrone Fleming

QB: Jesse Brew

QB: Bill Wilson

WR: Jaishawn Smith

WR: Keilan White

RB: Terrence Pratt

RB: Niles Hibbert

RB: Jaheim Williams

Defense

DL: Jonathan Fernandez

DL: Tyrone Fleming

DL: MykTrayl McGraw

DL: Ericsson Adebowale

DL: Francisco Vargas

LB: Eduardo Garcia

LB: Jesse Lopez

LB: Bill Wilson

LB: Jaheim Hunt

DB: Jesse Brew

DB: Niles Hibbert

DB: Jaishawn Smith

DB: Jaheim Williams

Compton Schedule

8/17 vs. Compton Centennial

8/24 vs. Santa Monica

8/31 BYE

9/7 @ Dominguez

9/14 vs. Gardena

9/21 vs. Jordan

9/28 vs. Millikan

10/5 @ Long Beach Poly

10/12 vs. Lakewood

10/19 @ Cabrillo

10/26 @ Wilson

Compton Football Season Preview 2018

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Long Beach Football Master Schedule

Mike Guardabascio
An LBC native, Mike Guardabascio has been covering Long Beach sports professionally for 13 years, with his work published in dozens of Southern California magazines and newspapers. He's won numerous awards for his writing as well as the CIF Southern Section’s Champion For Character Award, and is the author of three books about Long Beach history.
http://The562.org