DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Antwon Byrd is not what you call a vocal leader.

He said so.

Byrd writes his feelings on paper. He plays them on a bass guitar.

Byrd is as much an artist as he is a football player at Costa Mesa High.

Coming up with poetic verses and smoothly plucking strings are a contrast to the collisions on the field. The first two allow the senior to express himself.

“It’s just a way for me to escape reality sometimes,” Byrd said.

With the Mustangs’ 0-5 start to the season, who could blame Byrd?

During the troubles, Byrd continued to jot down his ideas and pick up his guitar.

None of the poems or tunes involved the football program.

One verse to a poem he wrote goes like this:

Incredible dialect burnt skin deep.

This legion of mourners fulfills this castle.

It’s a tribute to the civil rights movement in the 1960s. It lifts Byrd’s soul every time he reads it. Coach Jeremy Osso said he has never read it, or any of Byrd’s poems.

One day, Byrd plans to dedicate one for the Mustangs. They’re his family.

Byrd has already touched the Mustangs.

On the field last week, the running back ran so freely, helping Costa Mesa win its first game of the season by beating Century, 35-6, in a nonleague game at Estancia High.

Nine times Byrd ran the ball. Twice he scored long touchdowns, one for 84 yards and another for 66 yards.

He even caught a 43-yard touchdown pass.

In Byrd’s mind, his night was that of a writer’s dream. Everything flowed.

“I just live for the moment,” he said. “One play at a time.”

Just like one word at a time.

Byrd ended the night with 170 rushing yards. He went home and straight to bed, where underneath are stacks of journals.

The urge to write wasn’t there.

Writing allows Byrd to relieve stress. The pressure was gone.

Why? Costa Mesa finally won a game.

Resonating through Byrd’s mind was what his father Bob Martin III taught him when he first picked up football at 7.

“As soon as you hit the hole,” his dad would say, “hit the sideline and go straight.”

Byrd is what you call a “north-south runner.” He knows where he’s going.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has loftier goals than continuing with football. Music is his future.

Just like Byrd’s running style features few spin moves, or jukes, the same applies to his music.

He met Wayman Tisdale, a 12-year NBA veteran turned jazz bass guitarist, at a concert in Newport Beach last year.

Tisdale, a 6-9 former power forward, gave Byrd some pointers.

“Just stick to the melody of the music and don’t focus so much on tricks,” Tisdale told Byrd.

Byrd will never forget the conversation because it came from an athlete, who has battled recent bone cancer in his right leg.

Tisdale, whose part of his leg is now amputated, inspired Byrd. He released his eighth album, “Rebound,” in June.

Byrd listens to Tisdale’s music. The first track on the latest album is “Rebound.” You can hear, “I’ve rebounded and you can rebound also,” before the second verse.

It hits home with Byrd. He has battled adversity, from a right hip-flexor injury sidelining him for some games last year, to dealing with walking pneumonia, and to a back injury Osso said Byrd has played with this season.

“His fire in that game [last week] was pretty awesome,” said Osso, whose team opens Orange Coast League play against crosstown rival Estancia (2-4) in the Battle for the Bell game at 7 tonight at Jim Scott Stadium. “I’m hoping he has that fire again [tonight].

“We hope that last week’s game set the tempo for our season.”

Byrd knows tempo.

Read his poetry and listen to his guitar because he won’t say it.

But it sure looks like Byrd and Costa Mesa are rebounding nicely.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].