THE QUARTERBACK GAME : Carson Coaches Come Up With a Novel Scheme to Keep Two Stars Happy; Both Players Will Start

Upon closer inspection, the quarterback controversy at Carson High School isn’t much of a controversy after all.

Perry Klein, the record-setting quarterback who caused a stir when he transferred from Palisades High to Carson in April, feels comfortable with his new team.

Fred Gatlin, who had the starting job before Klein showed up, knows he is still needed.

And Steve Clarkson, Carson’s new offensive coordinator, expects both quarterbacks to play together next season when the Colts unveil their “Four Horsemen” offense.

In short, it’s one big, happy family that enters the third round of the L.A. Games at 8:30 a.m. Saturday against Dorsey at West Torrance High.

“It’s working out,” said Clarkson, who coached Klein as the offensive coordinator at Palisades last year. “In the beginning, naturally, it was pretty rocky because there was so much tension in the air. Now the dust has settled and we’re determined.”

Carson gave a preview Sunday of what opponents can expect next fall. With Klein and Gatlin alternating each series at quarterback and wide receiver, Carson defeated Rolling Hills, 27-6, in the second round of the Games’ 7-on-7 touch football competition at West.

Gatlin passed for three touchdowns and caught one. Klein passed for one TD and caught one. Under the unique arrangement, neither player seems to mind splitting time at quarterback.

“As long as I get my time, I’ll be happy,” Gatlin said. “We’re going to be in there all the time anyway. If he’s quarterback, I’ll be a receiver. And if I’m quarterback, he’ll be a receiver.”

Said Klein: “We’re both going to get what we want. I don’t like sitting on the bench, but now I’m playing receiver, and I like that.”

Clarkson is confident the system can work.

“I’m not a two-quarterback coach. I don’t believe in it,” he said. “But this is such a unique case that it’s the only way it can go. You have two guys who are Division I-caliber quarterbacks. It wouldn’t be fair to sit one down for the other when they’re both playing so well.

“If they can have fun with it, they’re going to turn all the negatives into positives. And I think that’s what they’re working toward. In the past two weeks, they’ve become close friends. As a matter of fact, we all went on a shopping spree.”

The situation wasn’t as amicable when Klein began classes at Carson on April 18. Perhaps because of his reputation--he passed for a state-record 3,899 yards last season--Klein felt resented by some of his new teammates.

“That’s kind of the way it was at first,” he said. “I came in and they were kind of like, ‘Who’s this? He’s not so good.’ Some of them were always trying to put me down.”

Asked how Gatlin accepted him, Klein replied: “At first, I don’t think he liked me that much.”

Gatlin acknowledges that he was apprehensive when he learned that Klein, the L.A. City 3-A Player of the Year, was transferring to Carson. Gatlin figured he was in line for the starting job after playing backup last season to all-City quarterback George Malauulu, an Arizona recruit.

“I was kind of puzzled,” he said. “I thought I was the next man up. But after awhile, I thought it out and we talked it over. The situation is pretty calm now.

“At first it was a controversy, but now we have settled things and we’re working pretty good, practicing together. We’ve become good friends.”

Coach Gene Vollnogle says Klein has gradually earned the confidence of his teammates by efficiently running the offense in passing-league games.

“I think our kids are such that if you are a quality athlete and you prove yourself to them, they’ll accept you,” he said. “There are some big names around. (Crespi running back) Russell White is one that comes to mind. But our kids feel if you don’t play against us, then you’re not any good.

“When (Klein) came over, he had to be tested by our kids. He passed the test. He and Fred are exceptional quarterbacks. We’re blessed at that position.”

As if Carson doesn’t have enough quarterbacks, there’s also Armin Youngblood, a talented junior who figures to take over when seniors Klein and Gatlin graduate. In the meantime, Youngblood will play slot back.

Clarkson named the “Four Horsemen” offense after Klein, Gatlin and the Colts’ top two slot backs, returning running backs Errol Sapp and Larry Billoups. Vollnogle calls Billoups “the fastest thing in the school.”

Clarkson, who learned the game playing quarterback for coaches Vic Cuccia at L.A. Wilson High and Jack Elway at San Jose State, said the wide-open offense will feature a sophisticated passing attack, the veer and something called the “near veer.” In most cases, the Colts will line up with one running back, and sometimes with no running back.

“I like the entertainment field of football,” Clarkson said. “When I come to watch a game, I want to see the ball in the air. I want to see points on the board. And I want to see it done in a pretty fashion, not ugly.”

There was nothing ugly about the way Palisades moved the football last year. The Dolphins racked up 6,300 yards in total offense and reached the City 3-A finals, losing to Franklin. Klein passed for 562 yards in one game against L.A. Jordan, breaking a state record that had stood for 21 years.

So, why would he want to leave Palisades?

Klein said the main reason his family took an apartment in Carson was so his father, Danny, could live closer to his business in Gardena. The family owns a Malibu beach house, but Klein said he spends nearly all of his time in Carson.

Klein conceded that moving to Carson was influenced by football. The Colts, ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation last season by USA Today, are a perennial power. They were 11-0 before losing in the 1987 L.A. City 4-A finals to Granada Hills, 24-14.

“I can’t say it didn’t. That would be a lie,” he said. “(Football) did have something to do with it, but it wasn’t the main reason.

“I wanted to play football at a high level. Palisades is in a good league and all, but the competition isn’t as good. We had a lot of talent at the running back positions, but not everywhere else. Carson has talent everywhere. The second-stringers have just as much talent as the first-stringers. There’s a lot of competition. It will help me on the next level, if I make it that far.”

As could be expected, going from a high school in an affluent area to one in a middle-class neighborhood has taken some adjustment.

Asked the difference between attending Palisades and Carson, Klein said, “It’s different because Palisades is more white. Here, the whites are the minority. But it’s not like they’ve treated me differently because I’m white. I’m like the rest of them.

“I’m learning about different types of people. Living in Malibu, you’re kind of sheltered from what’s out here (in Carson). I like the culture. I like it a lot.”

Klein says he was surprised how fast he made friends with his teammates, most of whom are blacks and Samoans. “I didn’t expect that they were going to be so nice because of the way I came in, but they were really cool to me.”

Still, Klein feels he has yet to prove himself in his teammates’ eyes. He hopes that will come when the fall season opens and the “real” games begin.

“Right now they can only get a feeling for how I play,” he said. “I haven’t proven to them yet because we haven’t had the pads on. The most important thing for me is to earn respect so I can lead. That’s my position.”

Clarkson, who began putting in Carson’s new offense a few weeks before Klein transferred, said he had nothing to do with Klein changing schools. Klein credited Clarkson for most of his success last season.

Palisades Coach Jack Epstein was critical of Klein and Clarkson, whom he suspected of luring his star quarterback to Carson. Among other things, Epstein said they were “letting Palisades down” and “doing Perry a disservice.”

Clarkson doesn’t see it that way.

“It was Perry’s decision,” he said. “Everyone wants to make the best move possible careerwise. If he felt that he had a better opportunity to move with his dad and play at Carson High School, then so be it.

“I can’t really see jumping on a kid or jumping on anybody who wants to make a career decision, because it could blow up in his face. What if he doesn’t do well and the other kid (Gatlin) does extremely well? Then there comes a time when you have to make a decision and you play the other guy. He walked into a tough, tough situation.

“If he’s a great quarterback, he’ll come out of it and he’ll get the job done. If not, then he will have learned a valuable lesson.”

Comparing Klein and Gatlin is relatively easy for their coaches. Both are talented, both about the same size--Klein is 6-3 and 175 pounds, Gatlin stands 6-3 and 180--and both are considered major-college prospects. They do differ in their respective strengths, however.

“We can give (defenses) two different looks,” Clarkson said. “Perry is a short-passing game artist and Gatlin can run the veer and throw the long ball. The third guy, Armin Youngblood, can do a little bit of both. So it’s a very good situation. I’m anxious to see what it looks like next year because it’s going to be very hard to prepare for us.”

Clarkson says this will probably be his last year of coaching on the high school level. Before coaching at Palisades, he was an assistant for two years at St. Paul in Santa Fe Springs. That’s where he became acquainted with Vollnogle, whose team had a bitter rivalry with the Catholic school.

“We used to talk back and forth,” Clarkson recalls. “(Vollnogle) asked if I ever wanted to come over and help him out, he would appreciate it. So I came over this year.”

Vollnogle is glad he did. The veteran coach calls Clarkson “a much better quarterback coach than myself.”

Vollnogle is confident he and Clarkson can work together. And he is confident Klein and Gatlin can play together. His main worry is that one of the quarterbacks will suddenly start outplaying the other. That, he feels, could result in a bruised ego and disharmony on a team that seemingly has few morale problems.

“I’m concerned about one making a separation from the other,” Vollnogle said. “But from what I’ve seen, I don’t think that’s going to happen. What’s happening is that the competition is making them both better. They’re responding to pressure.”

If they don’t, there could be a lonely spot waiting for one of them on the bench.