The Right Numbers

GRANADA HILLS — In City Section football, littered with five-foot-nine cornerbacks, a 6-3 wide receiver with speed can stand tall.

In his first season of high school football, Leon Pimky of Granada Hills kept showing glimpses of potential by becoming a big target for Highlander quarterbacks.

He used his 4.6 speed and leaping ability cultivated from basketball to catch 56 passes for 981 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Pimky especially showed a flair for the long ball. Three of his touchdown plays went for at least 74 yards.

“I don’t care where they throw it,” Pimky said. “I’m big enough to go and get it.”

One inch taller and 20 pounds heavier, the 6-4, 230-pound Pimky is the top returning receiver among City Section teams from the region. College recruiters envisioning a future tight end have taken notice. He was recently rated the No. 64 prospect in California by Superprep magazine.

USC, Washington and other Pacific 10 Conference schools have shown interest in a player from a school that has two victories the past two seasons.

But if the Highlanders hadn’t suffered recent growing pains, Pimky might never have considered playing football at all.

Coming off a disastrous 1995 season under first-year Coach Brad Ratcliff--Granada Hills failed to win a game--the Highlanders were desperate for any athletes on campus. The returning players were assigned to find a prospective player to sign up for an off-season conditioning class.

Quarterback Ricky Mathiesen thought Pimky, a varsity basketball player and a friend from junior high, could do what Ernest Quinley had done.

Quinley, also a basketball player, came out for football that season and led the team with 31 receptions for 702 yards and six touchdowns.

“I knew he was big,” Mathiesen said of Pimky. “And I knew he was quick. It seemed like he could play football.”

After a bit of prodding, Pimky joined the class.

“I thought it would be a good way to keep in shape for basketball,” Pimky said.

It quickly became apparent that he was one of the best athletes on the field.

Pimky was installed at tight end, running back and wide receiver, depending on the offensive formation.

“We played him a lot at tight end because a lot of teams don’t expect the tight end to be a big offensive weapon,” Ratcliff said. “Most of the time they just stay in and block. He was hidden from people because they didn’t know who he was yet.”

Pimky made his biggest splash in the second game of the season against Royal. He scored on pass plays of 85 and 82 yards, the latter coming with less than 30 seconds left in the game to give Granada Hills its first victory since 1994.

He finished with 239 yards in six receptions.

“That was Leon’s coming-out party,” Ratcliff said.

The rest of the season showed the typical ups and downs of a raw talent. Pimky was held to one reception in a 34-0 loss to Chatsworth two weeks after the Royal game.

Two weeks later, he caught three touchdown passes and led the Highlanders to a 25-22 victory over Birmingham, a 3-A Division playoff team.

But Granada Hills struggled without Mathiesen, who missed the second half of the season with a broken hand, and didn’t win again.

Following the season, Pimky returned to the basketball team where he started for the second consecutive year, averaging 13.3 points and 4.6 assists. But he began to realize his future is in football.

This summer he concentrated on football, getting down his timing with Mathiesen through 60 passing league games and attending a football camp at Brigham Young University.

Having an athlete like Pimky as the focal point of the offense gives Granada Hills hope of its first playoff appearance since 1994.

“This summer was different,” Pimky said. “I’ve been playing basketball for 12 years. But it’s gotten to the point I may go farther in football.”

Pimky’s biggest obstacle to a Division I scholarship isn’t the difficulty in reading defenses or running precise routes.

Well-spoken and intelligent, Pimky didn’t take academics seriously his first two years of high school. He was declared academically ineligible near the end of the basketball season his sophomore year.

Without him, the Highlanders reached the City Section 3-A semifinals before losing to Canoga Park. Pimky couldn’t bring himself to watch the games.

“Being ineligible woke me up,” he said. “I know my teammates blame me for losing to Canoga. We lost by eight and I averaged more than that.”

Pimky is in a constant battle to maintain the required minimum of a 2.0 grade-point average for a Division I scholarship. If Pimky stays with a 2.0 GPA, he still must score a 1,010 on the Scholastic Assessment Test to be eligible.

“I take school more seriously now,” Pimky said. “I know I have a chance to get a scholarship. I just hope it’s not too late.”