LJ FB: Forcier's point

By Ed Piper

Chris Forcier, La Jolla's quarterbacks coach, had some things to say related to Viking QB Trevor Scully's troubles with interceptions in both the team's scrimmage against Mission Bay August 19 and their season-opening 24-14 loss to Hilltop August 25.

Forcier, an All-CIF quarterback himself at St. Augustine who also played in the NFL in Europe, spoke to a reporter at La Jolla's team beach barbecue at La Jolla Shores last week, prior to the first game.

"Trevor did a lot of good things in the scrimmage against Mission Bay," the assistant coach said while team members munched on hot dogs and ate S'mores around him. "But at this point, he's seeing a receiver open, then hesitating."

Forcier, who speaks in the present tense about his own making of reads at the quarterback position because he last played so recently, added, "When you see the opening, it's right now. Throw right now."

The waiting, or just pulling the trigger unwisely, can be disastrous, as we came to see. Two days after Forcier and Scully ate hot dogs on the beach at the Shores, Trevor, a senior, threw his first interception against Hilltop early in the second quarter, with the Vikings already trailing 14-0. Fortunately, only two plays later, La Jolla's Johnathan O'Neal picked off a Daniel McPherren pass for a pick, preventing a Lancer score.

Scully recovered his balance on the ensuing possession to lead the Viking offense on an eight-play, 55-yard drive to a touchdown, coming on the QB's 20-yard pass play to Gabe Solis.

Then, in the third quarter, O'Neal and Scully did the same interception dance, only in reverse. Johnathan, a senior captain for Coach Tyler Roach's squad, grabbed a McPherren pass that teammate Israel Sandoval tipped. Scully, four plays later, misfired again, being picked off by Hilltop defender Brandon Marsetti.

The game was still winnable in the fourth quarter, with host Hilltop being flagged for multiple penalties. But after tying the game at 14 to end the third quarter on a quarterback keeper by Scully from 10 yards out, the Vikings could not capitalize.

The QB could easily have been intercepted more, one on a long pass lofted to Solis in the end zone with two defenders vying for the ball with him. But then, now down 24-14 with 2:52 left in the game, Scully threw another pick, then committed a personal foul by rushing over and picking the interceptor up and dropping him, seemingly out of frustration.

How many of the three interceptions were due to the hesitation cited by Forcier earlier, and how many were from throwing off-target or into heavy coverage isn't known. But the coach and his charge certainly will be working on cutting down his interceptions in advance of the next game against Country Day.