San Diego Player of the Week : Barrick Shakes Off Illness to Lead Fallbrook Offense

Bill Dunckel of Fallbrook High School wasn’t sure what to expect from his teammate, Scott Barrick, in last Saturday night’s 3-A semifinal playoff football game against Mt. Miguel.

Barrick, Fallbrook’s quarterback, had a near-100 degree temperature that had kept him out of three days of school and one day of practice.

“He looked terrible,” said Dunckel, a receiver. “Just the look on his face and the way he moved. I thought, ‘Oh no, is this going to be a bad night?’ But then he started playing good.”

Despite his ailments and the cold and wet conditions at Mira Mesa High, Barrick, The Times’ Player of the Week, threw three touchdown passes to lead Fallbrook to a 34-27 victory.

On the game’s first play, Barrick tossed a screen to Dunckel, who turned it into a 72-yard touchdown play. Dunckel caught six passes thrown by his best friend for 160 yards Saturday.

The victory puts Fallbrook in the 3-A championship game against Vista Saturday in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Top-ranked Vista won the first meeting between the teams earlier this season, 48-21.

“The weird thing about him is he can be sick all week, but once his adrenaline starts pumping and the band starts playing, he forgets about everything and just plays football,” Dunckel said.

“I don’t know how he did it,” said Bob Barrick, Scott’s father.

His illness was diagnosed as a virus, similar to a severe sore throat.

“There’s not a lot they can do about a virus,” said Bob Barrick. “He said it’s worse than when he had his wisdom teeth out. He can talk. It just hurts him to talk.”

Barrick, whose throat was so sore he couldn’t call audibles, completed 10 of 26 passes for 191 yards. That wasn’t a banner night, considering he leads the state in passing yardage this season, completing 58.8% of his passes for 3,223 yards.

“Saturday I thought it would be pretty tough if I played, I was feeling terrible,” said Barrick. “There was just no doubt in my mind that I was going to play.”

As the game went on, however, Barrick’s illness and the muddy field affected his performance.

“Here’s a guy who’s been sick all week, he comes in the game and just reacts,” said Fallbrook Coach Tom Pack. “He could barely think, he was so sick. He wasn’t able to do a lot of the things he could normally do so we called a lot of the things. He still had to react to throw the ball.”

After the game, the exhausted Barrick went to bed until a doctor’s appointment Monday.

“He was just flat out wasted,” said Bob Barrick. “It was so hard (for him) to be out there. But he was so happy they could win it.”

Fallbrook High School Position: Quarterback Height, Weight, Class: 6-3, 205, Sr. Last Week: Threw 3 touchdown passes and completed 10 of 26 passes for 191 yards to lead Fallbrook to a 34-27 victory over Mount Miguel in the 3-A semifinal football playoffs.