For Cline, It’s a Bit of Deja Vu

Joe Borchard has all but erased Scott Cline from the Camarillo High football record book, but Cline is an ongoing presence on campus nonetheless.

As baseball coach, junior varsity football coach and math teacher, Cline, 29, is the hometown hero who returned to launch a career and raise a family amid familiar surroundings and fond memories.

Cline played quarterback when Camarillo won a Southern Section championship in 1984. The following spring, he played shortstop on the baseball team, which advanced to the final before losing.

He experienced the ultimate high: Throwing a last-second touchdown pass for a 16-14 victory over Ventura after leading his team on a 96-yard drive in the final two minutes at the Coliseum.

And he experienced the ultimate low: Making an error with two out in the last inning to let the winning run score in a 3-2 loss to Fountain Valley at Anaheim Stadium.

“Those are moments I’ll never forget,” he said. “To do both in one year, amazing. At the time you don’t realize how special those experiences are.”

Cline went to UCLA and was a four-year starter at third base.

He draws comparisons between Camarillo then and now, pointing out that his team lost to Oxnard in before reeling off 13 victories. This year’s Scorpions have won 11 in a row since losing to Oxnard.

Linking Cline and Borchard is inevitable. Both multi-sport athletes. Both the driving force behind their team’s success. Borchard broke Cline’s single-season passing yardage record and is one touchdown from Cline’s mark of 30.

“I do see a little of me in Joe,” Cline said. “I was a good student, like he is. And he’s turning into an excellent leader.

“But he has 10 times the ability. I was 6-foot, 195 pounds. I couldn’t throw like he does and I couldn’t run like he does. Kids keep getting bigger and better. If he was playing when I played, he would have thrown for 5,000 yards.”

Coach Carl Thompson, who was in his second season in 1984, believes the greatest similarity between the two teams is the leadership of the quarterbacks.

“Both were close-knit teams with outstanding quarterbacks,” Thompson said. “It’s what Scott was and what Joe is: absolutely a coach on the field.”