He Moved Down, Not Out : Quarterback: Scott Barrick wasn’t having much fun at SDSU, but Palomar College has renewed his enthusiasm.

Had Scott Barrick remained at San Diego State, he would be preparing this week for a trip to Miami to play the No. 7 Hurricanes.

But in all probability, he would be on the sidelines come game time. And he would be miserable.

Instead, he is preparing for Southwestern, a 2-6-1 community college team. And Barrick is having the time of his life.

Said Barrick, “Down at State, I wasn’t loving it. I wasn’t even liking it. So I got out.”

There is a kick in his step and an amusing anecdote near the tip of his tongue. Those things had abandoned him his final semester at SDSU and forced him to leave the program.

Barrick now is one of two former Aztec quarterbacks enjoying exceptional seasons at Palomar College.

The other is Coach Tom Craft, who in his seventh year has guided the Comets (5-4, 3-0 in the Mission Conference South Division) to four consecutive victories, their first championship in 43 years and their first trip to the Hall of Fame Bowl Dec. 2 in Balboa Stadium.

The player most responsible for Palomar’s unprecedented success is Barrick.

In nine games, Barrick is leading the nation’s community colleges with 2,747 passing yards (305 per game) and 208 completions. Despite just 90 yards last week in a 28-21 victory over Grossmont--the Comets rushed for 260 yards on 63 carries--he still has a shot at a number of Mission and national passing records.

A 260-yard game against Southwestern Saturday (1:30 at Palomar) will break Duffy Daugherty’s Mission passing record of 3,006 yards set last season when Daugherty, who also played at Palomar, led the nation.

With 208 completions, he needs 25 to equal Daugherty’s year-old national record. Thirty attempts would break Daugherty’s conference mark of 421.

In a 31-24 upset of Mt. San Antonio two weeks ago, Barrick threw for 474 yards to break the conference record of 469 set by Grossmont’s Greg Gleason in 1969. He also tied the record for completions in a game (31) set in 1986 by Southwestern’s Brad Platt, who would later become Barrick’s teammate at SDSU.

He has accomplished these things with a hairline fracture in his right thumb, which severely limited his flexibility for two games, and a broken middle finger on his left hand.

“When I came here, I didn’t know what to expect,” Barrick said. “It was all new to me. The only goal I set was to throw for 3,000 yards. I didn’t know at the time that was the record.”

A year ago, he envisioned throwing for 3,000 yards at SDSU.

After red-shirting his freshman season, Barrick became a starter for the last four games last season after initially backing up Platt.

Under Platt, who had won the job in spring drills, the offense had trouble putting the ball in the end zone. Barrick completed 55% of his passes, threw for 850 yards and led the Aztecs to victories over Brigham Young (27-15) and New Mexico (18-10).

But Barrick’s future was influenced by the firing of Denny Stolz, the hiring of Al Luginbill and, most important, the fact that transfer Dan McGwire was eligible this year.

“Denny Stolz getting fired, I don’t know if it was good or bad. I didn’t like it. It was bad for me. Everyone had meetings with Coach Luginbill, and he said, ‘You, Brad Platt and Dan McGwire are going to go in and battle it out.’ But he also said, ‘I don’t want you to get your hopes up because McGwire’s starting.’ I finally said this isn’t the place for me.”

Just before spring drills, Barrick decided to give up football. He was disenchanted with the game, and his priorities were elsewhere.

Barrick and his fiance, Melissa, were to be married in May. They were and live now in Fallbrook in a house they bought with Melissa’s parents.

“I knew a lot of guys were going to drop out,” Barrick said. “That program down there, it’s so demanding that if you’re not playing, it’s almost not even worth it to stick it out. I knew a lot of those guys that, on Denny’s team, that when you’re not playing, it’s still fun out there. Luginbill got in there and demanded so much. A lot of them probably said, ‘I don’t have a shot to play anyway, what am I even doing here?’ ”

Near the end of July, Barrick said, he was working out with a friend and got the itch to play again. He decided that the next day he would go see Craft, whom he had never met.

“It was such a coincidence,” Barrick said. “He called me that night. Nobody knew I was thinking about it. I had a meeting with him the next day and told him I decided to come back.

“I just got the urge. I got the bug. I figured my best shot was to play for Palomar instead of trying to walk on somewhere.”

Craft knew he had something special.

“You can’t imagine getting a guy with that kind of experience coming into your program on short notice,” he said. “To see him get his interest and enthusiasm back was really neat. We really didn’t see it for a couple of games. I expect him to be recruited heavily.”

At Fallbrook High, Barrick was recruited by dozens of Division I schools. He led the Warriors to the 1986 section 3-A championship, a 28-14 victory over Vista, and set a section record of 3,496 passing yards. He was selected to The Times’ All-County team and was an all-state pick by Cal Hi Magazine.

Barrick said he doesn’t have any animosity toward Luginbill or SDSU: “(Luginbill’s) doing what he thinks he has to do, and I’m doing what I have to do.”

And after this season, Barrick is eligible to play for any Division I program.

“I’m ready to go anywhere.”

HOW BARRICK STACKS UP

Comparing Scott Barrick and the record book, with one game remaining:

Season

Passing attempts: Barrick--392. Mission Conference record--433, Duffy Daugherty, Palomar, 1988. National record--452, Darron Keldeman, Iowa Lakes, 1984.

Completions: Barrick--208. Mission and national record--233, Daugherty, 1988.

Passing yards: Barrick--2,747. Mission record--3,006, Daugherty, 1988. National record--3,555, Sal Genilla, San Mateo, 1985.

Passing touchdowns: Barrick--18. Mission record--25, Keith Jarrett, Orange Coast, 1987. National record--42, Steve Jacoby, Reedley, 1970.

Game

Passing attempts: Barrick--55. Mission record--Barrick shares it with Brad Platt, Southwestern, 1986, and Rick Burns, Rancho Santiago, 1987. National record--74, Kelly Stouffer, Garden City, 1983.

Completions: Barrick--31. Mission record--Barrick shares it with Platt, 1986. National record--44, Matt Booher, Inver Hills (Minn.), 1987.

Passing yards: Barrick--474. Mission record--Barrick; old record, 469, Greg Gleason, Grossmont, 1969. National record--621, Booher, 1987.

Passing touchdowns: Barrick--5. Mission record--6, Jack Surina, Chaffey, 1970. National record--8, Jacoby, 1970.