By Cecil Conley

Sports Editor

The red beard has returned, and Alex Stewart can only hope it will bring him as much luck at Sierra College as it did at Lincoln High School. The freshman could use a break or two to go his way.

Stewart first grew his beard last fall, when he started at quarterback for the Zebras. Once Lincoln got on a roll, his teammates refuse to let him shave. His facial hair became a good-luck charm.

The Zebras had luck on their side in 2009, going 10-0 in the regular season. They routed Livingston 49-20 in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs before being halted with a 36-20 loss to Sonora.

When Stewart graduated, he left with a diploma and many fond memories of his senior season. Lincoln was 1-9 in 2008.

“Everyone really came together as a team. Everybody played for each other,” he said. “As the season progressed and it got going, we were playing for the school and we were playing for the town.”

When the season ended, so did the ban on shaving.

Stewart is now trying his luck at Sierra College and enduring an initiation to junior college football. He is growing his beard again even though the team is practicing in the heat of the afternoon.

How long the beard lasts remains to be seen. Stewart figures he will need it when duck hunting season arrives for “facial warmth.” His beard has also turned into somewhat of a trademark.

“How many people do you know that can rock a red beard?” he joked. “It makes me kind of unique.”

It will take more than his beard for Stewart to earn playing time with the Wolverines. In the team’s first intrasquad scrimmage last Wednesday, Stewart did not get a single snap.

“He knew ahead of time,” head coach Jeff Tisdel said when asked why Stewart was a DNP-CD. That is the NBA’s acronym for “did not play-coach’s decision.”

All Stewart got to do was watch as Sam Martinez led the first unit and Tanner Mathias worked with the second. Biding time is among the many skills Stewart will have to develop as a freshman.

“I’m completely happy sitting behind Tanner and Sam. They’re both great athletes and great quarterbacks,” Stewart said. “I’m real blessed to get to watch them. They know what they’re doing.”

The quarterback competition was a consideration for Stewart when he decided to join the Wolverines He also considered the opportunity to play for Tisdel and being pushed to show he is worthy.

“I knew coach Tisdel can get me to where I want to be, the level I want to be at,” Stewart said. “There’s no slacking. It’s a lot of hard work. I know I need to improve if I want to be the best I can be.”

Tisdel cuts his players no slack in practice, and Stewart has felt his wrath on more than one occasion.

“It’s like a time bomb,” Stewart said. “You know it’s coming. You just don’t know when.”