Barnes Has Dreams of a Double Life : Division VII: Trabuco Hills quarterback says he would like to play defense. But his arm is too valuable to risk.

Given the opportunity, Trabuco Hills quarterback Pat Barnes would like to . . . tackle quarterbacks?

Well, quarterbacks. And wide receivers. And running backs. Anybody carrying the football would do, actually.

“I’d like to play defense, maybe free safety,” Barnes said this week as the Mustangs prepared for their Southern Section Division VII semifinal game against La Mirada at 7 tonight at Trabuco Hills. “As a kid I was always hyper. I always feel like dishing out a good hit.”

As far as Coach Jim Barnett is concerned, though, Barnes has two chances of getting time with the defensive unit--slim and “Are you out of your mind?”

When your quarterback passes for 12 touchdowns and 2,033 yards during the regular season (second in the county to Mater Dei’s Billy Blanton, who had 2,539) people would give you a saliva test if you even contemplated such a move.

But there’s no need to get out the lab equipment for Barnett. The veteran coach, whose pass-oriented system produced Tim Manning (now at Cal), David Lowery (now at San Diego State) and John Barnes--Pat’s brother, now at UCSB--knows a gem when he sees one.

“He’s got a lot of talent. As a senior, he’ll probably be better than his brother and the other quarterbacks who have played here,” Barnett said. “Physically, he’s the prototype of what you want in a quarterback.”

No argument there. At 6 feet 3 and 190 pounds, the junior has the size to go with his powerful and accurate right arm. And he also has the smarts to direct the complex Mustang attack that Barnett handed him late last season.

“Our (first-string) quarterback wasn’t getting it done, so Pat ended up playing,” Barnett said. “He wasn’t ready to play as a sophomore, but he’s probably better for it this year.”

At least two teams will attest to that. In the first round of the playoffs two weeks ago, Barnes completed 14 of 24 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns (he also ran for two touchdowns) in a 42-21 victory over St. Francis. Last week, he led the Mustangs to a 26-10 victory over second-seeded Arroyo Grande, passing for 164 yards and three touchdowns.

Still, Barnes, who also is a guard on the basketball team, downplays his personal accomplishments and focuses on how he can help the team.

“I try not to think about individual goals because then you’re playing for yourself and not the team,” said Barnes, who had never played organized football until he enrolled at Trabuco Hills. “If you set team goals, the individual goals will take care of themselves.”

For Saturday’s game, Barnes says the team’s goal should be to play as close to an error-free game as possible. The Mustangs and La Mirada are fairly equal offensively, he said, so the outcome could be decided by mistakes.

“Limiting the mistakes, that will be the key,” Barnes said. “That’s how we beat Arroyo Grande. We keyed on their mistakes and that pretty much closed it up for them.”

Conversely, Barnes wants to play a flawless game.

“I feel I’ve improved a lot from last year,” he said. “I still make some mistakes, but I’m starting to get a better understanding of Coach Barnett’s offensive philosophy. His system is really easy to understand yet complicated enough to execute and achieve what he wants. Probably my biggest complication is getting the mental part down.”

Said Barnett: “That’s because it’s tough to play quarterback with a linebacker mentality . . . But I don’t mind his physical play sometimes as long as he understands the mental aspect and keeps it under control.”

And, of course, as long as Barnes keeps piling up the yardage and driving the Mustangs toward a championship.