PATHS OF GLORY

Decisions, decisions.

So many choices everyday. Decaf or regular. Soup or salad. Aerobic or anaerobic workout.

Then there’s the mind-bender Joe Borchard faces in coming months.

Sign a million-dollar baseball contract or stick around at Stanford and likely become the starting quarterback for the defending Pac-10 champions.

Not exactly paper or plastic.

Borchard, a junior, is expected to be a first-round choice in the amateur baseball draft in June.

The former Camarillo High three-sport athlete batted a team-leading .372 last year with 11 home runs and 56 runs batted in for Stanford and showed a strong arm from right field. Score one for baseball.

But Borchard has been an important part of the Cardinal football team, which is making its first Rose Bowl appearance in 28 years.

When starting quarterback Todd Husak was injured in the second quarter against UCLA, Borchard directed Stanford to a 42-32 victory, completing 15 of 19 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns.

With the impending graduation of Husak, Borchard is the leading candidate to start next season. Score one for football.

But the only important score is the one being kept by Borchard, who is keeping his thoughts to himself.

“I’ve got a Rose Bowl to play and the baseball season is ahead of me,” Borchard said. “To say that anything is set in stone would be incorrect.”

Borchard approaches the decision as a win-win situation, realizing his unique position.

“I have to say I’m very fortunate to be able to do what I’ve been doing,” Borchard said. “Anytime you play in the College World Series and then the Rose Bowl, you’ve got to say it was a pretty good year. Not a lot of people play one sport in college, and I get to play two. It just gets better and better every day.”

Stanford Coach Tyrone Willingham is realistic. If Borchard bolts for baseball, Stanford can turn to Randy Fasani, a junior, or highly regarded freshman Chris Lewis, who was a redshirt this season.

Willingham knows that pro baseball teams rarely allow a young player to compete in another sport, especially football.

“We expect a young man to come in our program to get a degree and to get involved in the Stanford community,” Willingham said. “Joe is one of the fortunate ones who may be in position to do some things without getting a degree.

“What’s the right thing for him? What’s the right thing for his family? When the time comes, we’ll talk about it.”

Borchard faces more decision-making on Saturday against Wisconsin. If form holds true, he will play a series or two in place of Husak.

No matter the time or situation, Borchard’s thoughts never stray far from his Camarillo days.

During his senior year, Borchard passed for 2,851 yards and 30 touchdowns in leading the Scorpions to the Southern Section Division III championship.

He averaged 11.1 points on the basketball team and batted .415 with 11 home runs for the baseball team, which won the Marmonte League title.

“I think about Camarillo all the time,” Borchard said. “It was a great year for the school, to win the 1/8football 3/8 championship and then have a great baseball season. It was magical in every sense of the term.”