Georgio Usai Central Valley Year: Senior Sport: Football Position: Running Back

There can’t be too many good reasons for watching movies at the crack of dawn on a Saturday.

One, obviously, is that the film is great. Another, equally compelling, is the football coach scheduled the early viewing.

“It was a pretty positive film session for the whole team,” Central Valley running back Georgio Usai said of Saturday’s gathering. “It was a fun thing. You don’t mind getting up at 7:30 in the morning to watch film for something like that.”

The film showed the 5-foot-6, 160-pound Usai occasionally breaking tackles and frequently running untouched for 285 yards and five touchdowns in a season-opening win over Lewis and Clark.

“The film showed he did two things,” CV coach Rick Giampietri said. “He broke tackles and he also ran the hole as it was designed. He did what an average back doesn’t do. An average back will give you the yardage that was blocked. He got that and much more.”

Usai, who set a national weightlifting record for 132-pound 14- and 15-year-olds in 1994 with a deadlift of 446 pounds, got his chance to run that much because starter Rick Giampietri Jr. has a separated right shoulder.

“I knew he was good,” coach Giampietri said. “In fact, when Rick was out, I didn’t think we’d have any letdown as far as running back.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo