John Barnes was standing on the sideline at Tesoro the other night when the fans began chanting, “We Love Coach Barnes.”

John turned out and waved in mock acknowledgement. They were chanting, of course, for John’s son Brian, whose Titans were in the process of knocking off Mater Dei (read the game story) and advancing to Saturday night’s semifinal against Orange Lutheran.

“Boy, if that doesn’t make you proud,” John said. “I saw a Coach Barnes For President sign down there. Brian’s just got them playing with great energy and intensity.”

Some of that energy and intensity came at the expense of John’s Los Alamitos squad the week before, a ticklish situation for everyone. Brian said he waited a few days before calling his dad. (Read about the Tesoro-Los Alamitos game.)

“It wasn’t too bad until the game started,” John said. “It is what it is. They have some really good kids down there. That Preston King, he just has a great command of the game. He got in the huddle one time against Mater Dei and told them that if the quarterback held the ball long enough, he could beat his guy with a double move, and then he went out there and did it for a touchdown.”

King, for his part, found himself lined up near the Los Al bench on one defensive play. “It was weird,” he said. “I almost felt like going up to Coach Barnes and asking him what play they were running.”

John said Brian did as good a job at Estancia, before Tesoro opened up.

“I saw their team when he got them together and thought, ‘Our freshmen at Los Al could beat them,”’ John said. “The next year Brian is 7-4 with them. That was a heck of a job, and now it’s happening again. Orange Lutheran and Mater Dei played a close one, so there’s no reason to believe this one won’t be close, too.”

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