LJ FB: Quarterback competition

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Not easing rising senior Kenny Hayden's anxiety any, the quarterback spot at La Jolla High is wide-open, among Hayden, last year's JV quarterback Carsten Fehlan, and Trevor Scully, a former Viking who transferred back from Mission Bay Wed., May 24.

Hayden, a southpaw passer, is the only one of the three who was on La Jolla's varsity squad full-time and exclusively last year. Fehlan led an outstanding junior varsity that sailed through an undefeated 9-0 season. Scully spent a year starting for the Buccaneers after Cole Dimich prevailed as Viking starting quarterback last season.

"It's totally open," said new La Jolla receivers coach Armon Harvey Tues., May 30, of the quarterback competition. "That's the way (new head coach) Tyler (Roach) does it, coming over from La Jolla Country Day."

"Kenny does not have seniority," said Harvey, who at present is part of a triumvirate that is piloting the red-and-black offense, with Roach doubling in his role as head coach also as offensive coordinator. Chris Forcier, the third prong of the trio, is quarterbacks coach. While Harvey spoke with a reporter, Forcier was running Scully and Fehlan through cone and ladder drills for agility and mobility while practicing their downfield-read posture. They looked pretty sweaty when they were done. They were working hard.

Harvey, a former fullback who played and coached in Europe, as well as coaching at Mater Dei, Montgomery, Monte Vista, and, last year, Del Norte high schools, vowed the Vikings' offense will be "electrifying" next fall.

"I see us competing for the (Eastern League) flag," he said. Spring football is like Spring Training baseball: Hope springs eternal. No one has any losses yet.

Roach's program, with the active quarterbacks, Scully and Fehlan, rotating, has a slate of 7-on-7 passing drill competitions scheduled this summer. One will be the annual camp at San Diego State. Another is the big camp held on the Southwestern College campus in the  South Bay. Hayden is presently rehabbing a knee, and is not taking part in workouts.

This time the powers-that-be enter the summer fray with the expectation--assurance?--that this head coach will be around for a few seasons. That's what Head of Football Operations John McColl, who was at Wednesday's practice, clearly stated at the team event announcing Roach's hire back in March.