Quarterbacks likely to lead the South All Stars

Irvine – South quarterbacks Chase Favreau and Ricky Bautista amassed almost 5,000 passing yards between them in their final high school seasons.

So Edison's Favreau and Northwood's Bautista can be expected to air it out Friday night in the North-South Orange County all-star game at Orange Coast College.

"It's whatever they decide to give us," South coach Rick Gibson said. "If they're going to back off and let us run, we will. It's a game to have fun and let it roll."

The two quarterbacks plan to do just that.

Favreau, who is off to San Diego State in the fall, passed for 1,882 yards and 16 touchdowns last year for the Chargers.

The two-time Sunset League MVP is looking to use this game to help him in college, although he plans to gray-shirt next season.

Related:

Mission Viejo's Pierce hopes to excel on the island

All-Star game: South team practice

All-Star game: Meet the South team

Hurley ready to shine in O.C. All-Star game

All-Star game: Meet the North team

"We're making a lot of progress and it seems like all our chemistry is there and we're looking good," said Favreau after practice Thursday at Irvine High. "I'm just trying to get better because I'm going on to the next level and trying to get that college feel playing with all-stars.

"It's going to be fun, but it will be my last high school game."

Favreau has enjoyed practicing with his South teammates.

"It's fun because they all care and they all want to get better and they're all trying to get to the next level," Favreau said.

Gibson has been impressed with what he's seen of the 6-foot-2, 205-pound left-hander.

"He's a great kid, he's very intense and he's a competitor," Gibson said. "He's picked up the offense really quickly. It's really hard to come into someone else's system and to try and learn it in such a short time. But he's really worked hard for it."

"It's pretty simple, it's a spread offense," Favreau said. "I get to run the ball and it's fast-paced and I like that a lot."

Gibson, the coach at Woodbridge, is also happy to have the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Bautista on his side.

For the past couple seasons, Gibson and his staff tried to devise a plan to contain Bautista, who passed for 5,900 yards and 47 touchdowns, and rushed for 800 rushing yards and 12 TDs in his career. Bautista was named first-team All-Pacific Coast League the last two seasons. He passed for 2,835 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and picked apart opposing defenses.

"I'm happier than his parents probably that he's graduating because he is so accurate," Gibson said. "Ricky is a very accurate passer with a great release."

Bautista is looking forward to showcasing his talents in his final high school game.

"It's a great opportunity and a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Bautista said. "I'm glad I got this opportunity to play in the all-star game with all the other players. It's just going to be a fun game."

Bautista expects to rotate series with Favreau.

"I'm pretty sure that Coach Gibson will have us passing most of the time," Bautista said.

Bautista did plenty of that at Northwood, leading the Timberwolves into the semifinals of the CIF-SS Southern Division playoffs his junior year.

"I'm proud of my career at Northwood," Bautista said. "I played with all my friends. I'm glad we got to the semifinals my junior year and last year took a toll but it was still a fun season."

Bautista is now looking to the future and realizing that his high school career is about to come to an end.

"It hasn't really hit me, the only time it hit me was when I was sitting in my chair at graduation and I was thinking what I was going to do with my life," Bautista said.

Bautista's immediate plans are to play football at Saddleback College in the fall.

"I like the program," Bautista said. "Coach (Mark) McElroy knows what he's talking about. They pretty much run the same offense as Northwood. They have the no-huddle offense, so that's going to be cool. It's going to be fun to learn and to play with."

But for now, the focus is on Friday's all-star game. About 30 family members and friends will be there to cheer Bautista on.

"I'm happy I'm in it and it's a great opportunity to play one more game with the best of the best," Bautista said.

Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com