Royal Is Unable to Size Up Brewster

At 6 feet and 165 pounds, Jonathan Brewster of Notre Dame High is not a prototype quarterback.

Football isn’t even his primary sport.

Notre Dame used the arm of a shortstop to defeat Royal, 25-7, on Saturday to win the Cal Lutheran passing tournament--its first passing title in Coach Kevin Rooney’s 19-year career.

“We don’t approach [passing tournaments] with the intention of winning,” Rooney said. “We approach with the idea of practicing, to get better.”

Brewster’s 50-yard bomb to Matt Lutz on the third play of the championship game resembled a Raul Mondesi throw to the plate and served notice to the Mission League that he should not be taken lightly this fall.

Last season, Brewster completed 18 of 35 passes for 213 yards playing behind Seth Oseransky, with two touchdowns and one interception. He rushed 12 times for 19 yards with one touchdown, and caught 15 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown.

Brewster batted .321 with 14 runs batted in and 16 stolen bases during the high school season. He improved to .428 during the just-completed American Legion season, with 29 RBIs, 10 doubles, three triples, five home runs and another 16 steals.

“It’s a little different throwing a football and a baseball,” Brewster said. “But it keeps my arm in shape.”

The senior’s first two passes bounced off the hands of his receivers on short routes before he unloaded to Lutz.

He completed one of four passes on extra points.

“That particular pattern is new,” Rooney said. “He’s not used to throwing at short range.

Said Brewster: “I have to take something off [my passes], especially on the flat routes. Usually I just try to throw it and try not to think about it.”

Brewster relishes the idea of being thought an underdog because of his size.

“Its kind of fun,” Brewster said. “Everybody thinks, ‘If he’s big, he’s going to be good.’ I am a different type of quarterback. I like to run and throw.”

Said Rooney: “[Brewster] can throw the ball extremely well. This year, he’s reading things better, making great decisions, and he knows when to throw the ball. I think he has the chance to be an outstanding quarterback.”