MidValleySports.Com

Saile Ramirez

By Saile Ramirez

“You can’t make a big play without proper handling of the football.” – Norv Turner

You got to love a quarterback who likes to take chances. Ones who are so in tune with the sport and offensive playbook that they have the confidence to take shots downfield, and not just downfield but escaping rushers and flicking an almost impossible pass.

Watching a couple of area highlight films I am impressed with the types of throws and decisions these guys are making.

Schurr Spartan Aaron Cantu aka “Master Chief” looks so comfortable with the ball in his hands. Tons of positives taken from the highlight video that can be found on youtube.com and of course here on The Mid website. I enjoy seeing his ability to read through the zone coverage and hitting his receivers in stride. Also showing that he has mastered the power of the “QB eyes” looking off safeties and linebackers alike.

Searching through youtube, looking for more highlights I found our very own Andy Villanueva’s interview with Bonita’s Garrett Pendleton after the semi final victory against La Serna. Is it me? Or does Pendleton look like Eli Manning especially with the long hair. I love the PR classes that Bonita must have because GP has some nice mic skills. Oh and by the way he’s even better on the field with 2,033 yards, 22 TDS, and 5 interceptions.

Diamond Bar’s Henry Omana Jr. led The Mid’s best returning QB poll last week and sent us some highlights to back it up. He’s a big kid with a big arm and impressive footwork within the pocket. He has a good delivery and could actually fine tune it even more by working on making it a bit faster to give his receivers more space after the catch.

We all love the big throws down field that slash through man coverage and sometimes the broken zone coverage, but what is able to set that up is the effective quick strike passes. What most don’t understand about the position is that the big plays shown on ESPN or other highlights are setup by plays that may other wise never be a top highlight. A quarterback needs to understand that big plays don’t just come out of thin air, well a few do, but most come after a QB sucks in a defense by throwing short passes and reading coverage and making defenses move with his eyes. You have to make every part of the field vulnerable from the flats to the middle of the field and down the sidelines.

“Football season never really ends its really a year round thing,” says Covina’s Billy Livingston. His eyes are now on the Boise State camp he was invited to and the many films he watches at home…“…Not only from last year but sophomore year as well.” He works out constantly “Like I dont even have weekends. I work out with Coach Merrol every Sunday.” Merrol is Livingston’s private coach who also teaches at Covina.

Be on the look out for a Livingston highlight video that is in the brewing and one from South Pasadena’s Conor Bednarski that should appear on the site soon.