FOOTBALL ’90 : CUT OFF AT THE PASS : North Torrance’s Brian Jurado Is a Passing Whiz, but He Would Trade in the Stats for Some Wins

If there is one thing Brian Jurado has learned as a football player, it’s that impressive statistics don’t guarantee happiness.

The senior quarterback for North Torrance High is on course to become the most prolific passer in South Bay history, having thrown for more than 1,500 yards in each of the past two seasons.

But those ample numbers have done little to satisfy Jurado’s appetite for success.

“I would trade in some of my stats for a few more wins,” he said. “I’d rather see the team do well.”

Jurado came to this conclusion last season. Despite leading the area with 1,943 yards passing, he found few rewards as North struggled to a 2-8 record and drew criticism for padding statistics with a one-dimensional offense.

“It was pretty depressing,” he said. “My goal was 2,000 yards passing, which I almost got, but I would have much rather had a winning year.”

An optimistic Jurado feels all the signs point toward North regaining its place as a contender in 1990. The Saxons open the season tonight at 7:30 with a non-league game at San Clemente. The contest features the North coaching debut of Joe Austin, formerly the coach at South Torrance for 17 years.

“This year’s team looks good,” Jurado said. “There’s a little bit more size, and I think everyone understands Coach Austin’s philosophy.

“The way Coach Austin came in and talked to us, he got us all pumped up. Everyone is really excited and looking forward to the season. We think we can do much better than we did last year.”

Austin plans to run a more balanced offense than North employed last year, when the Saxons’ game plan mainly consisted of Jurado throwing short passes to wide receiver Eric Hansen, who set a South Bay season record with 84 catches. Jurado said a weak line limited what the offense could do.

“We only had time to get off short-yardage passes,” he said.

Austin said the new offense will include using Jurado in option situations to take advantage of the player’s 4.6-second speed in the 40-yard dash.

“We’re going to do what we can do to win,” Austin said. “We’re not going to throw for stats. Last year, I think they threw just to get Hansen the ball, whether it was good or bad. I won’t do that.

“But Brian will do well. He’ll pass for 1,000 yards easy if we can run the ball at all, which I think we can.”

Jurado needs 1,194 yards to become the South Bay’s career passing leader. His two-year total of 3,452 yards places him well within range of the record of 4,645 set by Bryan Bero of Bishop Montgomery in 1981-83.

Another standard within his grasp is the North career mark of 4,343 yards set by Robbie Schmitz in 1969-71.

“We expected him to break all the records at North,” said former Saxon Coach Don Bohannon, who resigned last spring reportedly under pressure from the school administration.

“He’s a great kid. He understands the game. He’s been around the game all his life. Last year, even though everybody knew we had to throw, he still did fairly well. Although our record wasn’t what either of us expected, Brian did have a good year.”

Not good enough to earn a spot on the All-Ocean League first team, though. That honor went to John Walsh of league champion West Torrance. As a sophomore, Jurado was left off the first and second all-league teams, despite the fact he led the league in passing.

Now that Walsh has transferred to Carson, Jurado wonders what it will take for him to be recognized as the league’s No. 1 quarterback.

“I might get it,” he said. “But people may still think, ‘Well, that’s because Walsh has transferred.’ I don’t really care what other people think. As long as I know what I did, as long as I feel good, that’s what counts.”

Jurado is used to proving himself in athletics. From his formative years on neighborhood playgrounds to high school, he has constantly competed against boys who were older, bigger and stronger. As a 10th-grader, he was starting for the varsity football and basketball teams at North.

“I used to play with my older brother and his friends all the time,” he said. “They were the ones who roughed me up as a kid.”

Jurado’s brother, Mike, was North’s quarterback in 1985 and helped prepare his kid brother for the rigors of varsity football when Brian was promoted to starting quarterback in 1988.

“He gave me a pretty big talk,” Brian said. “He told me what to expect and how to react to things. He told me, ‘Don’t show people you’re scared.’ A quarterback has to take control.”

The advice came in handy in Jurado’s first varsity game, which he recalls resulted in the “worst beating” of his career.

Playing against Palos Verdes, Jurado took a violent hit after throwing a pass and wound up face-down on the turf. His cousin, fullback Ronnie Perez, helped him to his feet.

“I started to walk off the field,” Jurado said. “Then Ronnie told me, ‘Hey, it’s only second down.’ I was out of it.”

Jurado, who was 5-foot-8 and 145 pounds as a sophomore, is still on the small side at 5-11 and 167. But he has never missed a start in three years. Last season, a bruised shoulder sidelined him for the second half of a game against Culver City, representing his most serious injury.

Some have wondered why Jurado hasn’t grown more. His brother is 6-4.

“I got the short end of the stick,” he said. “I was hoping I’d get a little taller, but the season is already here. I’ve got to hope for a miracle now.”

Jurado’s size, however, has rarely diminished his effectiveness. He helped North to a 7-4 record and a CIF-Southern Section playoff berth two years ago, when he passed for 1,509 yards and 12 touchdowns. One of the highlights that season came when Jurado marched the Saxons 80 yards in the final minutes and scored on a one-yard sneak with 27 seconds left to give the team a 19-13 victory over South and Austin.

Now on the same side, Austin said Jurado can be as good as any quarterback he’s ever coached.

“He has the ability,” he said. “He just hasn’t won a lot of games. He’s a real calm guy, which is neat. It’s easy for quarterbacks to yell at guys. He doesn’t lead that way. The kids just love him.”

Jurado said a relaxed manner helps him keep football in perspective.

“I take it as it goes,” he said. “When something is going wrong, I don’t get down on myself. There is nothing that should get you so depressed that you start performing bad. If it’s not going well, come back next half or next week and try to do better.”

That’s exactly what Jurado has in mind this season.