Big Five Conference : Success Against All Odds : Henigan Leads Revived Barons Against Fontana

Say all you want about David Henigan this season--practically no one else has--and the single most amazing observation you can make is that he is sooooo clean.

Spit polished, brand spanking, devoid of dirt, mud, bruises and bitterness.

This, despite the fact that last season his popularity rating as a quarterback was somewhere subterranean. This, despite the fact that for every four passes he threw last season, he was sacked once.

This, despite losing consciousness; despite finding face-mask indentations on his chin the morning after a game; despite spending time in the Fountain Valley High School halls, hiding his face in his locker; despite playing in front of crowds the size usually reserved for the junior varsity . . .

“Tough year,” he said.

Some reasons:

--Henigan was a sophomore.

--Henigan was starting for one of Orange County’s traditional passing powers.

--The passing power won 2 of 10 games.

--His dad, Mike, is a Fountain Valley assistant coach and the school’s athletic director.

David Henigan, say hello to a stacked deck.

And yet, when he walked off a very muddy Veterans Stadium field last Friday night--his uniform kicker clean and the Barons on their way to the Big Five final, having defeated Long Beach Wilson, 31-6--more than 5,000 people cheered.

There has been plenty to cheer about this season. Henigan connected on 57.5% of his passes for 1,356 yards during the regular season to rank third in Orange County pass completion percentage.

The 5,000 fans who saw him play last Friday were about 4,000 more than showed up for Fountain Valley games last season. The Barons went through a rebuilding year, with 14 underclassman starting and stumbling their way through 10 games.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” said Coach Mike Milner. “So did Dave. He knew we weren’t going to win a lot of games. He knew it was a time to learn.”

And a time to be smacked around.

“He took some of the most hellacious hits I have ever seen,” Milner said.

In a game against Westminster, Henigan was hit by an opponent’s helmet underneath his own helmet. He gained consciousness 10 minutes later. The next morning, he could still feel the hit and see the mark the face mask had left on his face.

“To this day, I don’t know who hit me,” he said. “Last year was really frustrating. I was getting sacked about five times a game. It was really tough. But there was nothing I can do about it. We were all learning.”

Henigan seemed to learn faster than most. He completed 50.6% of his passes for 981 yards. Although he threw 180 passes, he was intercepted only 6 times.

“I thought he had a great year last year,” Milner said. “If you look at what he did that year, with what he had to work with, he had a great year.”

Unfortunately, a lot of people didn’t look at that and instead focused on the fact he was too young and too related to a football coach.

“I heard about those things a lot last year,” Henigan said. “I’d hear I was too young to be playing or that the only reason I was playing was because my dad was a coach. I just had to pretend I didn’t hear it. You can’t really talk back when you only win two games.”

Henigan had dreamed of being the Baron quarterback since 1978, when he had shuttled water into the Fountain Valley huddle and watched Matt Stevens lead the Barons to their last Big Five championship.

The 1987 season was supposed to be much better. A year of experience under everyone’s belt was supposed to make all the difference in the world.

Then the world came crashing down on Henigan and the the Barons. A month into the season, Fountain Valley was 0-4 and Henigan was getting the uncomfortable feeling that he’d seen this before.

Nine games, make that nine victories, later, David Henigan is a hot property. He is getting the type of protection he could only dream about last season. In the semifinals against Long Beach Wilson, the Bruins got nowhere near laying a finger on him.

“The players around him have improved,” Milner said. “That’s one reason he’s doing so well. I’m not surprised by his performance. I knew he could do the job.”

Henigan has mastered Fountain Valley’s passing/ball control offense. Though he throws often--212 times during the regular season--the passes are usually short and are offset by an exceptional rushing game. When the Barons get close, they usually turn to the run. Henigan has thrown just 4 touchdown passes in 10 regular season games.

If it sounds easy, it’s not. Unlike many high school quarterbacks who are looking to one, maybe two receivers in the pattern, Henigan is looking to four, sometimes five people.

“I have to scan the field and see where I should throw,” he said. “I throw wherever the defense allows.”

And he has done it enough to impress.

“That kid does an excellent job of getting the ball to the right guy,” said Dick Bruich, Fontana coach. Fontana plays Fountain Valley in the Big Five final in Anaheim Stadium at 7:30 tonight. “He makes it all look very easy,” Bruich said. “Trust me. It’s not.”

And one thing Dave Henigan is not, this season, is dirty.

Walking away from the Long Beach Wilson game, two women looking down at Henigan had this exchange:

Is he the quarterback?

I think so.

Are you sure? He looks so clean. It doesn’t look like he’s done anything.

Well, you know, quarterbacks have it easy.

BIG FIVE CONFERENCE FINAL

FONTANA FOUNTAIN VALLEY No. Name Pos. No. Name 89 John Molina TE 14 Steve Stafford 24 Kurt Bruich WR 86 Mike Mega 44 Mark Bedwell WR 1 Mike Osborn 78 Chris Ybarra OT 59 Ed Fischer 77 Chad Barron OT 55 Dave Flinn 60 Kevin Corby OG 72 Lance Lunetta 62 Ed Lambrich OG 54 Reid Garrett 58 Chalen Tessitore C 51 Glenn Christy 16 Chris Hancock QB 9 David Henigan 43 Derrick Malone FB 31 Eli Del Gallo 23 Edrian Oliver TB 34 Courtney Dubar 58 Chalen Tessitore DT 78 Reza Mehdizadeh 70 Deron Marquez DT 85 Greg Munck 64 Mike Karp NT 60 Brian Lenzkes 34 Jeff Smith DE 43 Eric Sassenberg 20 Jody Panattoni DE 88 Beau Arnold 59 Joe Mariani LB 59 Ed Fischer 49 Mike Sylvester LB 33 Sean Dooley 24 Kurt Bruich CB 41 Josh Young 33 Lance Ozier CB 25 Abram Yap 5 Kevin Snyder FS 26 Rick Mock 37 Jason Rondeau SS 32 Tony Spann

Fontana in 1987 (13-0)

42 Montclair 0 12 S.D. Vista 7 26 St. Paul 7 31 Rubidoux 7 29 San Gorgonio 15 41 Redlands 8 26 Eisenhower 11 42 Riverside Poly 6 35 Moreno Valley 0 21 Colton 0 38 St. Francis 7 42 Long Beach Poly 0 12 Crespi 7

Fountain Valley in 1987 (9-4)

6 Mater Dei 34 11 El Toro 18 0 Mission Viejo 17 10 Servite 17 7 Long Beach Poly 3 21 Ocean View 7 31 Huntington Beach 27 28 Westminster 13 14 Edison 13 20 Marina 14 29 Rubidoux 17 42 Bishop Amat 14 31 L.B. Wilson 6