Despite the struggles of the school he committed to, Moorpark (Calif.)
High School offensive lineman George Halamandaris (6-7, 305), isn’t letting it affect his
feelings towards Stanford. Not once has he questioned his decision to play for
the Cardinal. A rough season in Palo Alto is doing nothing to faze him.
“I’m keeping my commitment, I’m keeping my word,” Halamandaris declares. “I
committed there because of the education and not just the football. Things will
look up. Over the next couple of years, Coach [Walt] Harris will get it going. Their season has been rattled by injuries, but I think it will be
okay.”
Halamandaris has kept a watchful eye on the Cardinal this season, and knows
that a possibility exists that he could be thrust into action early in his
career.
“I’m not sure how soon I’d play, but I’d like to,” Halamandaris allows. “That
is one of the goals I have, but I’ll leave it up to the coaches.”
Halamandaris is planning to set his official visit with Stanford for
December, but that could change if Moorpark’s season is still going on.
“There is one weekend in December where we could be visiting but we might be
playing for the championship,” Halamandaris explains. “So if we’re playing, then
most likely in January, on the 12th.”
In the meantime, Halamandaris is waiting to hear back from Stanford on his
admittance into school.
“I finished the application; now I’m just waiting for an answer from them,”
Halamandaris reports. “I’m just hoping to get into school and have that be over and done
with. I think I have a real good shot. They said to put together the application
and do what I needed to. They’ve done a good job of keeping me updated.”
Over the last three semesters, Halamandaris has upped his GPA to a 4.16. He
scored an 1820 on the SAT and feels like that combination should be enough to
gain him acceptance.
And though he waits for the word on his Stanford admission, he isn’t looking at any
other schools.
“I’m not really hearing from anyone. It’s kind of staying quiet,” Halamandaris
says. “They know I’m strongly committed to Stanford.”
On the field, the towering tackle has been a key cog in Moorpark’s vaunted offense, and
he is a
key reason they are the top-ranked team in the CIF-Northern Division. With elite
junior running back Darrell Scott behind him, Halamandaris and his fellow
linemen have paved the way for a big season rushing the ball.
“We have an exciting offense, and Darrell has to be one of the best running
backs around,” Halamandaris maintains. “Sometimes, though, we’ll have a well-blocked
play and he breaks it even more. He’s a big play back.”
With his mammoth 6-7 frame, Halamandaris says offensive tackle is still where the
Stanford coaches are planning for him to play.
“I think I’ll probably end up at tackle. I’ll probably stay at about 305. As
long as I’m in shape and able to move and don’t over do it, I’ll be at tackle,”
Halamandaris states.
The Moorpark man keeps in frequent contact with Cardinal offensive line coach Tom Freeman, talking to him by phone once a week.
This weekend, Moorpark will take on Newbury Park in their homecoming contest,
but the contest with Westlake in Week 10 could be for the Marmonte League title
and top seeding in the CIF-Northern Division playoffs. There is still a shot
for Moorpark to make the State Championship game, albeit a long one.
“I hope, if we win out, it could it happen,” Halamandaris offers. “We’re 11th
in that poll, and once we get closer, it could change. But probably that loss
against Canyon hurt us. I don’t think we played our best game.”
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