Capistrano Valley’s Family Affair : Prep football: Scott Patton will be starting at quarterback for his father, Coach Eric Patton, in the Cougars’ opener tonight.

MISSION VIEJO —  Scott Patton relaxes on the couch as his father, Eric, plops into a nearby chair and pulls on his shoes. The TV and videotape recorder are nearby.

Just another day taking it easy at the Patton home, right?

Not quite.

This is football season. And this is the Capistrano Valley High School football office, a place where the Pattons are spending a lot of time these days. At least when they’re not on the practice field.

“If I didn’t see Scott at practice or school, I probably wouldn’t see him,” Eric said. “I’m gone before he gets up and I get home when he’s going to bed.”

And both Pattons know that family ties on the football field can sometimes make for a delicate situation.

Scott, a two-year starter at slotback, will be the Cougars’ starting quarterback in their season-opener against Mater Dei at 7:30 tonight at Orange Coast College.

“My coaching style with my kids is to say as little to them on the field as possible,” said Eric, who also coached son Ward, a linebacker who graduated in 1990. “I try to let my staff handle them.

“There have been some touchy moments when I deal with them in a game. All of a sudden, they hear Dad talking instead of Coach Patton. It’s like they’re hearing, ‘Be home by 11’ or ‘Take out the trash.’ ”

Eric Patton thought of those scenarios several years ago, when he was an assistant at Capistrano Valley. He wondered if he wanted to coach Scott and Ward.

He thought of sending them to Mater Dei, where he had been a standout linebacker before moving on to Notre Dame and pro ball. He also considered quitting coaching.

“It had to be eight or 10 years ago,” Eric said, “and I asked Scott what he thought if Dad didn’t coach the Cougars anymore.”

Scott’s answer was simple and direct.

He started crying.

Eric became the head coach during Scott’s freshman year. Three seasons have passed, and he has watched Scott grow from a small slotback into a 6-foot-1, 189-pound quarterback.

“What’s it like playing for my father?” Scott Patton asks. “I don’t know what to compare it to. I guess it’s a little easier, but . . . “

Assistant Coach Robbie Schmitz offered some assistance.

“Hey, at least if he has a question about something, he has someone to ask 24 hours a day,” Schmitz said.

Patton laughed.

“And I hear all the complaints, too,” he said.

Father and son agree that it will be tough to top last season, when Scott played for Southern Section championship teams in football and baseball.

He played slotback for the football team and was the pitcher in the victory over Canyon in the championship game.

“The only way to top last year,” Patton said, “would be to do it again.”

But it would be under different circumstances. Scott is no longer the free-lancing runner, receiver and backup quarterback. He’s the starter. The leader. And the expectations are high.

Patton merely shrugs.

“I’ve never felt any pressure,” he said. “There must be something wrong with me. I’m out here, so I must be the best guy for the job. I’m confident in myself. Some call it cocky, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Patton hasn’t set any standards, at least not personally, for a successful season.

“If I told myself that I wanted to pass for 1,000 yards and did it, then I’d want to pass for 2,000,” he said. “If I was all-league, then I’d want to be all-county. If I was all-county, then I’d want to be All-Southern Section. Then I’d want to be all-state. It just keeps going.”

Schmitz, the Cougars’ offensive coordinator, said Patton was being groomed for the starting quarterback spot the past two years. So when Tony Solliday graduated last year, Patton was the natural replacement.

“Scott’s a great athlete, but he’s just learning the position,” Schmitz said. “He’s the best athlete on the team, and, fortunately, we have the best athlete playing quarterback. It’s fun to watch him. Everyday, he picks something up.”

Said Scott Patton: “I knew I would be the guy when Tony graduated, unless some stud transferred in and beat me out.”

No one transferred, and Patton has the starting job.

“He was next in line,” Schmitz said. “We wanted to find someone else so Scott could stay at slotback, but we lost all our skill players from last year. We just wanted to make sure we had the best guy in there.”

Eric Patton said his son’s agility will make him a good scrambling quarterback.

“Quarterback lets Scott improvise some,” Eric Patton said. “Running and scrambling have always been good traits of his.”

But Patton’s transition from part-time receiver to full-time quarterback hasn’t been easy.

“I’ve got to make all the decisions now,” he said. “And it’s a lot harder to throw the ball than to catch it.”

An injury during the summer didn’t make it any easier. Patton tore ligaments in his left ankle while trying to beat a throw to first base in a summer league baseball game, and spent most of his spare time in rehabilitation.

Although he has received recruiting letters from football powers such as UCLA and Colorado, Patton isn’t sure if he wants to play college football.

“I don’t know if Scott can progress enough in one season to be a pure passer like a Rob Johnson,” Eric Patton said. “But the decision’s all his.”

Baseball might be the best route. He had a 7-4 record and an earned-run average near 2.00 last season, but he thinks his best college position would be in the outfield.

“If I get the opportunity to play college football, I will. But I won’t force (it). I wouldn’t walk on for football, but I would for baseball.”