Agoura’s new arm confident he can can carry the torch

By Kyle Jorrey

jorrey@theacorn.com

PATRICK SHELBY/Acorn Newspapers THE TIME IS NOW—Agoura quarterback Dominick Huerta participates in a 7-on-7 scrimmage Tuesday at Charger Stadium. The Chargers faced off against Grace Brethren, Chatsworth and Crespi. Enjoying his final few passing leagues games before the start of CIF’s mandated three-week “dead” period, Agoura senior Dominick Huerta knows his carefree days of waiting, wondering and preparing are about to be over.

In less than a month, Huerta, who doesn’t even turn 17 until October, will take over the role of starting quarterback of the Chargers, an opportunity he knows will force him to rethink everything he thought he knew about playing varsity football in the nationallyrespected Southern Section.

“I’m definitely a little anxious right now, I kind of just want to get (the season) started,” Huerta said. “I know people are saying a lot of things. I know there’s going to be a lot of pressure on me. I can’t listen to that. I have to focus in on what I have to do and make sure we’re ready to go by our first game.”

Returning to a Marmonte League ripe with quality QBs, especially those with at least a year of experience under their belts, Huerta has no illusions about how high the bar will be set for quarterbacks.

Fair or not, his performance will be compared to that of proven starters such as Royal’s Kevin Harrington, Newbury Park’s Jordan LaSecla and T.O.’s Ryan Cloney.

“I know there’s a lot of competition out there and people don’t expect me to be among the top passers in the league,” Huerta said. “Now it’s my job to prove them wrong and try to live up to my own expectations.”

If there’s one guy who’s not worried about Huerta’s ability to count his varsity snaps on two hands, it’s Agoura head coach Charlie Wegher.

Wegher, whose coached three All-CIF quarterbacks—and one he thinks should have been (2003’s Bryan Walker)—said he doesn’t put much stock into the importance of having varsity experience coming into a new season. After all, Cory Smits, a first-year starter as a senior last season, was the Marmonte League’s top passer.

“Each year we put a new guy in there as a starter and every year they’re fine,” Wegher said. “As long as they’ve learned the system it works. And that’s what they get to learn as a backup.”

Wegher, who has a reputation for being a quarterbacks’ coach, said Huerta has all the makings of Agoura’s next big arm. As a sophomore on the 10-0 JV team, he threw for 35 TDs and over 2,500 yards.

“He’s as good as we’ve had at throwing the football,” Wegher said. “We’ve had three all CIFguys—and those guys were outstanding—but he can fit in right there amongst that group of kids.

“What he does with his feet, the way he releases the ball— it’s a perfect fit for what we do,” he added. “I’m excited about the possibilities.”

Having played in nearly 60 passing league games this summer, Huerta is getting well acquainted with his soon-to-be targets, especially returning All-CIF selection J.T. Wright.

Wright, who caught 66 passes for 1,074 yards last season, is Marmonte’s second-leading returning receiver, behind only T.O.’s Matt Luft (72 catches, 1,120 yards).

“Having a guy like that on my side gives me a lot of confidence,” Huerta said. “No matter what kinds of coverages he sees he’s a guy that gets open and can make incredible catches.”

Still, besides Wright, lineman Eric Wells is the Chargers only returning starter on offense.

The new flock of Agoura receivers—guys like Jerry Henry and Orel Tagai—still have a lot to prove. But then again, so does their quarterback.

“I think our receiving corps might be the strong point of this team,” Huerta said. “There’s a lot of guys I’m confident I can throw the ball to and they can catch it.”

His coach agreed.

“Last year’s group was special, but we’ve got another good bunch this year,” Wegher said. “I don’t know. We’re just fortunate to keep getting good receivers.”

Recently, the Chargers took first place at the Pierce College 7-on-7 tournament, beating several much larger schools and serving notice to any of those who doubt the typically lethal Agoura passing attack is going to take a step back this year.

Though a far cry from winning on the Marmonte League battlefield, it helps to get the winning spirit spread around camp early.

“It’s good for us because we get to play all the schools around here and make a name for ourselves even without the pads,” said Huerta, who led his team to a victory over Birmingham High School in the championship game. “Plus, it helps end the summer on a good note.”

Today, the Chargers are at Westlake playing in their final passing league event against a talented field that includes the Warriors, Oaks Christian and Dos Pueblos.

With the season just around the corner and pressure mounting, Huerta has not lost sight of just how special this opportunity to lead the Chargers on the field really is.

“I want to win, but I also want to have fun doing this,” Huerta said. “This is my last season getting to play with the guys I grew up with and I want to make the most of it.”