Catching On

Two simple yet fundamental principles for a pass-oriented football team to heed:

1. Thou must have a quarterback who can deliver the ball with some zip and who can read defenses like Indiana Jones could read hieroglyphics.

2. Thou must have receivers who can catch passes, even in the midst of homicidal linebackers and safeties.

At College of the Canyons, Jason d’Autremont fits the bill famously for the second requirement.

“Jason is very mentally tough,” said Matt Durant, receivers coach at Canyons. “He goes into games thinking nobody can cover him.”

A sophomore who came close to playing for USC, d’Autremont leads the Cougars with 28 catches for 490 yards. He tops Western State Conference receivers with six touchdowns, and ranks fourth at 17.5 yards per catch.

D’Autremont, 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds, relies mostly on running precise routes and holding on to what quarterbacks Travis Winn and David Parker fire his way. He finds seams in defenses and frequently turns seemingly harmless plays into breakaways with deceptive speed.

“For sure, he’s one of the best, if not the best receiver, I’ve played with,” Winn said. “He’s got the whole package going for him.”

With the platooning Winn and Parker throwing and with d’Autremont catching in a four-receiver, one-back set, the Cougars are terrorizing secondaries. Canyons is averaging 254.3 yards passing and has 14 touchdowns, tops in the WSC.

Mix that with a superb defense and it’s no wonder the Cougars are ranked No. 4 in the state with a 6-0 record, 3-0 in WSC Northern Division play. They’ll try to claim sole possession of first place against Moorpark (4-2, 3-0) on Saturday.

“We’ve really come together as a team,” d’Autremont said. “Our receivers group is tight. We have fun together.”

It’s always fun to catch 11 passes for 116 yards, like d’Autremont did in the opener. Or score on receptions of 59 and 47 yards the following week in a 48-9 nonconference rout of Antelope Valley. Or score on a 50-yard pass in the fourth quarter to snap a 14-14 tie and help the Cougars defeat defending division co-champion Hancock three weeks ago.

D’Autremont found success at Canyons in a roundabout way.

Despite setting a San Luis Obispo High career record with 91 receptions in only two seasons, including 55 catches as a senior in 1997, d’Autremont didn’t receive any substantial scholarship offers from colleges.

He also played point guard for the Tigers, his basketball skills inherited from his father, Dennis, a former forward at Crescenta Valley, Glendale College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. But there were no college recruiters banging on his door.

So d’Autremont chose to walk on as a receiver at USC and spent 1998 as a redshirt. By next spring, d’Autremont’s hope of playing for the Trojans vanished.

“I learned I wasn’t going to get a scholarship,” d’Autremont said. “I wanted to stay down in Southern California and get some [football] exposure. Coach Durant came from my high school. That was my connection [to Canyons].”

D’Autremont, who played outside on the left side, and Mark Hamilton, who played outside on the right side, formed a formidable receiving tandem for the Cougars last year. Hamilton, now at Arkansas State, had a team-high 59 receptions for 809 yards and d’Autremont had 37 for 475 yards.

This season, d’Autremont lines up on the right side, unquestionably the go-to guy for the Cougars.

“Last season was good, but I’m much happier this time because we are winning,” d’Autremont said.

Canyons was in a rebuilding mode last season, its second since reinstating football after a 17-year hiatus. The Cougars finished 7-4 after losing to Chaffey, 30-14, in the Southern California Bowl.

The Cougars’ expectations are increasing with every lopsided victory, their sights set on winning the division title and finishing ranked among the top two teams in Southern California.

Those teams meet in a bowl game on Dec. 2, with the winner advancing to the state championship game against the Northern California survivor on Dec. 9 at Visalia. Canyons is ranked No. 2 in Southern California, behind Bakersfield.

D’Autremont is not looking that far ahead, but he is keeping a close eye on recruiting letters from Utah State, Brigham Young, Iowa State and Portland State, among others.

“Hopefully, our team is undefeated at the end of the season and I’ll get some notice,” d’Autremont said.

He could be quite a catch.

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* COLLEGE FOCUS: John Burrell is all business on the court. D17