Now Johnson Catches Him From Sideline : College football: Stanford’s Stenstrom passed to USC quarterback when they were at El Toro High. They meet again today.

They formed a prolific passing combination at El Toro High.

But Rob Johnson and Steve Stenstrom will line up on opposite sides today when USC plays Stanford at Stanford Stadium.

Johnson is USC’s quarterback, Stenstrom is Stanford’s.

During the 1989 season, however, they led El Toro to a 12-2 record and the championship game of the Southern Section Division III playoffs.

Stenstrom, a year older, was the quarterback. He passed for 2,175 yards and 25 touchdowns before moving on to Stanford.

Johnson, deferring to the wishes of Coach Bob Johnson, his father, was a wide receiver who caught 65 passes for 1,260 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“We worked real well together,” Stenstrom said. “The fact that he was a quarterback, he and I were on the same wavelength.”

After Stenstrom left, Johnson moved back to quarterback, enjoyed a productive senior season and moved on to USC.

Today, they cross paths.

“It’s a friendly rivalry,” Johnson said, adding that he and Stenstrom still talk and that they worked out together about four times last summer. “But we were always trying to be better than one another, so we always had little competitions.”

The stakes are higher now as USC, winner of its last four games, and Stanford, loser of two of its last three, try to position themselves for major bowl bids.

USC is 5-1-1 overall, 4-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

Stanford is 6-3 and 3-2.

With the hiring of Coach Bill Walsh last winter and the return of 18 starters this fall, the Cardinal expected more. But losses to Arizona on Oct. 17 and Washington last week all but knocked Stanford out of the Rose Bowl race.

“Going into the year, we had really, really high expectations, so in that sense, we’ve been a little disappointed with the last couple of losses,” Stenstrom said. “But we realize we’re still in a position to do a lot of good things this year, so we want to get ourselves back on track.

“We still realize how good we are and how good we can be. We just need to get our confidence going and get on a roll again.”

Stenstrom, working behind an offensive line that has given up a conference-high 39 sacks, has completed 58.6% of his 249 passes for 1,728 yards and eight touchdowns, with eight interceptions.

Johnson, working behind a line that has given up 29 sacks, has completed 60.8% of his 148 passes for 1,147 yards and 11 touchdowns, with seven interceptions.

Both quarterbacks are complemented by all-purpose stars.

Stanford’s No. 1 threat is Glyn Milburn, a senior running back from Santa Monica High who leads the Pac-10 and is second in the nation with an average of 186.1 all-purpose yards.

USC’s Curtis Conway is second in the Pac-10 and fourth in the nation with an average of 178.3.

Both teams are strong defensively. Stanford, which has yielded an average of 269.8 yards, ranks second nationally against the pass. Linebacker Ron George leads the Pac-10 with 12 sacks.

USC, which has yielded an average of 315.3 yards, is seventh in the nation against the run. Linebacker Willie McGinest is tied for second in the Pac-10 with nine sacks.

But in El Toro, all eyes will be on the quarterbacks.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun to play against each other,” Stenstrom said. “We’re friendly with each other, so it’s not going to be anything negative. But we’re both going to be trying to do our best. It adds something extra to the game.”

Trojan Notes

Stanford linebacker Coy Gibbs, son of Coach Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins, is doubtful because of a knee injury. . . . Mike Cook, Stanford’s leading receiver with 43 catches for 511 yards, is listed as probable despite a leg injury. . . . USC tailback Deon Strother, sidelined because of an ankle injury, did not make the trip. . . . USC has lost to Stanford at Palo Alto only once since 1956, not at all since 1970 and is 27-5-2 against Stanford there. . . . Stanford ended an 11-game losing streak and a 15-game winless streak against USC when it won at the Coliseum last season, 24-21.

* UCLA: Last place at stake when Bruins and Oregon State go for first Pac-10 victory. C5.

* GAMES TO WATCH: No. 12 Arizona lies in wait for No. 1 Washington. C4