Passing the Torch

Hart High quarterback Travis Carroll spent most of Tuesday’s practice in a serene, protected place near the end zone while the defense endured bruises and coaches’ reprimands in a scrimmage with the scout team.

As Carroll stood in the tall grass, like a diamond in the rough, it appeared he would be rewarded with an easy practice after his impressive debut in a 45-14 victory over Granada Hills last week.

After all, Indian signal callers are an exalted few, having earned All-Southern Section honors in each of the past 11 seasons.

But Tuesday wasn’t a day for accolades. When Carroll finally entered Hart’s scrimmage near the end of practice, offensive coordinator Dean Herrington criticized his execution on nearly every play.

“Get rid of it sooner!” . . . “That’s too many steps! It’s one step and throw!” . . . “Who’s your receiver on that play?”

There is much polishing to be done with Hart headed for a showdown against Thousand Oaks at 7:30 tonight at College of the Canyons.

The Indians are ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times. Thousand Oaks is No. 4.

Carroll will make only his fourth high school start at quarterback on any level while going head-to-head with Lancer quarterback Scott McEwan, a veteran who has committed to UCLA.

But after practice, Herrington’s eyes were gleaming.

The coach who takes a tough-love approach to his quarterbacks was proud of the strides made by Carroll. After throwing only seven passes as the backup last year, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior completed 17 of 28 passes for 275 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in his first varsity start.

Engineering Hart’s explosive run-and-shoot offensive for the first time, Carroll proved that he can both shoot and run.

He rushed for 55 yards in nine carries, including a 28-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring in the first quarter.

“He shocked us with his running ability,” Herrington said. “And he threw on the run great when we ran him on bootlegs.

“His pocket awareness was just fabulous. They blitzed often and he didn’t panic. I’ve said all along, Travis’ best asset is he’s not afraid to get hit.”

Will Carroll become the 12th consecutive Hart quarterback to receive all-section honors?

Is it too early to ask that question?

Herrington doesn’t think so.

“If he keeps making the decisions that he’s making, I don’t see why he can’t,” Herrington said. “It’s a long year. Let’s wait and see.”

Teams will rush seven men to try and stop him, as Granada Hills did last week. But Carroll is not concerned.

“Hey, I always wanted to play quarterback,” he said. “And to play for Hart, I just think that’s a big honor with all the tradition.”

As quarterbacks go, Carroll is a late bloomer.

He was third string on Hart’s freshman team behind Brian Distaso and Nate McAfee. Carroll started two games as a sophomore on the junior varsity, but only because Distaso moved away and McAfee (now a defensive back) suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Carroll had a weak arm, bad mechanics and admittedly knew nothing about how to play quarterback before Herrington made him the backup behind Steve McKeon last year.

But Carroll also showed toughness, intelligence and a strong work ethic.

That was enough raw material for Herrington, who made a college quarterback out of Mike Kocicka (now at Virginia Tech), a big, strong-armed kid who had little experience before his senior year in 1993, and a section champion out of McKeon, who stands 5-8 but passed for 6,259 yards the past two seasons.

Destiny might also have been on Carroll’s side.

Several years ago, he served as a Hart ball boy, as did McKeon and Jim Bonds before ascending to quarterback stardom.

Sally Carroll, Travis’ mother, remembers a nurse at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital who approached her after she gave birth to her fifth and youngest boy, Conner, 11.

“Five boys, huh?” the nurse said. “Do you know the Herrington brothers?”

Sally Carroll didn’t know Dean, Rick and Mike Herrington, the nucleus of one of the area’s best coaching staffs and all former Hart athletes.

But she got to know the nurse, Audrey Goad, the Herringtons’ grandmother who never misses a game.

Two months after Hart beat Antelope Valley for the Division II title last season, Dean Herrington set up a regular routine of passing, weightlifting and film study for Carroll, who learned Hart’s complicated offense over the summer playing in dozens of passing-league games.

As much as Herrington calculated Carroll’s progress, he was startled in August.

“He’s been the surprise of the camp,” Herrington said during two-a-day practices. “There was not a lot of zip on his ball during passing league. But now he’s throwing with a lot of velocity.”

Carroll said he was ready for his first game, so much that he couldn’t get it off his mind.

“I dreamt about the first play of the game about nine different times, against each defense I could possibly face last week,” Carroll said.

He never dreamed his first play would be a bomb to nobody, but it was.

Carroll’s initial pass hit the turf about 50 yards from the line of scrimmage and about 15 yards from the nearest player, a Granada Hills defender.

But along with it went Carroll’s nervousness.

He settled down to throw a 12-yard completion on the next play, before his 28-yard touchdown run on the Indians’ third play from scrimmage, in which he juked a lineman before running up the middle.

“It took me the first series to get used to it,” he said. “As the game went on, I got more confident in myself.”

Carroll’s first effort drew praise from Hart’s two highly recruited offensive players--wide receiver Cody Joyce and tackle Mike Wambolt.

Said Joyce: “I wasn’t expecting a whole lot his first game, and he came out and made good reads. He wasn’t timid. He’ll be [All-Southern Section] and I think he’ll throw for as much or more [yardage] than McKeon did last year, simply because we don’t have [running back Ted] Iacenda this year.”

Said Wambolt: “He surprised me with his leadership. He was helping us with our blocking assignments, telling us where the pressure was coming from so we could adjust. I was surprised he was doing that in his first game.”

Carroll said he feels no pressure to match the exploits of his predecessors. His only goal is to improve and help Hart win. To that end, he still spends several hours each day watching game film.

“The other players, they just want to win games,” he said. “And I just want to win games.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

HART QUARTERBACKS

Recent Line of Success

Jim Bonds, 1985-86: He is generally considered the best quarterback at Hart since Joe Kapp. Bonds passed for more than 3,000 yards in each season, produced victories in 22 of his last 24 games, and led the Indians to a 13-1 record and a Southern Section championship in 1986. His 39 touchdown passes his senior year was equaled only by Ryan Connors in 1991. He started briefly his junior year at UCLA before Tommy Maddox replaced him. He’s now offensive coordinator at St. Francis.

Darren Renfro, 1987: A smooth left-hander, he made the most of his one season, completing 63.8% of his passes for 2,808 yards and 26 touchdowns. But the Indians were upset by Arroyo Grande in the section semifinals, finishing 11-2. Renfro, a starting wide receiver and defensive back as a junior, led the Valley region in passing, out-producing Rose Bowl quarterback Wayne Cook (Newbury Park, UCLA) and Alemany’s Joey Rosselli, now a Class-AAA pitcher in the Angels’ system.

Rob Westervelt, 1988-89: Hart offensive coordinator Dean Herrington said that although Westervelt had the size and mentality to play defensive end, he was determined to play quarterback for the Indians. He passed for 4,261 yards and 45 touchdowns in two seasons, after beating out Chad Fotheringham for the job. Both went on to play Division I football--Westervelt at Weber State and Fotheringham at Pacific.

Ryan Connors, 1990-91: The run-and-shoot offense was unveiled after the Indians started 0-2 in 1990. Connors then led Hart to the Division III semifinals, where the Indians were eliminated in a thrilling, 38-35, loss to Anaheim Esperanza. In 1991, Connors set what was then a state record of 4,144 yards passing. He established standards for all Hart passers with 6,959 yards and 65 touchdowns in his career.

Davis Delmatoff, 1992: He quickly dispelled concerns that Hart’s offense would suffer after Connors’ graduation. Completing 58% of his passes, Delmatoff passed for 3,196 yards and 36 touchdowns. But after back-to-back semifinal losses, Hart lost in the second round of the playoffs, with Delmatoff throwing three of his 11 interceptions in a 13-7 loss to Crescenta Valley. Said Herrington: “For 12 games, he was probably the best guy I ever coached.”

Mike Kocicka, 1993: Tall and strong, but inexperienced, Kocicka transferred from Crescenta Valley after he failed to win the starting job and was in the stands when Hart lost to the Falcons in the 1992 playoffs. He was a project for Herrington, but he didn’t disappoint. He passed for 2,953 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for 315 yards. He received a scholarship to Nevada Las Vegas but transferred last year to Virginia Tech.

Steve McKeon, 1994-95: McKeon stood only 5-8 and had the personality of a linebacker--a position played by three older brothers at Hart. By now, though, no one underestimated Hart’s ability to make top quarterbacks from the rawest of material. McKeon led the Indians to a two-year record of 25-3 and two section championship games, including the Division II title last season. His career completion percentage of 59.3% is the highest of any quarterback since Hart switched to the run and shoot. He ranks second behind Connors with 6,259 yards and 63 touchdowns.