Back By Popular Demand : Orange Lutheran Quarterback Whieldon Outstanding by Air or on the Run

When it came time to make plays, Orange Lutheran quarterback Jason Whieldon was a stallion who ran unbridled.

With his powerful arm, he passed for 40 touchdowns and 2,844 yards. Fleet of foot, he rushed for 17 touchdowns and 1,184 yards in a true triple-option offense.

Whieldon’s domination at his position has earned him The Times’ Orange County Back of the Year honor.

Though the third-seeded Lancers’ season ended prematurely--with a 46-36 loss to Banning in the Division XI quarterfinals--Whieldon went out firing. He passed for 283 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for two more while trying to compensate for a defense that was missing six starters and an offensive line that was missing two.

“Pure and simple,” Orange Lutheran Coach Jim Kunau said in defeat, “Banning played better than us.”

But nobody outplayed Whieldon. Given the chance to play gunslinger, he took to it like Billy the Kid.

“Better than all his mental and physical abilities was his ability to be a great leader and raise the level of his teammates,” Kunau said. “He’s in that genre of leaders.”

Whieldon showed consistency and grit, an iron will, a strong arm and a deft touch.

He was fortunate to have receivers as talented as Ryan Nath and Jon Talmage and a coach who wanted to see how far opposing defenses could be stretched. And the Lancers were lucky to have Whieldon.

He averaged a touchdown every seven times he threw or ran the ball. He completed 65.5% of his passes (154 of 235), and had only six pass attempts intercepted.

He finished his football career at Orange Lutheran with 90 touchdown passes, which, like the 40 in a single season, is a county record. His career passing yardage in three seasons, 7,507, was second only to another redhead, Todd Marinovich of Capistrano Valley.

He won 81.9% of his games.

“He’s extremely accurate,” said Troy Coach John Turek, whose defense was torched for six touchdown passes. “You don’t see anyone having to make a circus catch. He lets the receiver maximize the play because it’s always in stride, on the money.”

Whether Whieldon was rifling the 15-yard down-and-out pass to the sidelines or throwing 65 yards in the air, his knack for making plays was uncanny.

In the game that ended Woodbridge’s 17-game winning streak, Whieldon missed practice all week with a groin injury, then ran for a 35-yard touchdown and passed for the decisive score in a 20-17 victory.

There is nothing small about Whieldon, except his ego and his height.

If he were 6 feet 4 instead of 6-0, he would be getting offers from the biggest schools. Instead, a program like Hawaii or Utah, outbacks where Whieldon has recruiting trips lined up, might look like geniuses for their discovery.

Turek, who saw Whieldon only occasionally, echoes the comments of Kunau, who saw Whieldon daily.

“There are three things about him,” Turek said. “His accuracy, his footspeed and his smarts. . . . He makes plays.”