Capistrano Boasts Two-Pronged Passing Attack

Most prep football coaches consider themselves lucky if they have one good receiver.

This season, Capistrano Valley High School boasts two superb receivers, and as a result the Cougars have outscored their opponents, 90-19, in three games.

One receiver--Nathan Call, the school’s three-sport star--is well known. The other, Todd Beightol, isn’t as familiar a name except to those who have played against him.

Between Call and Beightol, opposing teams expect Capo Valley to pass.

Scott Stark, Capistrano Valley quarterback, said: “We’re going to throw it. They might know it’s coming, but we’re still going throw it anyway.”

And throw it Stark has. Going into the Cougars’ South Coast League opener tonight against El Toro at Capistrano Valley, Stark has completed 60 of 81 pass attempts (74%) for 864 yards, making him Orange County’s leading passer.

Stark’s primary target has been Call, who has earned a reputation as a great athlete by also playing on the Cougars’ basketball and baseball teams. Quarterback last season, Call is at wide receiver in ’85. With 26 receptions for 380 yards, he is the county’s second-ranked receiver.

Beightol, who has 18 reception for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns, is ranked fifth.

You won’t find Beightol (pronounced BECK-tel), a 5-foot 11-inch, 167-pound senior, complaining that he doesn’t get his share of recognition because of Call.

Beightol is just happy to be playing--anything. At the end of his sophomore year, he suffered a freak injury that resulted in a broken leg. He had a steel plate and 10 screws inserted in his shin.

“Two of the screws are still in there,” Beightol said. “The bone grew right over them, and they couldn’t get them out.”

That happened in the fall of 1983, and Beightol was forced to wear a cast well into the summer of 1984 before he could even start a vigorous rehabilitation program.

Said Dick Enright, Capistrano Valley coach: “It was a severe injury, but I thought he’d come back. He just stepped into a hole (in practice) and broke it. He came back stronger than ever. His speed wasn’t affected at all.”

Quickness in getting to the football is Beightol’s forte.

“He’s made a lot of big catches,” Enright said. “He’s our big-play guy. He catches a ball coming over his head extremely well for a high school receiver. He’s very good at that.

“But to do that you have to be able to adjust to the football, to accelerate, and that’s what makes him better than most receivers.”

In the season opener against Foothill, Beightol caught 10 passes for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns despite occasional double-coverage. Call caught 11 passes that night.

But Beightol said there is no rivalry between the receivers. He and Call have been friends since grade school.

“Oh, we definitely want to catch more passes (than each other), but we still congratulate each other on every pass,” Beightol said. “Our offense is based around the passing game, so it’s more complicated that most, but there’s still enough to go around for everyone.”

Call threw to Beightol last season when he was quarterback.

“I didn’t throw to him because I grew up with him,” Call said. “I knew I could count on him to get open. Now (as a receiver) it’s tough for defenses to play us. They can’t double-cover the both of us because that’ll leave somebody else open.”

Both Beightol and Call are defensive backs, allowing them to see how the passing game develops from the other side of the scrimmage line. Beightol said that such experience on defense helps his receiving on offense.

“I know how to react better when the defensive back bumps me or if the defense is trying to disguise their coverage,” he said.

The Capistrano Valley offense is sophisticated enough that on some plays, the receivers can even devise their own patterns.

Of course, it takes a perceptive quarterback to follow such creative receivers, and Beightol is quick to give Stark his due.

“He’ll stay in the pocket longer than most,” Beightol said. “He’s not afraid to take a hit. He usually gets the ball off before they get to him, though.”