Hayward Set for a Finale

When Chris Hayward went to the North-South all-star football game last year for the first time, he did it as a show of support for graduating San Clemente High teammates Trevor Insley, Brad Baker and Sean Kolmer.

“The whole atmosphere around the game is great,” Hayward said. “It’s like a big high school game again. It might get old to some fans, but I think there’s always a reason to get excited about the game.”

This year Hayward would like to create a buzz about himself. This year he will be the quarterback on a team eager to break the South’s four-game winless streak. Last year’s game was a 12-12 tie.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Friday at Orange Coast College.

“We don’t talk about it, but you can tell everyone wants to win,” Hayward said. “In a game like this, though, you are ‘playing blind,’ in the sense that you have no film of the other team to study. So you’ve got to be ready for anything they throw at you.”

The North will have to be ready for what Hayward, 6 feet 4, 215 pounds, throws at them. And if his senior season at San Clemente is an indication--187 completions in 268 pass attempts (69.8%), 2,515 yards, 21 touchdowns--he will throw often and with accuracy.

“Chris is very cool, calm and collected,” San Clemente Coach Mike McElroy said. “And he has outstanding vision. He sees the whole field very well. Most quarterbacks only see the middle of the field, and the left or right side, depending on the play or how they throw.

“When I was an assistant at BYU, I worked with Ty Detmer, who saw the field so well he could tell a receiver running a play on [Detmer’s] blind side was doing something wrong. Chris is not quite that good. But he was the best high school quarterback I’ve had at seeing the whole field.”

McElroy adds that Hayward is one of the toughest players he coached.

“I’ll give you an example,” McElroy said. “Against Woodbridge he took a hard shot on his hip. But he knew we couldn’t afford to take him out unless a bone was sticking out, or something. I could see he was in pain, but he took the next snap and threw a touchdown pass.

“That next week his hip was so sore he couldn’t practice until Thursday. Then he went out and had another big game against Irvine.”

Hayward, who is headed to Nevada Las Vegas in the fall, could put up big numbers on anybody.

Against Capistrano Valley, Hayward passed for 399 yards and two touchdowns. Irvine’s secondary was riddled for 298 yards and El Toro gave up 324 yards.

Those statistics didn’t translate into a winning season, however. After sharing the South Coast League title with Mater Dei and Capistrano Valley in 1995, San Clemente lurched through a 5-5, 2-3 season in 1996.

That’s another reason why Hayward hopes to go out with a flourish.

“I want to go out there and make this last high school game a good one,” Hayward said. “You’re playing with different guys for the first time, and it’s a more fun atmosphere. But you still want go out and play good.”

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Best of the Preps

* Event: The 38th annual North-South football game

* Place: LeBard Stadium, Orange Coast College

* Date: Friday

* Time: Gates open at 6 p.m. The game starts at 7:30

* Tickets: $6 before the day of the game, and can be purchased through the Brea Lions Club, PADRE Foundation, the Western Youth Services, or Orange County Special Olympics. Tickets will cost $7 the day of the game and can be purchased at the stadium.