Hernandez’s Arm Propels L.A. Baptist

In the span of 24 hours, more or less, quarterback Zack Hernandez’s world was turned upside down.

Make that downside up, for the bad truly led to the good.

Fifty-three weeks ago, L.A. Baptist High was pummeled by Bishop, 40-7, in the Southern Section Division X quarterfinals. On the long bus ride home, players muttered among themselves: We’re better than this.

Right about then, Coach Mark Bates stood up and made a stunning announcement: “Next year, we’re switching to the run-and-shoot.”

Stop the bus! We’re getting off here, so to speak. Hernandez nearly had palpitations.

“The very next day in P.E., we started working on it,” he said.

Ever since, they’ve worked over every opponent.

Friday night, L.A. Baptist improved to 12-0 with a 45-0 battering of Ontario Christian. This week, the Knights will play in the Division X final.

Nobody was more thrilled about the offensive overhaul than Hernandez, a senior. In 1992, he attempted 169 passes for 1,394 yards and 12 touchdowns. L.A. Baptist finished 6-6.

A year later, Hernandez already has lapped himself--and slurped up the competition. He has attempted 347 passes for a whopping 3,420 yards and completed 64.4% of his attempts. His yardage output is second in the state to senior All-American Keith Smith (3,998 yards) of Newbury Park.

Not surprisingly, Newbury Park--which remained alive in Division III with a 43-26 victory over Bell Gardens--runs nearly the same offensive scheme.

“A lot of teams just don’t see that much of the pass (at this level),” said Hernandez, who has thrown 23 touchdown passes. “They don’t know what to do with us or how to defend us.”

Indefensible about covers it. Hernandez can choose between five receivers in some alignments. Defenses in Division X--the second-smallest Southern Section 11-man classification--can’t keep pace.

“We keep seeing teams that have to put in a different defense when they play us that week,” Hernandez said. “And they’re not very good at it.”

Things are going so well at L.A. Baptist that the partisans are getting a tad spoiled. In the quarterfinals, the Knights barely defeated St. Genevieve, 28-20, which is all the players heard about for several days.

“All the teachers told us, ‘No heart attacks this week,’ ” Hernandez said. “They asked us to make it one-sided so they could just sit back, enjoy the game and not have to worry.”

They did just that. Hernandez passed for 264 yards and two touchdowns in little more than three quarters against Ontario Christian.

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Perspective check: L.A. Baptist was breezing through the final minutes of the blowout victory when everyone was knocked for a loop.

Reserve defensive back Jim Collard, nicknamed “Rudy” by teammates, suffered a neck injury that left him stunned on the field.

Collard was motionless on his stomach for 15 minutes before he was taken by ambulance to Chino Community Medical Center, where he was examined and released. Collard underwent more precautionary exams Saturday, his father, Jim, said.

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The fish that got away: And you thought the San Fernando Valley was long since paved over? Farmers must be growing food somewhere out there, or else L.A. City Council member Laura Chick will renege on her bet.

Council members Chick and Rudy Svorinich Jr. last week made a cross-town wager on the City Section 3-A Division semifinal between Reseda and San Pedro.

Svorinich, a San Pedro graduate, bet fresh fish from his seaside district that the top-seeded Pirates would knock off Reseda, which is located in Chick’s district.

Chick wagered a basket of Valley-grown fruits and vegetables. . . . presumably the kind that grow organically.

A Froot Loop is what Reseda posted: San Pedro won, 17-0.