Christian's wait is rewarded as an All-Star
- 07-12-2006
- By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions
Sometimes you have to wait your turn. Nobody tested that rule of life in football more than Matt Christian.
Last season, in his first opportunity as a starting quarterback, he led Carlsbad High to the CIF San Diego Section Division I title.
“Waiting three years for a chance to play one (at quarterback) was tough,” Christian said. “But that one turned out to a year we were the best team in San Diego, I got to lead the team and we played at Qualcomm Stadium.”
Christian, who plans to continue playing quarterback next year at Palomar College, was an All-Avocado League first-team pick and was named to the North squad in the 16th annual Alex Spanos All-Star Football Classic at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 14 at Mesa College.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder spent his first three years at St. Augustine, where there was little chance to earn playing time with the stable of quarterbacks stacked up ahead of him at the private school.
As a junior in 2004, Jason Forcier played quarterback. Foricer, now at Michigan, was one of the top recruits in the state and was named the All-CIF Offensive Player of the Year. Christian may not have been good enough to play quarterback, but at the same time he was too good to sit on the bench as a backup quarterback. So Saints head coach Jerry Ralph started him at wide receiver.
In 2003, there wasn’t much chance of a sophomore playing quarterback on the varsity since Jake Santos put together a senior year that saw him throw 28 touchdown passes. Santos played two years at Mesa College and earned a scholarship for the 2006 season at NCAA Division II Missouri Southern State.
In 2002 as a freshman, Christian missed the year with a broken foot suffered a couple days before the start of preseason practice. The quarterback that year was Richard Kovalcheck, an All-CIF pick and former starter at Arizona who has transferred to Vanderbilt for his senior year.
“I’m not saying I should have been playing – those guys were pretty good,” Christian said. “But I felt I could play if I got the chance. And playing behind them I gained a lot. I learned something from every one of them and from Coach Ralph and (assistant) coach (Dick) Van Raaphorst.”
In an odd twist that says a lot about modern-day high school sports, Christian and Chris Forcier – Jason’s younger brother -- basically swapped jobs in 2005.
Chris Forcier was a backup to Sean Canfield at Carlsbad as a sophomore in 2004, but he transferred to St. Augustine for his junior season in 2005. Christian said he was told there would be open competition for the position, but he didn’t like his odds of keeping the starting job if he won it and later struggled early in the season.
So Christian’s family moved to Carlsbad and the rest, as they say, is history. Christian led the Carlsbad to the Division I title and Forcier led St. Augustine to the Division III title. Christian also led the Lancers to the Avocado League title with a playoff run that ended with the Lancers beating Torrey Pines in the championship game. He finished the year throwing 22 touchdown passes with only eight interceptions.
“I knew some of the Carlsbad players from (youth) soccer and I knew that Carlsbad has a strong program,” Christian said. “It helped that I knew people already.”
But Carlsbad coach Bob McAllister said he was still impressed with Christian’s leadership skills that he could take over a veteran team his first year at the school. Quarterback may be the most important position in sports because of its leadership demands.
“He’s a good athlete and he has a good understanding of the game,” McAllister said. “But his greatest attribute may be that in a short period of time he earned the respect of his peers. That means mom and dad did a good job of raising him. That allowed him to take advantage of a chance to play quarterback.”
But Christian isn’t done yet. He turned down a scholarship offer from Division I-AA Western Washington, because he says he’s not ready to leave Southern California. He’ll play at Palomar and see what opportunities arise. There’s always the chance, although it rarely happens, he could earn a scholarship off his performance in the Spanos All-Star game.
“I’m keeping my options open,” Christian said. “I’m excited about the all-star game. I’m going to Palomar more because I don’t want to leave the area than because I want a Division I-A scholarship. I’m just enjoying playing quarterback and living here.”
Tom Shanahan can be contacted at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.com.
