L.A. GAMES : Kennedy Developing Air Attack : Passing Game Clicks Despite 19-6 Setback

Kennedy High quarterback Tony Smets spent a good portion of the 1987 football season camped on the sideline next to Coach Bob Francola, sending in plays to the offense via a series of signals that would have made any third base coach proud.

And for Smets’ well-being, perhaps that was the safest place to be. Last year, Kennedy was not exactly known far and wide for its passing attack. Mainly because far and wide is where the Kennedy quarterbacks heaved the ball.

The painful facts: Kennedy, which finished the season 1-6-1, passed for only 449 yards in eight games, an average of 56.13 yards a game; Smets, who split time with Gino Tagliaferri, completed 42.9% of his passes (21 of 49) for 193 yards; after defeating Crenshaw, 34-21, in the season opener, the Golden Cougars scored a less-than-overwhelming 49 points the rest of the season--they were shut out in three games and held under 10 points five times.

Francola, as would any sane man, reasoned that another season like ’87 might result in his being eighty-sixed, so he installed a run-and-shoot offense in the spring.

“I think some people who saw us last year will be surprised at what they see out there this season,” Francola said.

And while Kennedy lost to Canyon, 19-6, in the third round of L. A. Games football competition Saturday at North Torrance High, the Golden Cougars showed that this season the passing game will be much more of a factor.

Smets, a 5-foot, 10-inch senior, completed 20 of 35 passes for 158 yards and 1 touchdown. Unfortunately, his Canyon counterpart, Rod Baltau, upstaged him by passing for 224 yards and three touchdowns.

Francola nonetheless said that the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. A fraction here and a fraction there and Kennedy may be a team to reckon with.

“That was only one-third of what we plan to do this year,” he said. “We’ll also be running a lot of roll-out, sprint-out plays that require the quarterback to hold the ball a lot longer. The other third is what everybody else has, the running game.”

Smets appears to be well-equipped for the role. After sending in the plays last season, Francola has allowed Smets to call his own shots this year. Smets also seems to be taking charge: He chewed out a receiver or two for running the wrong pattern Saturday.

“He’s a good kid,” Francola said. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself, more than I would like. But he knows what he has to do, and if that means admonishing a friend, he’ll do it.”

Baltau, who led Canyon to a 13-7 win over Gardena in the fourth round, also may have wanted to chew out a receiver or two. In two games Saturday, Baltau’s receivers dropped 11 catchable passes. Against Gardena, three passes were intercepted after the ball was tipped or bobbled by Cowboy receivers.

“You’d think he’d probably say something to them,” Canyon Coach Harry Welch said. “But he keeps his composure, and that’s what I really like about him.”

Against Gardena, Baltau completed 15 of 26 passes for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game-winner, a 42-yard strike to receiver Clint Beauer with 20 seconds left. On the day, Beauer, a junior, caught 12 passes for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns.

In the semifinals, Canyon will face Muir at 10:15 this morning at El Camino College in Torrance. The championship game follows at approximately 11:45.

In other games, Taft defeated Franklin in a third-round tiebreaker after the teams tied, 26-26, then knocked off favored Carson, 13-6, in the quarterfinals. Taft faces Arlington in a 9 a.m. semifinal game at El Camino.

“The bad thing about doing well with this passing stuff is that now they all want to throw the ball,” Taft Coach Tom Stevenson cracked as he pointed to his players.

Granada Hills fell to Locke, 26-20, in the third round. A victory would have set up a showdown with Muir, the team that was responsible for Granada Hills’ only loss in 41 passing competitions last season. Muir defeated Locke, 25-18, to advance to the semifinals.