Passes Give Smith Name a Rare Spin : Newbury Park Senior Earns Wide Admiration

Droplets of sweat stream incessantly from Keith Smith’s trembling hands as he is transfixed with fear. As if the neophyte Newbury Park High varsity quarterback did not have enough with which to cope.

Smith, then 15 years old and a quiet sophomore starter, was already struggling with having unseated a popular senior and learning a complicated offense. Now this: He faced powerful, undefeated Royal, a team with a standout Division I-bound senior quarterback (Ryan Fien, UCLA) and an imposing defense.

And then there were the host Panthers, a winless, mistake-prone bunch with a signal-caller who looked more like a ball boy than quarterback.

“My palms were dripping so much I couldn’t grip the ball,” Smith recalled. “(Royal) looked so huge, especially as small as I was back then. They looked like a college team to me.

“I just kept thinking, ‘Oh, God, I’m going to get killed.’ All I wanted to do was survive.”

Smith did more than that. Although he was sacked seven times, he scorched Royal for 317 passing yards and two touchdowns, helping the Panthers gain some respect despite a 32-14 loss that dropped them to 0-6.

Moreover, Smith’s performance had a seminal effect.

“That game gave me confidence,” Smith said. “I thought that was my best game of the year, and to do it against a team like that helped me believe in myself and our team.”

Sparked by the suddenly effective Smith, Newbury Park won its last four games. Two years later, the Panthers are among the area’s elite teams thanks in large part to their formerly quaking quarterback. Smith leads Newbury Park--ranked first in The Times’ regional and Southern Section Division III polls--against Camarillo tonight at 7:30 in a Marmonte League opener.

Smith, 17, is a multitalented, record-setting athlete who could become the state’s all-time leading passer. He is a hot Division I prospect in baseball and football and a good student, and while his football exploits have prompted comparisons with Jim Bonds and Randall Cunningham, he might have a brighter future in baseball.

Smith is as humble in success today as he was in defeat previously, largely because of his strong family ties. However, had it not been for another guy’s ability with a bat and glove, Smith might never have taken a snap from center.

After completing an unspectacular season as the quarterback on the Panthers’ freshman team, Smith expected to lead the junior varsity. The varsity coaches had installed a new offense, the run-and-shoot, for junior David Lamb, who the previous season had been the junior varsity quarterback.

Lamb had different plans. Also a talented shortstop, he decided that fielding and hitting line drives was less dangerous than being driven into the ground by angry linebackers. Lamb--now in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization--was finished with football.

Enter Smith. He battled senior quarterback Zach Sutton for the starting job and won going away. Sutton was moved to receiver.

Then Smith got a heaping dose of in-your-face pressure. Now he was the upstart sophomore who took a starting spot from a senior, not the best way to endear himself to a senior-dominated team. Smith felt less a starting varsity quarterback and more a perfect child: seen and not heard.

“I just sat in the back (during team meetings),” he said, “and kept my mouth shut.”

The Smith family is a close-knit bunch, and Keith’s father, Stuart, knew it was time to act. Stuart often wrote notes of encouragement to Keith, which he would leave on the dining room table in the mornings on game days.

“I wrote to Keith about being strong and handling pressure during that time,” Stuart said. “I wrote about dealing with adversity.”

The letters helped Smith overcome the turbulent times. Smith knows he can count on his family no matter the situation. Stuart and Renate, Keith’s mother, are active members of the Panthers’ booster club and Keith’s brother, Brian, a former three-sport athlete at Newbury Park, travels from school at UC Santa Barbara every week to attend Keith’s games. The support helps keep Smith humble.

“I never want to be one of those guys who talks big like he’s the best at everything,” Smith said. “You should never think you’re too good for your friends just because you’re a good athlete.”

And Smith definitely is good.

How good?

“I think he is the best athlete ever to come out of the Marmonte League,” Thousand Oaks Coach Bob Richards said.

Buena Coach Rick Scott offers a similar opinion. Scott, formerly an assistant at Newbury Park and head coach at Hart, said Smith is the best high school quarterback he has seen.

“I coached (former UCLA quarterback) Jim Bonds and I coached against Randall Cunningham (Philadelphia Eagles), and Smith is by far the best high school quarterback I’ve watched,” Scott said.

Said Newbury Park Coach George Hurley: “When I’m all done with (coaching) and people ask me what I did for a living, I’ll tell them, ‘I coached Keith Smith in high school,’ and I think they’ll know what I mean.”

Smith was selected All-Division III and All-Ventura County by The Times last season. He was also a Reebok preseason All-American pick this season. Barring injury, Smith should shatter almost every Ventura County passing record.

He is the leading passer in the Ventura County and Valley areas with 1,048 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions in three games. Smith already owns county records for yards passing in a season (3,318 in ‘92) and touchdown passes in a career (58).

He needs 498 yards to break the region record for yards passing in a career (7,272) set by Tim Gutierrez (Santa Clara High/San Diego State).

What’s more, Chad Davis’ state record of 9,332 yards in a career, set while attending three schools, is within Smith’s reach. The quarterback who used to scratch his head and wince at the Panther playbook now knows it cover to cover.

“During the first game, I wasn’t exactly sure what we were doing,” Smith said. “I remember thinking, ‘Gee, we sure do pass a lot.’ Our offense is a lot more high-tech now and I love it.”

Smith, who said he can throw a ball 75 yards, has excellent footwork. During a workout in May in front of Division I coaches, Smith covered 40 yards fastest among quarterbacks (4.58) and tied for 10th overall out of more than 500 participants from Southland high schools. A good student (3.4 grade-point average), Smith is second to none in reading defenses.

One would think someone with so much going for himself would have no need for superstition. But the opposite is true with Smith.

As part of his ritual the night before football games, Smith must receive 12 kisses from his mother Renate (he wears No. 12) before going to bed. Stuart and Renate must also say “night” to Smith simultaneously.

“It’s worked for three years,” Smith said. “I can’t see stopping it now.”

About the only thing Smith lacks is eye-popping physical stature. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, his size is not that of the prototype Division I quarterback. But Smith does not concern himself with things out of his control.

“I can’t tell myself, ‘Keith, grow four more inches,’ ” he said. “I can only be Keith Smith and do the things Keith Smith can do and hope that it’s good enough.”

Canyon Coach Harry Welch said size is not paramount in Smith’s case. “He has as fine a throwing motion as any quarterback in high school, but what makes him a cut above the pack is his footwork,” he said. “He’ll play at the next level. He is the type who can eventually lead a team to a bowl win.”

For now Smith is occupied leading the Panthers. Last season, he helped guide Newbury Park to its first outright Marmonte title since 1970.

“Keith does a lot of amazing things, but he was incredible” against Thousand Oaks last season, said former Panther receiver Jason Toohey. “I still can’t believe a couple of plays he made at the end.”

Smith avoided a fierce pass rush and teamed with Leodes Van Buren, Newbury Park’s record-setting wide receiver, for a five-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, providing the winning score in a 36-31 victory that gave the Panthers their first win over the Lancers since 1983.

“He broke, I don’t know, two or three tackles and threw across his body right to me with two (defensive backs) right there,” Van Buren said.

Last season, Smith evened the score with Royal. He passed for 259 yards as the Panthers won, 14-9. His scrambling also caused fits for Royal defensive back Rommel Butler.

“He’s the fastest quarterback I’ve played against,” said Butler, also a Reebok preseason All-American. “He can break away any time and run for 30 yards, and when he’s rolling out he can throw 60 yards on the run.”

The college recruiters have noticed too.

Dozens of schools--including all those in the Pacific 10 Conference and Colorado--are pursuing him. In addition, college baseball recruiters are calling, following Smith’s strong showing at the Area Code Games, an annual showcase for the West’s top high school baseball players between their junior and senior years.

At a workout for college recruiters and pro scouts the day before the games, Smith ran 60 yards in 6.74 seconds, which tied for fourth fastest among the approximately 200 players. Smith, an outfielder/pitcher, batted .347 last season and led the Panthers with nine doubles and 20 stolen bases. As a pitcher, the right-hander was 7-4 with a 2.88 earned-run average.

Scouts said Smith can throw in the mid-80s. Smith is so serious about pursuing both baseball and football in college that he will not play on the Newbury Park basketball team this season despite leading the team in scoring average as a junior (14.7 points).

Smith is noncommittal on his college preference. About the only thing he will say is that he wants to stay relatively close to home so that his parents can avoid exorbitant air fare when they come to see him play. Could it be, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ?

“I’m really not sure where I want to go,” Smith said. “I would like to go someplace that would let me play baseball and football, but I’ll just have to talk with the coaches and see.

“I’m having a lot of fun right now and I just want to concentrate on winning football games. I really don’t want this to end.”