Football: It can be rough at the top
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley, pictured, will, in all likelihood, surpass Todd Marinovich as the most prolific passer in Orange County history on Friday when the Monarchs play host to Long Beach Jordan at Santa Ana Stadium in a Pac-5 Division first-round game. Barkley needs only 87 yards to become the top passer in the O.C. and move into seventh place in Southern Section history.
Which got me thinking: Who are the other top passers and what did they do in their college and pro careers? Well, it turns out, not much.
The list, in order:
1) Michael Herrick, who passed for 11,022 yards from 2003-05 at Valencia, sat for two years at Mississippi before becoming the starter this year at Northern Arizona.
2) Jimmy Clausen, who passed for 10,677 yards from 2003-06 at Oaks Christian, was part of one of the worst seasons in Notre Dame history as a freshman, though the Fighting Irish (6-3) have rebounded a bit in 2008.
3) Keith Smith, who passed for 9.971 yards at Newbury Park from 1991-95, played at Arizona and with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Xtreme of the short-lived XFL but didn’t play because of a contract dispute with Saskatchewan.
4) Chris Czernek, who passed for 9.821 yards at Newbury Park from 1994-96, sat at Cal Poly before becoming a Division III standout at Cal Lutheran. (He’s now the co-offensive coordinator at Thousand Oaks.)
5) Darius Banks, who passed for 9,356 yards at Culver City from 2005-07, signed with Eastern Washington but did not qualify academically.
6) Chad Davis, who passed for 9,322 yards for Palm Springs, Torrey Pines and Mira Mesa from 1988-91, played at Washington State.
7) Todd Marinovich, who passed for 9,182 yards at Mater Dei and Capistrano Valley from 1984-87, played at USC and with the Raiders, but as Times stat guru Eric Maddy pointed out, his arrest total is approaching his NFL touchdown total and he’s presumably in training in case the Orange County correctional system decides to re-create ‘The Longest Yard.’
--Ben Bolch