Relief Ace Borchard Delivers the Long Ball

Joe Borchard knows home runs. As the Stanford right fielder, he’s belted 21 in two seasons and watched a few hit by opponents sail over his head and over fences.

But he had little opportunity to display home-run capability on the football field, throwing only 48 passes last season and seven in the first three games this year as a backup quarterback.

Pinch-hitting for the injured Todd Husak in the second quarter Saturday, Borchard muscled up and made up for lost time, producing a sensational effort that led to a 42-32 victory over UCLA.

Home runs? It was bombs away.

Borchard’s first play was a 50-yard completion to Troy Walters. His second was a 30-yard completion for a touchdown, again to Walters.

“It was the same play,” said Borchard, who led Camarillo High to a Southern Section title in 1996.

“I had to do a double-take. As unpredictable as [offensive coordinator Bill Diedrick] is for defenses, he’s just as unpredictable for us.”

Who could have predicted Borchard was just warming up?

His eight-yard touchdown pass gave Stanford a 21-3 halftime lead. Early in the second quarter came one of two pivotal plays, a Pacific 10 Conference-record 98-yard pass play to Walters that extended the lead to 28-3.

Borchard answered two Bruin touchdowns with an 18-yard scoring pass before producing the equivalent of an inside-the-park homer, using his speed to scramble 56 yards on third and 15 with Stanford clinging to a 35-32 lead.

“It felt like a 56-hundred-yard run,” Borchard said.

He caught his breath and threw a 13-yard touchdown pass for the game’s final points, completing a 90-yard drive.

Total Borchard power surge: Fifteen of 19 passing for 324 yards and five touchdowns, plus a team-high 74 yards rushing in eight carries.

“This is not something you could have ever fathomed,” he said.

Although in his third year at Stanford, Borchard is a sophomore in football terms because he redshirted in 1997.

“As a quarterback, your goal is to be the [starter],” he said. “Obviously, I haven’t forgotten that. But I’m patient, and I’m in good company. To be a backup to Todd is not too shabby.”

Husak’s bruised ribs should heal by Saturday’s game against San Jose State. Borchard’s opportunity to start will come next season--provided he delays his baseball career.

Scouts project him as a mid-to-late first-round draft choice next spring, and a signing bonus of $1 million is possible.

“I haven’t really given it that much thought, because if you do that at this point, it will drive you crazy,” Borchard said. “Whatever happens will work itself out.”

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Quarterback Keith Smith (Newbury Park) bounced back from nagging injuries and a poor performance a week ago to complete a 42-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Wade with no time remaining, giving Arizona a 30-24 victory over Washington State.

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Elliot Silvers (Agoura), a 6-foot-6, 320-pound junior tackle at Washington, played an outstanding game in the Huskies’ 30-24 victory over Colorado.

In addition to helping keep quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo from getting sacked, Silvers recovered an offensive fumble to keep a scoring drive alive.