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| Viking QB Carsten Fehlan warms up on the Central Union High field before the season opener Aug. 17. (Photo by Ed Piper) |
The case of Viking quarterback Carsten Fehlan is a fascinating study in the growth taking place in the living laboratory that is high school sports.
Fehlan was the heir apparent to the head offensive position ever since last year's starter, Trevor Scully, played his senior season and graduated.
The 6'2" drop-back passer, a success at the junior varsity level two years ago, sometimes looked good in spring and summer 7-on-7 competitions, and sometimes not so good.
Carsten doesn't tend to be the most talkative, hail-fellow-well-met yakker around the football field, so it's hard to get a read on him, if you don't know him well, which I don't. Always unfailingly polite, though. Just a good kid.
I remember one 7-on-7 at La Jolla High School in which he and the Viking offense was moving well, progressing through the downs to reach the end zone. There was more than one occasion like this in the multiple competitions.
On another occasion, in warm-ups, head coach Tyler Roach, who is offensive-minded and who seems pretty supportive of Carsten, as well as his other young players, in developing as young athletes, called out after a lousy throw, "Step into the throw." Come on, do the basic things that we have been working on for you to improve as a passer.
In my own experience as an athlete, and in observing other athletes, I know that on some days things seem to come easily, and on other days, no matter what you do, things don't go well.
There's no rhyme nor reason. You just feel blah. You don't move as quickly, you don't respond as quickly. Yet you've done all your preparation as conscientiously as you can, you've warmed up properly, and things still don't come together. That's part of life.
Approaching the Vikings' opener three weeks ago at Central Union High in El Centro, which was unpleasantly hot, even at the 7 p.m. game time, to the tune of 104 degrees, Fehlan had to be nervous. Here, he had waited two years for this opportunity to start: After the October finish to the JV football season in 2016, 21 months before this moment, he had had to sit behind a starter (and one who transferred back to the school after leaving--that's got to be somewhat frustrating) ahead of him all last season.
Fast-forward through all the lifting, all the informal workouts in the offseason starting last winter--that's a lot of time to think, and wait for action that counts.
Carsten's father Bruce and I had a long talk in our cars in the parking lot at Francis Parker School during a 7-on-7 competition. Dad and son were doing the insane driving up to the Bay Area for a showcase workout Friday, then hustling back in the traffic to be at a competition two days later. Crazy stuff.
But that isn't all. Bruce pointed out that, since Carsten hadn't been a starter on the varsity level yet, the college scouts really had nothing to go on until he put up some numbers with the Vikings later this summer. So, Carsten could work hard and impress all he could, but the college folks had him in some anonymous category of non-evaluation, because, as was understandable, he had no real-competition statistics he could show to them about his ability and effectiveness. Is that called limbo, or what?
La Jolla's experience in El Centro wasn't real thrilling. Fehlan failed to lead the offense to a touchdown in his half-plus of duties, before leaving the game "to be super cautious" (Carsten's explanation to me on the sideline) after he fell awkwardly to the ground.
Then, sophomore backup QB Diego Solis showed wild-and-wooly instincts in running around like a mini-Michael Vick, completing passes, getting sacked, experiencing all the things that Fehlan had to face without a lot of protection from the hard-working but struggling offensive line. Solis also led the Vikings on two successful drives, avoiding the shutout, which would have been a dirty mark.
This reporter's thinking at the time: Look who's going to be the new starting quarterback? A 40-14 loss in the desert, and Diego and his older brother, Gabe, scored the team's only points.
But Roach, the veteran coach, is seasoned and knows a lot more about football than I do. Supporting his starter, he diplomatically replied--but also in a way that a mentor or teacher carries out the role he plays in building up his mentoree, "We're going to play to both players' (Fehlan's and Diego's) strengths." He said, "We're going to get Diego some reps."
Week 2: The opponent was a little more pliable, Fehlan moved the ball in a way he didn't in week one, and the Viking offense scored behind him to pound visiting Country Day at home, 40-7.
It had to be a relief for Fehlan, and a big boost to his confidence. He broke into the scoring stats, and that nervousness was over.
Week 3: The drive to a touchdown beginning with 1:58 to play. La Jolla, in front of a big Blast Off crowd, came back behind its QB, still in only his third game starting, to rally to within two points. On the record, it was a loss, 16-14, but you could see Carsten, in his running on a key play to keep the 80-yard going against Santa Fe Christian, and in the purposefulness of his passes that he was feeling more that he belonged out there.
Roach, asked what he has done specifically to build his quarterback's confidence and performance to this point: "Just constant coaching. Trying to put him in the best situation to be successful based on his strengths.
"Also, a lot of work in practice to improve on the little details and decision-making.
"Building up his confidence. And most importantly, we've challenged him to compete every day for his job, and he's responded well."
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