Two-way hitter

If you happen to notice a fullback fighting to churn out that extra yard, or take note of a middle linebacker moving in for a big stop, chances are you are looking at one player, reliable No. 35 on the Laguna Beach High football team.

Jeremy Kaplan is that player. One who his coach, Jonathan Todd, holds in high praise.

“He is the type of player every coach wants on his team,” Todd said. “He just gives it his everything, whether it’s in practice or on game night. He’s a fighter. I just love the kid.”

The 5-foot-8, 190-pound Kaplan has carved out a varsity career that is now in its third year. He plays both offense and defense, although he says he still views himself as a “defensive guy.” His defense gave notice last year in a season than ended with him landing All-Orange Coast first-team laurels.

But what’s most impressive about Kaplan is the passion that he brings to the game. He attributes his drive to a personality that he says makes him “give it his all” when he cares about something. And he is enamored with football.

Kaplan played soccer as a youngster but said that it wasn’t until the eighth grade “” when he took part in pick-up football games in the neighborhood with his friends “” that he began to give some thought to taking up football. It was his dad, he said, who encouraged him to give football a try in high school.

“I first played organized football my freshman year and fell in love with it,” Kaplan said of a freshman season that saw him play cornerback, safety and some running back. “I had so much fun and it was a great learning experience. I really can’t believe that I’m now playing my final year here at Laguna. It’s gone by really fast. I just love to play the game.”

He also is playing for more than himself.

“I’m playing for my dad and brother every time I go out on the field,” explained Kaplan who, during his high school career, lost his father during his freshman year and then an older brother just last May.

“They both were very supportive of me and I honor them with the way that I play,” he said, adding that he comes from a close-knit family with a strong “faith in God.” “I know they are looking down on me, watching me play.”

Laguna still is in search of its first victory of the season “” the Breakers could get it tonight when they host St. Monica “” but even after preseason practices and just a couple of games into the season, Kaplan already knows that he is part of the hardest-hitting team on which he’s ever played.

“We really worked hard in our off-season training and you can tell,” he said. “We tried Jujitsu and every week, we work on hitting drills. When it’s game time, it’s like, ‘boom, boom.’ Everyone on this team can hit, and it’s great. Not only that, but we’re the smartest team in California.”

Last year, Kaplan was part of a varsity football team that held a collective team grade-point average of 3.51. That team was recognized by the CIF as having the highest collective team GPA in football among all California schools.

Starting tonight, Laguna has seven games left in the regular season. Kaplan, for one, is gunning for more.

“We still have some nonleague games left, but I want us to go into league and destroy everyone we play,” he said. “I want us to go to the playoffs and see how far we can go. We can do it. We just need to continue to work hard and stay focused.”

These next few months also could mark the end of his football career, although Kaplan, who says he’s still undecided where he will go to school next year, says he hopes to continue to play beyond high school.

“I’d love to do that but I will need to see what happens,” he said. “But when my high school playing days are over, I’m going to miss it a lot. The Friday Night Lights, the team bonding before games, is incredible. I’ve played with a lot of my teammates since my freshman year and we’ve really developed a lot a good friendships.

“If I don’t play football next year, then I’ll come back here to watch the football games and support next year’s team. I’ll be involved with football somehow.”