Davis Has Bigger Goal on His Mind

SAN DIEGO —  Chad Davis agreed that this is the night he’s been awaiting for three years, but it’s not what we think.

Davis will attempt to break Todd Marinovich’s career high school passing record tonight at Mira Mesa High, where the Marauders (7-3) take on Rancho Buena Vista (5-5) in the first round of the 3-A San Diego Section football playoffs.

But that’s not his first priority.

“I’ve been in the playoffs three years now, and I’ve never been past the first round,” Davis said. “Absolutely, that’s the most important thing. I’d love to get (the record). It’s been a personal goal since I was a freshman. But it’s in the back of my mind. If we don’t win this game, it’s not going to mean a thing.”

His 9,086 career passing yards fall 96 yards short of those compiled from 1984-87 at Mater Dei and Capistrano Valley by Marinovich, now playing for the NFL Raiders. Davis has taken it one school further.

Under Coach Jerry Cheek at Palm Springs, Davis passed for 3,966 yards with five interceptions his freshman and sophomore years. In 1990, a head coaching job lured father Bob Davis and the family to San Diego, where Chad and dad helped turn Torrey Pines, 2-8 in 1989, into a playoff contender. A year later, amid controversy that they left for the wrong reasons--such as Chad having a better chance of breaking the record somewhere else--Bob Davis accepted an assistant coaching job at Mira Mesa.

“We had to go. My dad lost his job, that’s the only reason we left,” Davis said of the criticism. “People don’t understand that.”

What Chad understands perfectly is the irony of being so close to the record at a time when a loss means the end of his high school football career.

“We kind of figured it would come down to this,” he said. “We probably could have gotten (the record) in the last game, but we were winning by a lot and I went out with six minutes to play. There was no reason to run up the score.”

RBV Coach Craig Bell wants nothing more than to harness Davis’ production, but he doesn’t begrudge him the record or the recognition.

“As good as Chad Davis is, holding him to less then 100 yards is going to be hard to do,” said Bell. “That young man has had a lot of pressure on him. A lot has happened. If he breaks the record, I’ll be happy for him.”

A contingent of coaches and players from Palm Springs will be on hand to root for Davis and the Marauders.

“It means a lot (to have them here),” Davis said. “Basically, they’re the guys I started this thing with.”

But Cheek, whom Davis described as “the man who made me,” has never resented the fact that his star quarterback has finished “this thing” elsewhere.

“We felt if he stayed with us the next two years, he’d break the record for sure,” Cheek said. “You’re not going to hold down talent like that. But (the move) was something they had to do, and Chad still spends time with me. When he has problems throwing, he comes down and we’ll work it out.”

Not that there’s been much to fix. In 33 years of coaching on the high school, college and pro levels, Cheek said he has never seen anyone like him.

“He’s the best I’ve seen play in the quarterback position,” Cheek said. “He’s a born athlete, real natural. We saw film of him as an eighth grader and were in awe. Right from the start, he knew how to throw. We didn’t have to correct a thing.”

Cheek traced Chad’s success not only to natural talent, but to a work ethic equaled by none.

“I had lunch almost every day with him his freshman year,” Cheek said. “He wanted to learn. He’d watch films for hours, looking for weaknesses in coverage and pass defenses. Here he was, a good looking kid like him, with all the pretty girls around, but he wanted to be there. He’s a tenacious competitor.”

But what has he done for us lately? Chad acknowledged that his production this season--and last--is more than 700 yards shy of his 2,885 passing yards as a sophomore.

“The competition down here is completely different,” he explained, without sounding defensive. “The level of play here is a lot better. People here can play. The guys know how to defend the pass.”

Point Loma did. The Pointers held Davis to 45 passing yards in a 17-7 victory Oct. 18. Mira Mesa’s only touchdown was the result of a blocked punt.

“He’s a fine passer,” said Point Loma Coach Bennie Edens. “If you give him time to throw, you’re in trouble. You have to put a lot of pressure on him and your coverage people have to be good. I’d like to say do this or do that to contain Chad Davis, but it takes more than a scheme. You need good athletes.”

Just as Davis needed teammates who would pass block and catch his passes, something foreign to previous Mira Mesa teams.

“Mira Mesa traditionally runs the football,” Davis said. “Their guys have taken a lot of pride in changing. Every day during the summer, (my receivers) would work out with me for hours. And the offensive line has done a great job, going from rush blocking to pass blocking. For them to make that kind of a commitment . . . “

Hopping from school to school hasn’t been easy for Davis, but he wouldn’t change a thing.

“No regrets,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it, but I’ve also learned to deal with adversity. I’ve learned from the challenges, things I can take with me to college.”

Bell, whose three previous RBV teams sport a 10-1 playoff record, finds himself in an unusual situation.

“We really haven’t been in a situation when we’re the underdog and the visitor,” he said.

But RBV’s game plan isn’t unique. The Longhorns will go to their ground game and hope to stop Davis.

“We’re a throwback kind of team,” Bell said. “We run at ‘em and do what we can. We need to control the tempo and keep the ball away from them. The more opportunities you give Chad Davis, the more you’re playing with fire. He runs out of trouble. I’ve seen him run out of sacks. He sees it coming. He buys time for himself.”