Passers Show Their Winning Hands : Hart: Controversial Rob Westervelt speaks his mind and undermines opposing defenses.

Adjectives abound when the topic is Rob Westervelt.

To friends, Hart High’s All-Southern Section quarterback, is talented, tenacious, successful and a motivator.

To foes, Westervelt is cocky, mouthy, arrogant and a bit of a jerk.

Could be that Westervelt, an outspoken senior with shuffling feet, rifling arm and jutting jaw is a bit of all of the above.

On the field, he commands the spotlight, sparring verbally with opponents, sometimes locking face masks with teammates in an attempt to motivate, and generally making his presence known.

“He is a very aggressive kid,” first-year Coach Mike Herrington says. “He’s almost like a linebacker in a quarterback’s body.”

But Westervelt, 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, stands tall in the pocket and isn’t bothered by the rush of conflicting opinions.

“I know what some people think, but I really don’t care,” he says. “If I cared what they think, then maybe. . . . But if those people think that, then that’s fine. I’m sure they know I think of them the same way.”

Form your opinion accordingly, but make no mistake about his worth. Westervelt has proven himself as a leader and a winner. For the past two seasons, he has been the Indians’ unmistakable on-field chief, calling the signals, sometimes calling the shots, while establishing himself as one of the state’s best high school quarterbacks.

“You don’t want a kid that’s passive,” Herrington says. “You want to have a kid that can take control. It can be overdone, but I don’t think Rob’s done that this year.”

Tonight, Hart (10-1) travels to Paramount for a 7:30 game in the second round of the Southern Section Division III playoffs. Paramount (10-1) eliminated Hart in the opening round last season en route to capturing the division championship. But Westervelt, ever cocksure, insists that the outcome will be different this time.

“I think,” he says matter-of-factly, “that we’re going to pound them.”

When he isn’t firing salvos, Westervelt is firing footballs. Last season, he passed for 2,130 yards and 21 touchdowns. This season, he has thrown for 1,950 yards--second to Alemany’s Joey Rosselli among Valley quarterbacks--with an area-high 24 touchdowns.

His totals this season undoubtedly would be higher if not for the fact that he has played only three full games and has spent the fourth quarter of several blowouts on the bench.

He also endured a one-game suspension by school administrators for his involvement in an on-campus fight (“He pushed me,” Westervelt says, “and then I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to kill this guy!’ ”).

On the field, Westervelt relishes the dirty work, charging up the middle on impromptu quarterback sneaks or serving as lead blocker after pitching the ball to a running back.

“He wants to play hard and get intense,” Herrington says. “And he’s not intimidated by anyone. In fact, he tries to intimidate the other team.”

Westervelt’s point exactly.

“I jump up in the other guy’s face,” he says. “After I’ve yelled at them or after I’ve hit them blocking, I want them to look over at me and say, ‘Who the hell is that?’ They start yelling at me and then they go, ‘If that’s just their quarterback, what about their other guys?’ ”

Westervelt has indeed put up, so why shut up? Well, he doesn’t.

He unabashedly comments on anything--players, coaches, rivals. While his remarks might seem like a breath of fresh air to some, they might seem abrasive to others--especially those in his firing line.

Some samplings from The World According to Westervelt:

* On Canyon High, Hart’s cross-town rival: “We hate Canyon, everything about Canyon.”

* On Canyon Coach Harry Welch, a noted disciplinarian: “He’s a good coach, but I just could not play for him. I can’t put up with. . . . stuff like ‘You’re running because you didn’t do this right,’ and treating me like a baby.”

* On Crespi, Hart’s lone conqueror this season: “That game was just a mental letdown. If we played them again, we’d destroy ‘em. By far.”

* On teammates: “When there’s a problem, I’m screaming. I feel like everyone expects me to be the leader when there’s a time to be a leader. I can tell when there is a big problem and that it’s not going to be solved by saying, ‘You shouldn’t do this.’ ”

* On himself: “If I feel I’m going overboard, then I slow down. If the coach says, ‘Hey, Rob, knock it off,’ I stop. When it’s time to listen, I listen and the coach has my full attention. I never talk back.”

The flip side of Westervelt is one of a conciliatory and gracious competitor. He credits teammates and praises opponents during postgame interviews. He is modest and polite.

In the classroom, he maintains a 2.8 grade-point average, which, he says, he is striving to improve to 3.0 to enhance his chances of landing a college scholarship.

Several Division I colleges are interested in Westervelt, including Stanford, Washington, San Diego State and numerous other West Coast schools.

“He’s really a split personality,” Barbara Westervelt says of her son. “He’s proud of himself. He’s proud of his size and he’s proud of the games that he’s had, and I think at times he wants to flaunt that.

“It’s just a game to him. He really isn’t the bad boy that everybody makes him out to be. He’s just a big stuffed animal at home.”

Says Westervelt: “I’m not difficult to deal with. But when we start playing, just the aggressiveness and the competitiveness comes out. I’m trying to project that.”

He has succeeded. While coaches and teammates are appreciative of his contributions, they also note that sometimes, like a bad masseur, Westervelt rubs the wrong way.

“A lot of the linemen don’t appreciate the way he’s loud,” tight end Chad Fotheringham said. “When Rob’s on the field, he tries to take over everyone. It never gets that bad. He knows exactly how far he can take it. He has to.”

Says center Tim DeGroote: “He tries to get everybody up and he does it in a way of yelling at you. We just take it that way, but sometimes he goes a little too far.”

Few words with Westervelt on the subject of restraint, however, have been necessary, Herrington says. The quarterback has a leash, albeit a long one.

“Rob has crept over the boundaries a few times this year and we have to push him back to make sure that he concentrates on his execution of the offense,” Herrington says. “It’s a case of just being able to channel the energy that he has. But he’s grown throughout the year as far as that goes.”

Last season, Westervelt jousted with Hart Coach Dave Carson, whose play-calling he openly criticized and sometimes overruled in the huddle. “He always thought I tried to coach too much,” Westervelt says. “I did. But somebody had to.”

After posting six consecutive Foothill League titles, Hart fell to third place last year with a 6-5 overall record. Carson, after only one season, was unexpectedly forced to resign in July after repeated conflicts with school administrators about his coaching and disciplinary methods.

Carson, who has remained at Hart as a teacher, was out of town this week and unavailable for comment.

Herrington, a Hart assistant from 1980-87, returned to the school after a one-year stint at Bellflower High. Westervelt, under the tutelage of brothers Rick and Dean Herrington, had passed for more than 2,800 yards as a sophomore.

Naturally, Westervelt was happy with the coaching change. But not with everything.

“When the Herringtons came back,” Barbara Westervelt says, “they said, ‘Rob, we’re amazed at how many people hate you.’ All that hurt Robby because none of it’s intentional. He said, ‘Why would that be, Mom? What do I do to be hated by people?’

“I think he’s a little misunderstood and maybe he wants to be. He doesn’t show that it bothers him, but maybe inside it does.”

Just don’t count on Westervelt letting you know. His tongue may be sharp at times, but his actions speak much louder than his words.

“He’s doing exactly what we want him to do,” Herrington says. “He’s doing a great job reading coverages and he’s doing a great job running the ball and blocking. That’s what it boils down to, his performance.”