THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Delmatoff Becomes Featured Attraction in Hart’s Passing Circus

I was a 98-pound weakling.

I had sod kicked in my face.

Girls laughed at me. Nobody took me seriously. Some guys have washboard stomachs--I had washboard ribs.

But that was all before I enrolled at the Herrington Passing Academy.

And look at me now.

Exaggerated, to be sure, but not by much. So says Hart High quarterback Davis Delmatoff, the latest to flourish in the Herrington Bros. passing circus.

So, practically anyone capable of raising his arm can play quarterback in Hart’s run-and-shoot?

“Probably,” Delmatoff said. “If you have any kind of arm whatsoever, you could do pretty well.

“You start throwing as a freshman. You throw so much you develop your arm strength, then you put up the numbers.”

Just take a number and wait your turn. Delmatoff, for instance, played receiver last season as a junior. He backed up senior Ryan Connors at quarterback while the latter broke school passing records.

It did not take long for Delmatoff to establish himself as much more than Connors’ caddie. In his debut as a starter Friday night, Delmatoff passed for 386 yards and six touchdowns in Hart’s 43-6 victory over Pasadena at College of the Canyons.

Delmatoff, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-hander, completed 20 of 37 passes and had four scoring strikes of 30 yards or more.

Obviously, this is someone who doesn’t need Charles Atlas’ help. Delmatoff is another in an endless series of Hart spiral spinners from years past such as Jim Bonds, now a Hart assistant.

Talk to Delmatoff and he will insist it’s almost easy once you get the hang of it. See the Hart offense in person, however, and the complexities become apparent.

The run-and-shoot forces quarterbacks and receivers to make adjustments on the fly, depending on the defensive set. As many as five receivers can flood the secondary, which must seem like a deluge to defensive backs.

Delmatoff was brought along slowly by the Herrington brothers (Mike the coach, and assistants Rick and Dean), the football equivalent of the Flying Wallendas. In this high-wire act, they work without a net.

Over the summer, offensive coordinator Dean Herrington kept the playbook simple, and Delmatoff progressed one page at a time.

Different wrinkles were added as Delmatoff became more comfortable, including a few ad-libs.

This means anything from adding plays in midweek to drawing diagrams in the sideline dirt on game nights. “Sometimes, that’s what Dean does,” Delmatoff said. “That guy’s always coming up with new plays.”

Imagine how the defense must feel. Sit back in a comfortable zone and Hart will pick the defense to shreds. Blitz and it means man-to-man coverage on the receivers, and somebody is sure to be open deep.

Delmatoff almost feels sorry for those beleaguered defenders. Almost.

“(Pasadena) seemed confused,” Delmatoff said. “I don’t think they’d seen that kind of offense before.”

It might be some time before the Hart offense is held in check. Even the driver doesn’t know where the brake is located.

“I have no idea how to stop it,” Delmatoff said. “I’m glad I’m not a defensive coordinator. One breakdown and it’s a touchdown.”

A call to arms: Delmatoff and Newbury Park quarterback Keith Smith should wage an interesting battle for the region’s air-supremacy title. At this rate, factoring in a playoff game or two, the winner could amass 4,000 yards.

Smith, a 6-0, 170-pound junior, wasn’t far off Delmatoff’s torrid pace Friday. In a 35-20 victory over Hueneme, Smith passed for 321 yards and five touchdowns.

Newbury Park also uses the run-and-shoot at times but generally stuck to a more conventional two-back, two-receiver set.

Smith, rolling out of the pocket by design and finding several targets, said he never felt better--before, during or after a game.

“I wasn’t sacked,” he said. “I think I got touched twice.”

The defense was torched aplenty.

Blown to Smithereens: There was no keeping up with the Smiths on Friday night, and this assertion covers much more than the Newbury Park quarterback.

As a public service, we sort out the high rollers:

* Oak Park running back Tarik Smith, regarded as one of the best senior prospects in the region, rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns in a 22-7 win over Murphy.

* Wilbur Smith, a fullback from Montclair Prep, bashed his way to four touchdowns in a 35-6 victory over Kilpatrick.

That’s 11 touchdowns from the three unrelated backfield Smiths.