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Young Quarterback Comes Back for More : Football: Mission Viejo’s Moherman has always had the size; now the sophomore has some experience as well.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Austin Moherman knew exactly what he wanted. His goal was to be the Mission Viejo High varsity quarterback before his junior year.

So, from the be-careful-what-you-wish-for file, Moherman looked over the Mater Dei defense late last season.

Here was a freshman being asked to decipher and beat--not to mention survive--one of the most vicious teams in Orange County. It would be enough to make most experienced quarterbacks tremble in their cleats.

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But Moherman was too concerned to be scared.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t think about them a whole lot,” Moherman said. “Yeah, I knew I was playing one of the best teams around. I was more worried about what I was suppose to do than what they could do to me.”

Moherman’s first play was a 40-yard pass completion.

On his shoulders has Mission Viejo placed its future. Moherman returns this season as the Diablos’ undisputed No. 1 quarterback. He’s always had the size--now 6 feet 4, 170 pounds--and skill. Now he also has the experience.

Moherman’s presence is enough to make first-year Coach Bill Denny see bright days ahead.

“We threw him out there against Mater Dei and he didn’t flinch,” said Denny, who was a Diablo assistant last season. “Now that was a rude opener. He had the maturity to deal with the pressure.”

Moherman has always been a quarterback with an eye to the future.

At 8, he attended a quarterback camp. , where he cornered Todd Marinovich, then a senior at Capistrano Valley. His big question was, “What’s it like to be a high school quarterback?”

“All I wanted was to be the varsity quarterback by the time I was a sophomore,” Moherman said.

That timetable accelerated.

Moherman was on the freshman team through the first seven games last season. He was savoring a victory over El Toro, which gave the Diablos a 6-1 record, when the phone call came.

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Not only was he being called up to the varsity, he was starting the next Friday.

“It was kind of strange,” said Moherman, who also played on the varsity basketball team. “Everything was really new in practice. But I felt ready.”

The coaching staff wasn’t so sure. So Denny decided to test the new quarterback in practice.

Moherman was in for a surprise on the first snap. Defensive back Matt Denny burst in on a blitz and creamed Moherman. Never mind that it was a seven-on-seven drill, with no linemen to block and no contact allowed with the quarterback.

“I guess Matt got a little carried away,” Moherman said.

Think again.

“We wanted to put some stress on him right away to see how he handled it,” Bill Denny said. “He bounced right back up and didn’t say a word. We knew at that point we had something here.”

It would be hard to tell by his stats. Despite that first pass, Moherman struggled against Mater Dei. He completed only five of 14 passes for 59 yards with two interceptions. Things didn’t go much better against San Clemente the next week.

Then came the Dana Hills game. Moherman was seven of 10 for 97 yards and two touchdowns. The Diablos led 35-0 by halftime, and won, 42-0, to end a five-game losing streak.

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It may have been a sign of things to come.

“I want to get to the playoffs,” Moherman said. “That’s the way I’m approaching this season. I definitely have high goals.”

And he tends to achieve them rapidly.

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