Magaña is Downey football’s Man of Steal

At 5-foot-71/2 and 140 pounds, Downey High senior Jakob Magaña looks a lot more like Clark Kent than he does Superman. But watch him on the gridiron, and you’ll discover very quickly he more closely resembles the Man of Steel.

Make that Man of Steal.

Magaña, a senior cornerback for the Knights, is tied with two other players for the state lead and ranks seventh nationally with 10 interceptions.

“My teammates and coaches say, ‘I don’t know why they keep throwing to his side. They should know by now. I guess they don’t watch film,’” said Magaña. “I think my technique has improved a lot this year, and that’s one of the things that’s helped me the most. We have a new DB coach this year – coach (Anthony) Castro – and he’s been great, one of the best coaches I’ve ever had.”

What makes Magaña’s feat more impressive is that he’s a true corner. The other players with 10 picks – Alejandro Morales of Fremont (Sunnyvale) and John Horn of Yuba City – are safeties, so they can freelance more and roam to the ball. Week in and week out, Magaña is locked in combat with the opponent’s best receiver and is rewarded with a pick only when opposing quarterbacks throw his way.

“You think you can test him because of his size, but that’s not it at all,” says Shawn Munoz, a three-year varsity starter at Enochs who has been one of Magaña’s victims. “He’s aggressive and not scared to hang with the big receivers.”

Case in point: Last week, Magaña hooked up with Davis’ Talolo Limu-Jones, a 6-5, 210-pound wide receiver to whom Magaña conceded nearly 70 pounds and 10 inches. He should have had one interception against Davis, perhaps two, but dropped them.

“I guarantee he’ll remember those two he missed more than the 10 interceptions he’s made because he’s such a perfectionist,” says Downey head coach Jeremy Plaa, who is also Magaña’s coach on the Knights’ baseball team. “His awareness makes him so good. He has a great instinct for when a receiver’s going a little harder. He’s better than any kid I’ve ever coached, as a cornerback, when it comes to awareness.”

It’s not just opposing quarterbacks who have difficulty with Magaña. Teammate P.J. Wilson, a candidate for The Bee’s Player of the Year award, finds practicing against Magaña a chore.

“I can tell you it’s no fun,” said Wilson, a senior who has thrown for 27 touchdowns this season with just four interceptions. “I’m glad he’s on my side because I wouldn’t want to face him.”

Surely, facing Magaña daily in practice has helped make Wilson a better guardian of the football.

“Oh, most definitely,” Wilson said. “Going up against the best corner in our league can do nothing but get you better. He keeps me on my toes when I get lazy. I have to work hard every time I throw the ball because I know he’s going to be there.”

Magaña is more than just a cornerback. He dabbles as a wide receiver – he has caught two TD passes this season – and has returned two punts for touchdowns and one kickoff for a score. His goal entering the season was a lofty one, and he achieved it.

“My goal for the end of the season was to have 10 interceptions,” said Magaña. “In my head, that was a lot, but it was still attainable – it’s one a game.”

Magaña had no picks in a season-opening 36-33 loss to Pitman or in last week’s 42-7 win over Davis. He conducted his thievery in the seven games in between, which included a three-pick effort against Beyer on Sept. 26.

Last week was the first time since Downey’s second game that Magaña had no interceptions. Maybe it was the rain.

Or maybe ... Kryptonite?

If there is a form of Kryptonite that can slow down the Man of Steal, it’s Dr. Pepper. Rather, lack of Dr. Pepper.

Magaña has a lengthy pregame ritual – it starts the night before the game with a shower at precisely 11:11 p.m. and includes listening to specific songs, watching specific videos and playing specific video games – and the most important part of that ritual is having a Dr. Pepper during the team meal.

“I have to have it; Dr. Pepper is my thing,” said Magaña. “I get really upset if I don’t have a Dr. Pepper.

“I wouldn’t say I’m superstitious … I have to do this to be focused, otherwise my mind’s not in the right place. It helps me focus and help me feel comfortable about the game.”

More than just pestering opposing quarterbacks, Magaña has helped bring esteem to a defense that has been obscured by the team’s high-flying offense.

“Our defense is playing really well,” Plaa said. “When we lost to Pitman, it was more momentum and our offense sputtering than it was our defense.

“We’re very aggressive on defense. The last thing we want is a team to go 10 plays on us and eat up the clock.”

Defensive tackle Ty Nelson (6-3, 265) is a monster inside – “he’s in the backfield every play,” Plaa said – and Jose Acosta (5-8, 195) was moved from middle linebacker to defensive end this season because it suits his skill set better and he can put pressure on quarterbacks. Then there’s the addition of Poaka Kekua (6-0, 220) at middle linebacker.

“He makes our entire run defense solid in the middle,” Plaa said. “He’s hard to block, and you’re not going to run by him.”

And there’s Kimo Barron (6-0, 170), who has been dubbed “The Swiss Army Knife” because of his versatility.

“He’s not very big, but he’s so fast, and when he lines up against our O-line, you can see our linemen get deflated because they have a really hard time blocking him.”

Magaña agrees with his coach’s assessment of the Knights’ defense.

“I couldn’t have any of this without my teammates,” Magaña said. “They put me in good situations, like when they apply pressure and there’s a bad throw. They’ve put in so much work, I could never thank them enough.”

The Knights need a win on Friday night against Gregori to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the Modesto Metro Conference. The Jaguars, who run the wing-T, don’t pass much. And if they did, they wouldn’t target Magaña.

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, right?

So Magaña likely won’t add to his total until the postseason, where he hopes the Knights can make a splash.

“I think we’re going to do great,” Magaña said. “I don’t want to say we’re going to take it all, but I think we’re going to put up a fight. And our coach seems very confident in us, and that’s reassuring.

“Our team’s on the way up, if you ask me.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2014 at 9:04 PM with the headline "Magaña is Downey football’s Man of Steal."