SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION V FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : Servite Discovers a Passer by Chance : Preps: Coach sees Cicero throwing footballs in practice and a star is born. Of course, he always knew he was a quarterback.

There are many high school football teams, but only a few true football programs.

Greg Cicero, who will be at quarterback for Servite at 7:30 tonight in the Division V championship game against El Toro at Santa Ana Stadium, knows the difference all too well.

Coaches took one look at Cicero when he enrolled at Servite in 1993 and liked what they saw. At 6 feet 4, he would make a good wide receiver, they told him, and that’s where they played him on the freshman team.

The Friars figured they had several talented players in line to be quarterback for several seasons to come. And at Servite, one of those highly successful parochial football schools, where they call their coach “sir” and crop their hair close to the scalp, you don’t question coaching decisions, like them or not.

So Cicero went where he was told with barely a whimper, although his heart was behind center, taking snaps. It was a role he had performed rather well since his days in youth football leagues in Anaheim Hills.

Then, during a break in spring practice in 1994, Servite inadvertently found its quarterback of the future.

“Greg was standing around and he took a football and told one of his teammates, another wide receiver, to run a flag route,” wide receiver coach Rick Garretson said. “And he throws this ball perfectly. He did it three or four times and I thought, ‘Geez. This guy can throw.’ So I walk over to him and and ask him if he has always been able to throw like that and he said yeah, ‘Why do you think I came to Servite in the first place?’ ”

That line has stuck with Cicero ever since, just as he has stuck at quarterback. He was a backup on last year’s team that went 11-3 and lost to Newport Harbor in the Division V final. This season, as a junior, he beat out some tough competition for the starting role and has thrown for nearly 2,100 yards. He also has thrown a school-record 26 touchdown passes.

Cicero, who is ranked third in the county in passing efficiency, looks back on his freshman year with little disdain.

“I was mad at the time. I thought I was a pretty good quarterback,” Cicero said. “But at Servite you tend to do what the coaches tell you to do. So I just went along with it.”

Coaches believed Cicero had good hands and with his size, would be a big-play wide receiver.

“He had pretty good speed. He could get open,” said Garretson. “The type of guy he is, he would just do what we asked of him.”

Sophomore running back Vince Reed has become the Friars’ big-play man this season and Cicero’s favorite target. He has 32 receptions for 544 yards and 19 touchdowns, including the game-winning, 73-yard catch and run last week with less than six minutes to play in Servite’s 21-16 semifinal victory over Corona del Mar.

Reed credits Cicero for much of Servite’s success this fall.

“Greg is a great player with a very strong arm,” Reed said. “He’s also a great leader and motivator. You can see leadership in his eyes when he gets in the huddle. He keeps us focused. He gets us going.”

Cicero opened the season with some question marks by his name, though. The Friars, supposedly in a rebuilding year, were expected to fill a majority of their offensive positions with underclassmen. Coach Larry Toner questioned if starting the junior at quarterback was the right thing to do. After all, Cicero came into fall practice ranked No. 2 on the depth chart.

Any concerns about Cicero’s performance, however, were put to rest with his four-touchdown passing performance in a 51-6 rout at Chicago De La Salle in the season opener. A few weeks later, Cicero found a way to lead Servite to victory over Bellflower St. John Bosco in a game dominated by the Braves in nearly every category except the final score. The Friars closed the regular season by winning the Golden West League title with a 49-0 victory over Tustin.

Each step along the way gave Cicero and his teammates more confidence. Servite cruised by Loara in the opening round (49-20), dominated a very good Santa Ana Valley team (26-6) in the second round and beat Corona del Mar to reach the finals.

“For the most part, I’m very happy about the way the season went,” Cicero said. “I do think our offense has been very underrated. With only two or three seniors starting, people didn’t really give us a chance.