LOWER LAKE >> They may not remember the incredible numbers he posted during his senior season at Lower Lake High School or even his name a few years down the road.
That’s not important, according to Isazah King, who rewrote the Lake County record book for running quarterbacks during the 2014 season.
“I hope the legacy I leave behind is that the younger kids pick up on the stuff I do and try to do it themselves,” said King, who is headed to Carroll College in Helena, Montana, on a football scholarship to resume where he left off last fall for the Trojans.
King, a three-sport star (football, basketball and track) at Lower Lake High School during the 2014-15 season, is the Lake County Record-Bee Athlete of the Year.
An athlete with a work ethic few before him could ever hope to match, King stepped outside his comfort zone all the time to push himself to a new next level.
“I went to college camps few kids I know ever went to,” King said of his quest to become a top-notch football player with the Trojans.
Two other things made King an absolute force during a 2014 football campaign during which he rushed for 1,629 yards, 19 TDs and scored 157 points. He also passed for another 951 yards and nine TDs.
“I love practicing,” King said. “Practices were way more fun this year because the guys were in it. We didn’t have any selfish players. I loved practicing with these guys. To me games were a reward for practices. Practices are where the hard work comes in. Games were just fun. You go out there and have fun, but practice is what makes you better.
“The offseason is where you put a lot of the hard work in. I felt like I was better prepared coming into the season (this year),” King added.
King helped Lower Lake reach 3-4 in the North Central League I standings and 5-6 overall, which included a first-round loss to Del Norte in the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs. It was a nice move for a Trojans program long entrenched — and forgotten — in the North Central League I cellar.
King’s contributions, on and off the field, helped change a culture of losing, according to two of his head coaches, Justin Gaddy in football and Tim Biasotti in basketball.
“The examples he set for younger players, not only at the high school level but youth (Pop Warner) players, will be his legacy,” Gaddy said. “He not only conducted himself well on the field but he was every bit a role model off the field. Young kids look up to him and want to be just like him. Hopefully they are willing to work as hard as he did, both in school and in sports because that’s what it takes and that’s what Isazah is all about.”
“I took Isazah with me to the elementary school where I teach to read to my kids,” Biasotti said. “He does everything the right way. That’s the legacy he’s setting.”
Added Gaddy, “I continually ask my players now who is going to be the next Isazah King?”
When another varsity player inquired about wearing King’s No. 2 in the upcoming season, Gaddy said wearing Isazah’s old number is something a player will have to earn in the future.
“That’s a number we may want to retire one day,” Gaddy said.
Growing up in Clearlake, King said the temptations to follow the wrong path were constantly before him yet he never succumbed.
Why?
“I’ve always known I wanted to play college football,” King said. “Even when I was a freshman and a sophomore and wasn’t as good, I kind of had the feeling something was going to happen to get me there (into college).”
Turns out that “something” was King’s unrelenting pursuit of success, both in the classroom (where he carried a 3.5 GPA) and on the playing field.
“He’s so driven with a work ethic you can’t believe,” Gaddy said. “That’s the baseline for a tremendous athlete. When he’s in the weight room working out other kids will stop and watch him. They can’t believe some of the things he does. He’s right up there with the hardest working guys I’ve ever been around … in high school or college.”
Added Biasotti, who used King primarily off the bench during the 2014-15 basketball season but also served as King’s sprint coach during an incredibly successful track season, “Isazah’s one of the best athletes I’ve been around and worked with. He’s always up for a challenge. Every time I set a goal for him he reached it. He was driven to be the best.”
And that explains why King, unlike many others talented athletes his age, never veered down the wrong path while growing up.
“Most kids can only see the things 2 inches in front of their face,” Gaddy said. “Isazah has the ability to step back and see what the big picture is. Some things you can’t have right away. You have to work hard to get them and it takes a long time. Isazah is willing to put in the work.”
“He’s very mature for his age,” Biasotti said of the 18-year-old King.
“I’ve always known what I wanted,” King said. “My life at home growing up was real rough and I didn’t want to end up like that. I had goals and I know what I wanted. I knew right from wrong. You have to train yourself and one way to do that is to surround yourself with the right people. I was self-driven.”
That drive ended with a most valuable player award on the All-North Central League I first-team defense as a ball-hawking member of the Trojan secondary (five interceptions, three returned for TDs) as well as first-team honors as a quarterback on the All-League offense.
When the NCL I coaches met to select the All-League team, there was never any argument about King’s place on either the first-team offensive or defensive squads.
“They were just happy he was a senior and wouldn’t be back next season,” Gaddy said with a laugh.
King’s accomplishments on the track were equally impressive. He won the 100 and 200 meters at the Coastal Mountain Conference Championships, placed third in the 200 and fourth in the 100 at the North Coast Section Redwood Empire Championships, and capped it off with a seventh-place finish in the 100 at the Meet of Champions at U.C. Berkeley.
While attempting to qualify for the the Meet of Champions finals in both the 100 and 200 on May 29 in Berkeley, King said he had a day he’ll not soon forget. Because he was graduating from Lower Lake later that night and didn’t want to miss it, a pilot (Craig Modlin) volunteered to fly both King and Biasotti from Lampson Field in Lakeport to a field in Concord where the Lower Lake duo navigated their way to Berkeley, site of the Meet of Champions, by taxi and BART. King qualified for the finals in the 100 but missed in the 200, his best event. Though disappointed about his 200 performance, he had absolutely no time to fret about it because he had to hustle back to Lower Lake in time to graduate (Biasotti had the same motivation as his sister was graduating that night).
“Craziness all day,” a smiling King said. “I arrived at Lower Lake High School at the end of the pledge of allegiance. It was crazy, but it was fun.”
On their flight back to Lampson Field in Lakeport that day, King and Biasotti flew over over Gordon Sadler Field where the graduation ceremony was about to take place.
“I called Gaddy on my cell phone and told him that we were overhead,” Biasotti said. “I thought he was joking at first,” Gaddy said.
Adopted by Denis and Tammi Brunk of Hidden Valley Lake, King said he owes his dad and mom a big debt for helping him navigate a clear course to success during his final years at Lower Lake. His list of thank yous includes more people than he can name.
“These guys — coach Gaddy and coach B — for sure. Coach Brunk, Mrs. Brunk, coach Jerry, Scott Benefield … Ms. Jimenez, my English teacher for three years that I wanted all four years,” King said. “A lot of people helped me get here.”
King’s short-term goal is to continue playing football just as long as he can. The long-term plan is to become a teacher one day.
“I want to give back all they’ve given me,” he said.
