Walnut’s Vazquez Is Armed, Dangerous : Preps: The senior, a three-year starter at quarterback, has led the Mustangs to a 6-1 record.

Jim Patricio had a question for Tommy Vazquez the first time he saw the quarterback throw a football in the summer of 1989.

Vazquez was preparing for his freshman year at Walnut High when Patricio, the varsity football coach, saw him out of the corner of his eye.

“I watched him throw and I had to ask him, ‘Are you 15 yet?’ ” Patricio said.

Vazquez was only 14, making him ineligible for the varsity competition. But four years later, including three as the starting quarterback for the varsity, Vazquez could be on the verge of helping Patricio and the Mustangs win a Division VI championship.

Although Walnut (6-1) was defeated by Los Altos, 20-13, in a Miramonte League game Friday, the Mustangs can make amends Friday night at Mt. San Antonio College when they play Charter Oak (7-0) in a game sure to impact the seedings for the playoffs.

Vazquez, a 5-foot-11, 175-pounder, has passed for 982 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 275 yards and three touchdowns out of Walnut’s pseudo-shotgun offense this season. His statistics would be more impressive if Walnut had not been jumping to big leads early in several games.

“He’s the best overall athlete that I have ever coached,” Patricio said.

Vazquez also is one of the best all-around athletes in the San Gabriel Valley.

An All-Southern Section soccer player who has helped Walnut win two Southern Section championships, Vazquez played halfback as a freshman, sweeper as a sophomore and forward as a junior.

“We’re not quite sure what we’re going to do with him this year,” Walnut soccer Coach Doug Doner said. “You watch him dribble through people and you swear he shouldn’t be able to do what he does.

“He has the unique ability to avoid contact and get away from people.”

Vazquez also is an all-league shortstop for the baseball team.

“If the guy wanted to play rugby, he’d be tremendous,” Charter Oak football Coach Lou Farrar said. “He’s a great athlete. Not just a pretty face.”

Vazquez has impressed opponents with his toughness as well as his versatility. Last year, he suffered a fractured vertebrae in the season opener but returned after four games and led the Mustangs into the playoffs.

This season, he has excelled despite a pulled muscle in his right leg.

“No matter how many times he runs or scrambles, he never lets you know if you’ve gotten to him,” Northview Coach Eric Podley said. “From a defensive standpoint it’s frustrating because you never get the feeling that you’re slowing him up.”

Vazquez has been on the go from the day he arrived at Walnut.

“The only thing I wasn’t sure about was whether I was going to play basketball or soccer,” he said. “I wanted to play basketball because I like it more. But I made varsity soccer as a freshman so that kind of made the decision for me.”

Vazquez has not decided what sport--or sports--he will pursue in college, although he says he’s learning toward a mix that includes baseball.

This week, Vazquez and his football teammates were attempting to put the Los Altos loss behind in preparation for a Charter Oak team that has allowed only one touchdown.

“Los Altos was a good team, and I think it’s good that we’re playing another good team right away,” Vazquez said. “We have something to be intense about.”

Vazquez’s experience as a leader on the football team is expected to pay dividends for the Mustang soccer team. Jerry Laterza, the 1991 Southern Section player of the year, has moved on to Southern Methodist University, leaving Vazquez as the team’s most experienced player.

“I learned a lot from Jerry,” Vazquez said. “It was like I was the student and he was the teacher. This year I have to be the leader.

“I’m also looking forward to baseball. I think I’m going to be pretty busy until graduation.”