No Sibling Rivalry in the Johnson Family : Prep football: It has taken Rob three years to fill his brother’s shoes, but in the long run he could be as good a quarterback as Bret.

Maybe the Rob Johnson Story would be juicier if he had transferred to El Toro High School under questionable circumstances. Or if his father made boasts about winning the Heisman Trophy some day. Or if he didn’t eat birthday cake at his own party.

Or even if his name were Bret Johnson.

Meet Rob Johnson, Bret’s 17-year-old brother. A quarterback? Of course. The best high school quarterback in the United States? No, but a very good one.

Rob has progressed, awkwardly at first but now gracefully, into one of the top quarterbacks in the CIF Southern Section.

According to his father and coach, Bob Johnson, he has done it without the soap opera that accompanied Bret Johnson’s and Todd Marinovich’s memorable prep careers.

Tonight, Rob Johnson will lead undefeated El Toro, The Times’ second-ranked Southern Section team, against once-beaten Mission Viejo, the Times’ 12th-ranked team.

It’s another big game in the competitive Division II South Coast League. A crowd of about 8,000 is expected at Mission Viejo’s 5,000-seat stadium to watch the schools decide the league championship.

It’s a familiar story for members of the Johnson family, but this time with a different twist. It’s being taken for what it is--a game.

It did not seem like one when Bret played for football supremacy in southern Orange County. Fun? Joy? Innocence? Three years ago, those aspects of the high school football experience were absent when Bret led El Toro against Capistrano Valley and Marinovich, its ballyhooed quarterback.

Bret Johnson and Marinovich were regarded as two of the best high school quarterbacks in the country in 1987. They were different in many ways, and that seemed to make comparisons easier. And people loved to compare and contrast the two.

Bret was a cocky winner and came off as having a cold personality. Todd was a record-setter who, it was said, never ate junk food--or birthday cake.

Johnson was a right-handed, roll-out passer, who didn’t care about his statistics as long as El Toro won. Marinovich was a left-handed, drop-back passer who set national records but whose teams won only one playoff game.

Johnson helped El Toro win consecutive Southern Section championships. Marinovich passed for 9,182 yards, a national high school record.

Who was better? The debate raged, with Johnson going to UCLA--he’s redshirting at Michigan State after quitting the Bruin team in a huff last August--and Marinovich to USC--he’s coming off a one-week suspension for missing class.

It took awhile for the storm to clear, but there was calm at El Toro when Rob Johnson became the quarterback this season.

“I think it’s been a lot quieter around here,” Bob Johnson said.

Rob Johnson has rivals. Tony Solliday of Capistrano Valley and Tim Snowden of Mission Viejo rank just behind him in county passing efficiency.

He also has sterling statistics, having completed 71.4% of his passes for 1,690 yards and 21 touchdowns with five interceptions. El Toro is 8-0.

His only problem seems to be a lack of experience. “His true greatness hasn’t surfaced only because he hasn’t played that much,” said Fountain Valley Coach Mike Milner.

Unlike his older brother, who was a three-year starter, Johnson played on the freshman and sophomore teams before moving to the varsity as a junior. He found himself behind Steve Stenstrom, an accurate passer who is now a redshirt freshman at Stanford.

“I was just playing receiver so I didn’t have to sit on the bench,” Johnson said.

It was awkward at first, but the Stenstrom-to-Johnson connection was a hit by midseason. Both were named to The Times’ All-Orange County team as El Toro went 12-2, losing in the Division III championship game to Paramount, 26-20.

Johnson stepped in as the starting quarterback this season and almost stuck his foot in his mouth. On the eve of El Toro’s opening game against Wyoming Valley West High of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., he told a newspaper there: “You think coal miners are tough? You’re going to find out what California’s all about.”

He explained later, “I got tired of hearing about coal miners.” El Toro won, 41-0, proving Johnson’s point.

“Bret always tells me to be cocky,” he said. “He says, ‘When you’re winning, let them know it.’ ”

Just as the high school careers of Bret Johnson and Todd Marinovich were entwined, so too are those of Rob and Bret.

“It will always be like that, and I don’t care,” Rob said last season. “I’m proud to be Bret Johnson’s little brother.”

Bret Johnson quit UCLA during preseason drills after learning he lost the starting quarterback job to Jim Bonds. Bonds was later replaced by Tommy Maddox. After shopping around, Johnson headed for East Lansing, Mich.

The Johnson family refused to let Bret be interviewed for this story, and Rob dodged questions about a college preference.

“I’ll deal with choosing a college when the season’s over,” Rob said. He laughed when asked if UCLA was at the top of his list.

Bret and Rob, the only children of Bob and Debbie Johnson, played baseball, basketball and football as youngsters. When he had time, Bob coached both in youth league competition.

Rob’s first love was baseball. He played shortstop and pitched in the Mission Viejo South Little League, with Solliday, the Capistrano Valley quarterback.

“I always knew he was a great baseball and basketball player,” Solliday said. “Back then, I had no idea we’d face each other in high school football.”

Bob Johnson worked hard to keep his dual roles as father and coach separate. It hasn’t always been easy.

“I’m always on him,” he said. “Sometimes I go home, or I’ll be driving in the car, and I’ll say to myself, ‘Doggone, lay off.’ I’m coaching the only way I know how. He has to consider the source.

“Sometimes I’ll come home from school on Sunday, and Rob will want to know what the coaches have planned for the week. I’ll say, ‘Don’t worry about it. You’ll find out Monday.’ I’m a father at home and a coach at school.”

Nevertheless, there is pressure.

Bob Johnson wants every pass thrown within the frame of a receiver’s torso. He doesn’t want receivers to have to reach. He wants his son to drop back faster to avoid sacks. He wants his release higher, to take better advantage of his 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame.

There is no room for inaccuracy in El Toro’s precise offense.

“He wants perfection,” Rob Johnson said. “And I’m not perfect. That’s good. It helps me get better.”

Some believe he’s good enough already.

“He’s got great poise, great size, makes good decisions and has a strong arm,” Solliday said.

Said Mission Viejo Coach Mike Rush: “You have to respect him. He appears to be fairly mobile. We have to try to destroy his timing. That’s our challenge.”

Rob Johnson’s challenge is not to avoid his brother’s shadow, but to embrace it or even enhance it by playing well himself.

“He was such a big name in this county,” Rob said. “I think as I get older, when people mention Bret’s name, they’ll mention mine, too.”

ROB JOHNSON’S SEASON

Opponent Att. Cmp. Yds. TD Int. W. Valley (Pa.) West 22 15 188 2 0 Fountain Valley 8 7 138 3 0 Downey 30 21 299 3 2 Santa Monica 25 19 226 2 0 Antelope Valley 26 18 212 4 0 Capistrano Valley 19 12 142 1 1 Irvine 30 22 275 3 1 Dana Hills 22 16 210 3 1 Totals 182 130 1,690 21 5