L.A. Times All-Star football team: Back of the Year
This story is part of our L.A. Times 2021 All-Star football team coverage. Read the full series here.
Sometimes you give your best effort and it’s still not good enough. That was the case for Culver City quarterback Zevi Eckhaus in his final high school game. All he did was complete 29 of 32 passes for 416 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-42 loss to Apple Valley.
He finished his five-game season passing for 1,893 yards and 24 touchdowns with just one interception. He completed 78% of his passes as Culver City went 4-1.
“I know he’s not playing against St. John Bosco or Mater Dei, but numbers are numbers,” Culver City coach Jahmal Wright said. “We ask a lot of our quarterback. He calls the pass protection and also is responsible for checks at the line of scrimmage depending on the coverage. If it was a test, he’d be close to 100%. We were always in the right place. He’s a very good quarterback and would have excelled at whatever school he was at.”
Eckhaus, a senior who signed with Bryant University, has been selected The Times’ back of the year. As a three-year starter, Eckhaus passed for a school-record 10,210 yards and 137 touchdowns.
“Zevi is a very accurate thrower,” Wright said. “He’s very efficient and that’s a great quality as a quarterback. Secondly, he’s very intelligent. He’s a great decision-maker.”
Eckhaus made major improvement in his ball velocity this spring and set the stage for continued development at the collegiate level. He led Culver City to a Southern Section title as a sophomore.
The Times’ All-Star football team includes players of the year Matayo Uiagalelei, back of the year Zevi Eckhaus and lineman of the year Andrew Madrigal.
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