Stern Knows Where to Look for Challenge

Pacifica quarterback J.D. Stern is, by all accounts, a typical teen. He loves sports, has a hard time sitting in one spot too long, and waits eagerly for the day he gets his own apartment.

If you want to get on his dour side, however, just say: “Rancho Alamitos.”

Rancho Alamitos has been a sore point for Stern. His senior class has not beaten the Vaqueros. They’ll get one final chance tonight in the Southern Section Division VIII semifinals. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Bolsa Grande High.

“This will be the biggest game I’ve ever been in,” Stern said. “I’d rather play Rancho than anybody else right now. This the perfect time; it comes down to a wire-to-wire game.”

That Stern, 17, and the Mariners (9-3) have reached the semifinals is a bit of a surprise.

All three of Pacifica’s losses--including a 10-7 setback to Rancho Alamitos on Oct. 18--came in Garden Grove League play. The third defeat to Santiago knocked last season’s league champions out of an automatic playoff bid. Pacifica eventually got in with an at-large berth.

Those expecting Pacifica to vanish in the first round against third-seeded Laguna Hills were as shocked as the Hawks when the Mariners won, 17-13. Last week, Pacifica further demonstrated the section playoff committee’s farsightedness by defeating Lakewood Mayfair, 15-13.

Stern said his team found its playoff legs in a 42-0 victory against Covina Northview in the last game of the regular season.

“We came out knowing they were in our division, and if they won that game and the week after they could probably get the at-large berth,” Stern said. “So it was like a playoff game. Our defense got a shutout--we had been looking for one all year, finally got it--and our offense got some points.

“After the loss to Santiago, just about everyone counted us out. I think it got our team fired up. And getting the at-large berth, no one expected us to be in the semifinals. But we overcame that.”

Stern, a 6-foot, 170-pound senior, has always been able to put up solid statistics. Last season, he completed 124 of 255 passes for 1,818 yards and 14 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. He has been better this season, completing 126 of 264 passes for 2,171 yards and 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions.

Pacifica Coach Bill Craven said Stern will finish his career as the school’s all-time leader in attempts, completions, yardage and touchdown passes.

But there have been times, Craven said, when he had to bring Stern to the sidelines and remind him not to try to win the game by himself.

“He has made some wrong reads and tried to force a play, and that’s when he gets interceptions,” Craven said. “They bother him, but he gets over them.”

Sterns sheepishly admits he sometimes needs calming down.

“There have been times when I’ve gotten out of control,” Stern said. “My head is always in the game. I love to win; I take losing harder than anybody. But if things aren’t going our way and I get a bit rattled, coach is there to keep me focused.

“I have to keep things together; if the other guys see me getting nervous and feeling the pressure, then they’re going to be too. It’s important to be a leader.”

Now Stern hopes to take Pacifica to a division championship game.

Standing in the way is Rancho Alamitos (12-0).

Last season, Stern and Pacifica thought they had a breakthrough against the team he considers “our biggest rivals,” when they held a 28-14 lead with 9:20 to play. But Rancho Alamitos scrambled back for a 28-28 tie and could have won but missed a 46-yard field-goal attempt with 17 seconds left.

And on Oct. 18, Rancho Alamitos did its best to disrupt Stern. In grinding out a 10-7 victory, the Vaqueros unleashed their rarely used blitz package, sacking Stern five times, knocking him down numerous other times, and forcing three interceptions.

Vaquero Coach Doug Case said the strategy was necessary after Stern had thrown for 159 yards and two touchdowns against Rancho Alamitos the previous season.

“I think he has been the main guy that has thrust Pacifica to a possible championship football team,” Case said. “He has great vision, he knows the game very well, stands in and takes the hit, and has an excellent arm. They opened up their offense for him, and I’m sure he has gone beyond their expectations.”

On Oct. 18, Stern completed only seven of 19 passes for 92 yards.

“They came out with a defensive look they’d never shown before, blitzing both linebackers practically every down,” Stern said. “It worked to their advantage. I don’t think we were expecting it, although we tried to adjust to it.

“Even though they played us hard on defense, we still had a chance to at least tie at the end. But time ran out.”