Playing Quarterback Is a Snap : Torrance High’s Jason Kendall Is a Master of Two Sports : Preps: Junior finds success on football field after starting for the Tartars’ baseball team.

Torrance High quarterback Jason Kendall isn’t easily impressed by his athletic exploits.

The son of a major league baseball player, he has high standards when it comes to athletics. He’s not fazed by the fact that he’s led Torrance--traditionally a run-oriented team--to a 5-1 record by passing for 11 touchdowns and 864 yards.

But even Kendall had to admit, in his ever-humble manner, that he came up with a pretty spectacular play in the Tartars’ 22-20 victory at Mira Costa Oct. 5.

Late in the first half, Kendall scrambled to his right when a Mira Costa defender smashed him with a blindside hit. Kendall was knocked off his feet, the momentum of the hit sending his body flailing into the air.

Somehow, though, exhibiting cat-like dexterity, he landed on his feet. Without hesitation, he continued to scramble, eventually finding a receiver open for a 10-yard touchdown pass that gave Torrance a 19-6 lead.

“Yeah, it was just good balance, I guess,” Kendall said. “I’m a catcher in baseball, so I’ve got good balance. I guess that’s how I stayed up.”

But his baseball career may not have a completely positive effect on his football career.

For example, in the stands at a Torrance game this season, a fan said to a local community college coach: “Hey, that Kendall kid is a pretty good quarterback, huh?”

The coach’s response: “Yeah, but he’s a baseball player.”

The implication: Kendall isn’t to be taken seriously as a football player because his athletic aspirations are centered on the baseball diamond. Kendall said that perception of him isn’t necessarily true.

“It’s true that baseball is my No. 1 sport,” the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Kendall said. “Baseball and I just seem to click. But I’m just a junior, and I want to keep my options open. I’d love to have a football scholarship; I really would.”

Kendall said he hasn’t been contacted by any college football programs yet. But that could change if the Tartars continue winning with Kendall directing a multidimensional offense--even if he is still perceived as a catcher first and a quarterback second.

Kendall said the lack of interest from college football scouts isn’t surprising. No one could have known that Coach Rich Busia’s Torrance program would take such a positive turn under Kendall’s leadership.

“I knew we had a good team this year,” said Kendall, who quarterbacked the Torrance sophomore team last year as the varsity struggled to a 4-6 mark. “But I didn’t know we were going to be this good because we have a lot of young players--including me.”

Torrance has only 15 seniors on its 40-player roster.

But this isn’t the first time Kendall has experienced varsity success. As a sophomore last spring, Kendall was the starting catcher for Torrance’s baseball team that was runner-up for the Bay League title and reached the second round of the Southern Section 5-A Division playoffs.

He hit over .400 and threw out more than 50% of the runners attempting to steal. On several occasions, his battery-mate was his brother, Mike, who is now at San Diego State on a baseball scholarship.

Kendall said he is fortunate to have two athletic role models: Mike and his father, Fred. Fred Kendall hit .234 in 12 seasons as a catcher for the San Diego Padres (1969-80), with a career best of .282 in 1973.

“I like being around those two people whenever I can,” Kendall said of his dad and brother. “It was especially fun last year because (Mike) pitched and I caught. The three of us have always enjoyed baseball together.”

Kendall said that he can’t recall everything about his father’s career, but what he does remember, he recalls with fondness.

“I loved going to the ballpark,” he said. “It was great to be around that environment. I think my brother has more memories of it than I do, but I have a lot of pictures and things like that to remind me of everything.”

Kendall is hoping to produce some great memories himself this football season. Torrance is regarded as a top contender for the Pioneer League title. After a 36-0 victory over Centennial in the league opener, the Tartars have four league games remaining, including a matchup with visiting North Torrance Friday night.

Kendall is confident of Torrance’s chances and said his self-confidence as a quarterback has steadily improved since last summer.

“After the summer passing leagues, I knew I had the (starting) job,” said Kendall, who has completed 49 of 99 passes (49.5%) this year. “That in itself gave me a lot of confidence coming into the season. I knew I had a pretty good arm, and I knew that we had receivers who could catch and a good line with guys like (all-league seniors) Wade Owens and David Haemker. So I thought we would throw the ball well, even though I know that Torrance hasn’t really thrown the ball for a long time.

“We’ve got to take things one game at a time, but if things progress the way I picture them, I think (the league title) will come down to the last game of the year, against West (Torrance).”

West is also 5-1 and beat South, 20-7, in its league opener last week.

Busia, who has coached Torrance since 1983, said the Tartars have gone to the passing game more than ever this season. He said Kendall’s presence, combined with a good group of receivers and a big offensive line, prompted the decision to open up the attack.

“We knew Kendall had talent,” Busia said. “But even more important than that, he has an athletic mind. It’s an innate type of thing. He has football savvy.”

A broken leg suffered by tailback Carlos Hilliard dealt the Torrance offense a severe blow. Through four games, he was averaging 90.1 yards per game.

But the passing game has shown signs that it will be able to pick up the slack. And a big part of the aerial attack is junior tight end Colby Kaopua, who has been Kendall’s most productive receiver with five touchdowns.

“They seem to have a chemistry going there,” Busia said. “We have other guys who can catch the ball, but it seems like (Kaopua) is most often at the receiving end of the touchdowns and the big plays.”

Said Kendall: “I’ve been playing with Colby since our freshman year. We’ve really got a connection going. It’s not that it’s like he’s always my first choice, it’s just that he always knows how to get open.”

Kendall almost prevented the “connection” from coming to life on the varsity level, though. This summer, he seriously considered giving up football to concentrate on baseball.

“I’ve always played baseball all year, and I had big hesitation (about playing football) this year because of baseball,” Kendall said. “I played in a (baseball) league this summer in San Francisco and did really well. I came back and had stacks of letters from colleges and scouts (about baseball). It really made me think.”

One image especially haunted Kendall. He couldn’t forget what happened to Jason Knight, the Torrance football player who suffered a paralyzing neck injury in a sophomore game last season.

“After watching what happened to Jason Knight, I kept thinking about what could happen to me,” Kendall said. “What if I really got hurt?”

Kendall can’t say exactly what the deciding factor was in his decision to stick with football, although he does say that he has no regrets. Also, he’s glad that he is able to keep active in baseball by working out on most Sundays at Loyola Marymount under the auspices of the Major League Scouting Bureau.

His love of baseball will always run deep, he said, adding that his goal is to follow his dad’s footsteps and become a major league catcher.

“I love everything about the game,” Kendall said. “I especially love catching--blocking the plate is one of my favorite things. And I love the pressure: being up with bases loaded and two outs.”

Similarly, Kendall said that stressful situations are what he most likes about football. Last year, Torrance lost four games by less than a touchdown, but Kendall and Busia said that the team has a new attitude.

“In both sports, I always have fun when the pressure is on,” said Kendall, who has led Torrance to three especially close victories (13-12 over Morningside, 25-21 over Redondo and 22-20 over Mira Costa). “We’ve pulled out some close games this year because we’ve all clutched up.

“Last year, in close games, they (the Torrance varsity) would seem to let up. This year, we move it up a notch.”