In Classroom and Behind Center, He’s a Quick Study : Valhalla Junior Derek Hable Achieves Success as Novice Quarterback and Accomplished Student

EL CAJON — After only one game at quarterback, it is a little soon to anoint Derek Hable the second coming of Pat Haden.

Realistically, Hable has a better shot at being a Rhodes Scholar like Haden or a broadcaster like Haden than an NFL quarterback like Haden.

Not that Hable, nor anyone who saw him throw for a school-record 289 yards in his varsity debut Saturday, would rule out NFL quarterback, but Hable has a better shot at being a Rhodes Scholar or a broadcaster or even a U.S. Congressman, like his uncle Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands).

A 4.0 honor student who says he rarely, if ever, studies, Hable is both eloquent and insightful beyond his years, and one of his many aspirations is to one day be a member of the House of Representatives.

Of course, public service would come after his football and broadcasting careers.

“I’d love to go to college and play and then get drafted by the pros,” Hable said. “My friends always say, ‘Aaahhh, that’s such a longshot. What are you thinking about that for?’ I say, ‘Well, somebody has to do it, right? There’s got to be the one person that goes all the way. Why can’t it be me?’ ”

Hable, a 6-foot junior and native Minnesotan who idolized Fran Tarkenton as a child, became a quarterback only out of necessity and has played only three games there in high school.

Last year on Valhalla’s junior varsity team, when both of the regular quarterbacks were declared academically ineligible after eight games, the coaches knew they had only one guy with the intelligence and skill to learn the position in one week.

“The running plays were easy enough,” Hable said. “But the passing game was tough because everyone was so focused on the running game. Nobody taught me, or re-taught me, how to drop back, how to look at the receiver. I was going up there blind. I couldn’t see over my line. I was just throwing it up hoping to God somebody would catch it, and they didn’t. I didn’t look very good. I was very disappointed after that game.

“It always feels bad to fail. I’ve always had very high expectations of myself. If I don’t play perfectly almost every time, I kind of kick myself. It’s unrealistic, but I don’t think I can change.”

With Hable throwing four interceptions, Valhalla lost that game but won its final game. After that, Hable thought he would move back to receiver and defensive back, but Valhalla’s new varsity coach, Randy Reid, had other plans.

In his varsity debut Saturday, Hable completed 18 of 26 passes for 289 yards, including 235 yards and two touchdowns in the second half as Valhalla fell three points shy of wiping out a 22-0 deficit against Las Vegas Cimarron-Memorial.

As well as becoming the county passing leader, Hable set a school record for passing yards in a game and tied another for completions.

The yardage record (228) had been set by Darin Magoffin in 1983 and is particularly noteworthy because Hable has been dating Magoffin’s sister, Kathy, for two months, and Magoffin had been kidding Hable that he would never approach any of his numerous school marks.

Before the game, Hable’s parents, Steve and Lori, had read in a local newspaper that Valhalla would need to find a quality replacement for last year’s quarterback Rob Reid.

During the game, Hable wore a T-shirt his parents got him with the inscription: “Quality Replacement.”

Hable says he has always been close to his parents, particularly his father, who spent several years and moved his family often trying to bail out various savings and loan institutions before starting his own financial business in San Diego.

Said Hable: “My dad taught me, ‘When you have interviews, always mention your line and always mention the other players. If you have to, use the cliches. But only if you have to. And never say anything bad about your upcoming opponent because they’ll use it against you. Other than that, everything else is free game.’ ”

Free game for Hable could mean about any subject.

* On quarterbacking: “If you’re great, everyone’s your friend. But if you’re not great all the time, it’s all your fault. It’s kind of hard playing with those emotions, being on a roller-coaster ride like that. But you have to. That’s the nature of the position.”

* On Valhalla: “It’s a forward-thinking school. It’s not standard curriculum, standardly taught. It’s more in depth than that. It’s more like learning through life than memorizing something for a test and forgetting it. A lot of the stuff you pick up you keep, whether it be information or ways to learn.”

* On friends: “All my friends are intelligent. I tend to stick around more of the honor students. But I have friends that aren’t in any of the honor classes, and they’re just as intelligent. They just aren’t motivated to try to take on any extra curriculum.”

* On challenges: “I never pick the cushy (job). I think to myself, ‘What a waste.’ I have the ability to do so much more that’s challenging. I’d like to be able to do a cushy job and just be satisfied with it, but I wouldn’t be. It kind of puts myself in a difficult spot. I’d like to do the easy stuff, but I never chose to do that. I figure if I fail at the hard stuff, it’s better than doing good at the easy stuff. At least I’ll know where I’m at, as opposed to what might I have done if I had tried it.”

* On politics and ethics: “It doesn’t make any sense to make under-the-table deals. I’ve always thought, ‘Why can’t (politicians) vote strictly on what (their) constituents want?’ We wouldn’t have any problems if everyone did that. So I thought, well, somebody’s got to start it. I’d do it. I may only last one term, but at least no one could ever argue my voting record.”

* On his memory: “It’s like a sponge. I don’t have to study anything. Once I see it or hear it, it just sticks with me.

* On what’s important to him: “Marriage. A happy marriage. A lot of people in high school kind of date indiscriminately, and it doesn’t last very long. I’ve always frowned on that. I’ve always looked at it like if you’re going to spend time with someone, make it last. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time.”

* On his father: “We have a really good rapport. We’re so naturally close that when I go home, we’ll discuss school, then we’ll discuss practice, and then we’ll sit down and watch ‘Jeopardy,’ and see who can beat whom.”