Saddleback Has Built a Better Quarterback in Schmid

The 1984 football season had ended only minutes before, but the Saddleback College coaching staff was already thinking about 1985. On the bus ride back to Mission Viejo following the Gauchos’ 13-10 loss to Fullerton in the PONY Bowl last Dec. 1, the coaches began devising their grand plan for Jason Schmid.

The plan: to have Schmid, who played wide receiver, running back and backup quarterback his freshman year, immediately begin practicing his passing three times a week, in addition to starting an intense weightlifting and running regimen.

The purpose: to transform him into one of the nation’s top community college quarterbacks.

“We felt if he did all that, he would become a truly great quarterback,” said Bill Cunerty, Saddleback quarterback coach.

If last Saturday’s season opener against El Camino was any evidence, the plan has worked.

Schmid, who last season got by on raw athletic skill alone, was virtually unstoppable as he flawlessly directed Saddleback’s new-look, no-huddle offense.

He completed 13 of his first 14 passing attempts and went on to complete 16 of 23 for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Gauchos scored a 48-14 victory.

The fact is, Schmid, with a little luck, might have been able to complete 18 of his first 18. He had three passes dropped, and on one play, purposely threw an incompletion to avoid being sacked after chasing down a ball snapped over his head.

So, what did Schmid, who led Foothill High School to the Southern Section Southern Conference championship game in 1983, think of his performance?

“I’m expecting to have games like that,” Schmid said. “With all the work I’ve done, I really think I should go out there and dominate.”

What has made Cunerty happy isn’t the fact that Schmid throws the ball so much better, or that he no longer has the tendency to take off and run every time a defensive lineman makes a move in his direction, but the patience the muscular 6-foot 3-inch, 210-pound Schmid has showed.

“He proved to me that he has really learned to play quarterback,” Cunerty said. “Every time, he read the defense correctly. If his primary receiver was covered, he waited and looked for another. If his second receiver was covered, he waited and went to his third. That’s the mark of a guy who really knows what’s he’s doing.

“I demand that our quarterback have a low interception ratio and a high completion percentage, and you get that by doing just what Jason did Saturday.”

As the backup to the record-setting Mike Douglass last season, Schmid was used sparingly at quarterback. His mechanics, in both setting his feet correctly and releasing the ball, were weak, and so when Coach Ken Swearingen put Schmid in, it was usually to run a quarterback draw.

That’s partially because Schmid threw so infrequently at Foothill, where Coach Ted Mullen has always preferred to use a run-oriented attack.

The only way to make Schmid learn how to position himself properly and to learn that he didn’t have to try and break his receivers’ ribs on every play, was through repetition.

So, long before spring practice began, three days a week, Cunerty had Schmid and another one of his protege’s, Mater Dei High School sophomore Todd Marinovich, throwing to receivers for two or three hours each session.

It was boring and exhausting, but it was also effective.

“It’s no fun to throw a football that much,” Cunerty said, “but Jason has a great work ethic. He put out an extraordinary effort, well beyond what we’ve expected other quarterbacks to do. And he did it because he wanted to get the most out his skills.

“Jason is one of those kind of players that is never happy being as good as he is. He’s always wondering how good and how much better he can become.”

Said Swearingen: “Talk about hard work and perseverance . . . Jason is a prime example of what it can do for you.”

Schmid is still quiet and unassuming, but is clearly more relaxed than a year ago, when he was trying to play every position, it seemed, except water boy.

“That’s because I know what’s going on now,” he said. “I’ve been around for a year, and I’m used to things. I’m even used to Coach Swearingen’s pregame pep talks, because they’re the same ones he gave last year.”

The only thing that Schmid remains unaccustomed to is publicity. It didn’t bother him too much that all the local newspapers have been building him up in their football previews, but when one small community daily passed out an edition Saturday night at Saddleback Field with Schmid’s picture on the front and the headline, “Jason Schmid, Saddleback’s Mr. Everything,” it was just too much.

“I couldn’t believe that,” he said. “I took a lot of hassling from my teammates for it.”

But the coaches don’t hassle him about anything. Sometimes, they even let Schmid call his own plays.

In Saddleback’s new offense, Schmid gets signs from the sideline and on many downs is given a variety of plays from which to choose. At the line of scrimmage, Schmid calls the play he thinks will be most effective against the defensive alignment he sees.

And sometimes, he still just takes the ball and runs, as he did for an 11-yard score against out-manned El Camino. Schmid may be a more precious commodity than ever before, but the Saddleback coaches don’t worry much when he gets tackled by 250-pound linebackers.

“When a guy’s as strong as Jason is, I worry about the guy who’s tackling him,” Cunerty said.

In Saturday’s community college football games:

Rancho Santiago (1-0) vs. Golden West (0-0-1), LeBard Stadium, 7:30--The Dons took advantage of seven Fullerton turnovers Saturday and stunned the Hornets, 27-24, in a major opening-night upset. They’ll be trying for a second consecutive win over a Pacific 9 Conference opponent in the Rustlers, who missed a late field goal and settled for a 7-7 tie with rival Orange Coast. Rancho Santiago is not the high-powered passing team it has been in recent seasons, as evidenced by the unimpressive 105 aerial yards it had against Fullerton. But the Dons, the No. 8 team in this week’s Southland Poll, proved they have a much improved running game and defense, and beating Fullerton for the first time since 1980 gives them something to add to that--confidence. Unranked Golden West will try to get more production out of its offense. Against Orange Coast, the Rustlers gained 321 yards but managed only one touchdown. Todd Parker rushed for 132 yards to lead Golden West.

Orange Coast (0-0-1) vs. Fullerton (0-1-0), Fullerton District Stadium, 7:30--Orange Coast’s Dick Tucker was probably the only Orange County community college coach who was rooting for Fullerton to defeat Rancho Santiago last week, because no one wants to play the Hornets after they’ve lost. But that’s the situation in which Tucker and the Pirates find themselves. Both Orange Coast and Fullerton could have won their openers if they had not fumbled so often. The Pirates had four fumbles against Golden West, the Hornets six against Santa Ana. Orange Coast will be counting on another solid performance from quarterback Ken Laszlo, who rushed for 196 yards against Golden West--with gains of 58, 40 and 39 yards--and completed 4 of 5 passes for 58 yards. Fullerton, ranked 11th in the nation and seventh in the Southland, hadn’t lost a season opener since 1974. But, despite all their turnovers, the Hornets still gained 385 yards against Rancho Santiago and nearly rallied to win. Tailback John Green will be looking to redeem himself tonight. He gained 161 yards on 21 carries but fumbled four times, forcing Coach Hal Sherbeck to bench him twice.

Saddleback (1-0) vs. San Bernardino Valley (1-0), San Bernardino Valley Stadium, 7:30--The Gauchos should make it two routs in as many weeks. San Bernardino edged Compton, 19-15, in its opener, but now faces the No. 3 team in the nation and the No. 2 team in the Southland. Saddleback made it 44 home wins in a row by beating El Camino, 48-14, in a game where everything went right for the Gauchos. At practice this week, Ken Swearingen, Saddleback coach, has been trying to make sure his team doesn’t get too impressed with itself. “One game doesn’t make a season,” he said. “I was happy with the way we played Saturday, but we’ve still got areas where we can improve.” Something Swearingen isn’t happy about is the status of linebacker Moses Paskowitz and wide receiver Joe Brick, who both may be out the rest of the year. Paskowtiz tore ligaments in his knee Saturday, and Brick broke his arm in practice before the game. Saddleback is 11-0 lifetime against San Bernardino Valley.

Jason Schmid