Murphy Will Use Scrimmage to Pick His Quarterback

Todd Studer, Simi Valley High’s transfer quarterback, may have won the attention of numerous Division I colleges, but he has yet to win a starting job with the Pioneers.

Studer, who transferred into Simi Valley from Redmond, Wash., for his senior season, has battled incumbent quarterback Mark Bustamante for the No. 1 job, and so far Simi Valley Coach Dave Murphy calls the race “dead even.”

The senior quarterbacks get an opportunity to break the tie at 9 a.m. Saturday at a full-contact scrimmage at the Pioneer practice field. Murphy said he will select the team’s first-game starter based largely on that scrimmage.

But even the loser will play Sept. 12 against Ventura at Simi Valley High, Murphy said.

“Both guys know they’ll get a shot to play against Ventura,” Murphy said Thursday. “We haven’t decided if it’s going to be every series or each quarter, but we’re going to rotate the players in the first game. We want to give them each a chance to see if they can move the team.”

The two quarterbacks are a study in contrasts. Studer is 6-2, 180 pounds and has the stronger arm of the two. He completed 53% of his passes for 1,055 yards and 8 touchdowns last year in Redmond, and his arrival in Simi Valley received ample attention.

Studer, who also plays basketball, has impressed college recruiters, including USC and UCLA.

Bustamante is 6-0, 165 and the better runner, which makes him well suited for Simi Valley’s veer offense. Bustamante, who has received little attention from colleges, posted unimpressive statistics last year, completing 38% of his passes for 640 yards. He did, however, start all 12 Simi Valley games in what proved to be the winningest season (9-3) in school history.

Murphy admits the decision between the two will be difficult but is consoled by the players’ upbeat attitude during the competition and that he may find another spot in the lineup for the loser. Both have worked out at defensive back and wide receiver.

“Both kids are good athletes and have handled the situation very well,” Murphy said. “Mark could have been upset with all the attention Todd’s getting but he’s not. My hat’s off to him, and Todd’s really likable.

“They’re both good athletes. Whoever starts will be a good high school quarterback.”

Studer is not the only Simi Valley transfer from the state of Washington. He was joined in the Pioneer program this week by Aaron Grigsby, a 6-6, 180-pound sophomore tight end from East Valley High in Spokane. Grigsby arrived in Simi Valley on Sunday and attended his first practice Tuesday. He is working out with the sophomore team but may move up to the varsity after he learns the Pioneer system.

Grigsby’s 6-6 frame did not go unnoticed long at the Simi Valley campus. Pioneer basketball Coach Bob Hawking already has talked to Grigsby and, yes, he is a basketball player.

Sylmar football Coach Tom Richards said Thursday that he will not know until next week whether quarterback Adrian Valdez will be eligible for the 1986 season.

Valdez, who has been academically ineligible the past two seasons, failed a typing class last semester and needs to get an A in a summer night class to be eligible this season.

Richards said that Valdez indicated to him that he had done the work in order to obtain an A grade. If Valdez is ineligible, Richards will use Rick Negrete at quarterback until Marc Cisneros recovers from a broken arm suffered this summer. The cast will be removed later this month.