A Lesson in Crash Landings

High in the air a long, lovely spiral soars, the kind of pass that causes the hearts of college recruiters to flutter.

Leaving the left hand of Ryan McCann, the passes are like fireworks, majestic in flight, harmless upon landing.

And hit the ground they do, often inches beyond the outstretched hands of their target.

McCann, a 6-foot-4 Agoura High senior coveted by the nation’s top colleges, threw for a mere 77 yards Friday night against Rio Mesa, completing eight of 17 passes.

A season that was to mark McCann’s emergence from the shadow of last year’s rivals Joe Borchard, Todd Preston and Chris Czernek has begun this way: 39 of 80 for 459 yards and two touchdowns.

Beautiful passes.

Homely numbers.

“I let go of the ball, I think it’s going to be right there, then I can’t believe it,” McCann said. “A lot of those, I thought were perfect passes.”

McCann refuses to blame anyone but himself for the lack of timing.

He realizes his frustration isn’t shared by most of his teammates, not after the Chargers blasted Rio Mesa, 33-14, behind 290 yards rushing.

Agoura (2-1) is favored to make the playoffs, and McCann won’t rock a boat that is churning in the right direction. He views his troubles as a test of maturity.

“We are all positive about winning,” he said. “I’m in a leadership role and I understand we’ve got to take what the defense gives us.”

McCann lacks the game-breaking receiver he had the past two seasons, when he passed for nearly 3,500 yards and 37 touchdowns. The timing with Shayne Sobel last year and Joel Weiss in 1995 was impeccable.

Agoura’s best receiver is 6-6 tight end Marcus Helfman, whom McCann would like to get more involved. Wide receivers Garrett Lepisto and Aaron Pruter have good hands but are inexperienced and tire because they also play defense.

The timing of McCann’s struggles isn’t the greatest either, not with college recruiters watching his every throw. Yet he doesn’t believe they are too concerned with his numbers.

“They look at film and see the potential,” he said. “I can move a little bit and throw. They can see that the offense doesn’t show off what I can do.”

Earlier this year, McCann and his father walked ahead of the UCLA team through a gauntlet of cheering alumni at the Rose Bowl.

He will take an official visit to California in two weeks and plans another to Notre Dame. Soon, McCann will be surrounded by receivers who can flat-out fly.

Until then, his growth will be measured by Agoura victories and the way he handles adversity, not by passing yardage.

*

Making adjustments is a key to playing football. And to covering it as well. As league play approaches, several teams appear better, or worse, than originally advertised:

For real:

* Royal (3-0) has eight touchdowns of more than 25 yards and will push Newbury Park, Agoura and Westlake for a playoff berth.

* Crescenta Valley (3-0), with quarterback/tailback Kenny Pritchett and a strong linebacking corps, should lose only to Muir and have playoff momentum.

* Palmdale (3-0), with quarterback Grant Livermont living up to expectations, could rise to the top of the strong Golden League.

* El Camino Real (3-0) has not faced top competition but it can’t be ignored after demolishing opponents by a combined score of 121-7.

Forlorn:

* Sylmar (2-1) lost to Antelope Valley, 27-7, which will lead some to conclude the City Section can’t match up against the Southern Section.

* Chaminade (0-3), normally a solid program, has fallen on hard times because of an inability to move the ball.

* Camarillo (0-3), the defending Southern Section Division III champion, is rebuilding with players who feel the pressure of performing at the level of their predecessors.