Parker Breaks From Fishing to Catch Passes : Former Capistrano Valley Receiver to Play for South in All-Star Football Game

Brent Parker, a former Capistrano Valley High School wide receiver, may call Mission Viejo home, but deep down he’s a country boy.

Parker has been a catalyst of the Cougars’ much-publicized passing attack for the past two years, using his speed and hands to rank among Orange County’s leading receivers.

But he also can be found with a fishing pole or a hunting rifle. He has spent most of his summers fishing, hunting and water skiing with his athletic family in Grand Lake, Okla.

On a typical day in Grand Lake, Parker rises early to fish for catfish or bass. He spends his afternoons in the weight room at a local high school and then goes water skiing in the evening.

“I love it back there,” he said. “It’s very peaceful. Grand Lake has a population of about 200 and it’s real kicked-back. My dad’s business is too successful out here to move, but we spend Christmas vacation and most of our summers back there.”

The charm of country life was so appealing to Parker that he declined football scholarship offers from some West Coast schools and narrowed his choices to the University of Arkansas and Oklahoma State.

Parker committed to Oklahoma State on his 18th birthday, and then signed a national letter of intent the next day. He will appear Friday night as a starting wide receiver for the South in the 28th Orange County all-star football game in Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.

Then he will leave Monday for Oklahoma.

“I’ve got a couple of weeks before I have to report to school, and I’m going to enjoy myself,” Parker said.

Parker will be reunited with his two older brothers, Brad and Billy, next week. Brad was a star quarterback at Capistrano Valley in 1978 and later was a defensive back and wide receiver at the University of Colorado.

Billy, who lives in Broken Arrow, Okla., was a starting linebacker on the Cougars’ Central Conference championship team in 1980 and later played at Northeastern Oklahoma. When the three get together, the games they play become very competitive.

“My older brothers used to beat me up all the time,” Brent said. “I used to lose in every game we ever played. When we get together, we’ll play ping pong or basketball, and I usually win.”

Parker had a winning season last fall after having played in the shadow of former receiving star Nathan Call as a junior. Parker caught 61 passes for 902 yards, scoring 11 touchdowns and averaging 14.8 yards per reception.

“I was fortunate to play with two of the best quarterbacks (Scott Stark and Todd Marinovich) that have ever played in the county,” Parker said. “Scott is the best high school quarterback I’ve ever seen.

“When he moved here, I was awfully glad, because I was set to be the backup quarterback that year and I didn’t want to play quarterback.”

Parker grew up in a football family. His father was an all-state player in Oklahoma and later was a guard and linebacker at Memphis State. Brent began playing running back when he was 6 years old and rarely missed one of his older brothers’ games at Capistrano Valley.

“I owe an awful lot to my mom and dad,” he said. “My dad taught us the game, and my mom usually drove us to practice. I’m sure they’re going to be spending a lot of time in Oklahoma this fall going to my games.”

Prep Notes

South wide receiver Scott Miller lost only five games in four seasons at El Toro High, playing on teams that finished 9-1 (freshman), 10-0 (sophomore), 9-4 (junior) and 14-0 (senior). Miller, who caught 65 passes for 1,055 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Chargers, will play at Saddleback College in the fall. He will be joined at Saddleback by South kicker J.B. Hollis (Dana Hills), running back Aly Diaz (El Toro), linebacker David Bancroft (Mission Viejo), fullback Jonathan Todd (Laguna Beach), wide receiver Jim O’Brien (Mater Dei) and tight end Dave Patstone (Tustin). Hollis was kicking 55-yard field goals in practice Monday. . . . Edison quarterback Mike Henderson will start for the South after Derek Debbs (La Quinta) missed last Saturday’s scrimmage. . . . El Toro’s Diaz was impressive in the scrimmage, running for two touchdowns. . . . Marina running back Sean Magula missed six practices because of an appointment at the Air Force Academy.