Servite's Fajardo is Offensive Player of the Year

Click on the photo for a slide show of Servite's Cody Fajardo.

Servite quarterback Cody Fajardo mastered the art of improvisation in 2009.

Fajardo didn't panic when things failed to go exactly as planned. He embraced busted plays and turned them into huge gains for the Friars.

He had the ability to run between the tackles for tough yardage or he could break loose for big gains because of his field awareness and speed. He could buy time with his ability to scramble and find open receivers downfield. Oh yeah, he also had a cannon for an arm, so he could make all the big throws.

Fajardo's ability to come through with big plays time and time again when his team needed him most is the reason why he is the Register's 2009 Offensive Player of the Year.

"What can you say about our quarterback?" Servite coach Troy Thomas said. "I mean, to have a senior quarterback who has been in these types of games time in and time out. That's what's going to win in the playoffs, and thankfully he's on our team. That kid's a ballplayer."

That quote from Thomas came after Servite's 19-18 victory over Mission Viejo in the CIF-SS Pac-5 Division semifinals, but he could have said the same thing about Fajardo after any number of Servite's games during the Friars journey to the Trinity League title, Pac-5 championship and CIF State Division II crown.

That's how special Fajardo was in 2009. He put up spectacular numbers against the most grueling schedule any county team has faced in recent memory. The Friars played Long Beach Poly, Clovis West, Crespi of Encino, Edison and Chaparral in nonleague games. Then they became the first team to go undefeated in the rugged Trinity League.

In the postseason, Servite knocked off San Clemente, Long Beach Poly and Mission Viejo, then avenged its lone loss with a 16-6 triumph over Edison in the Pac-5 championship game. The Friars earned a berth into the Division II state title game and pulled out a 33-30 thriller against Rocklin.

Fajardo led the Servite offense the whole way. He completed 70 percent of his passes for 2,380 yards and 20 touchdowns with only two interceptions. He rushed for 1,085 yards and eight touchdowns.

"Just playing as a unit was the big thing," Fajardo said. "You know, we knew that we couldn't be a bunch of individuals because that would be just fighting against ourselves.

"We knew we had to play as a team against the other team, not against ourselves and the other team. I think this year's team did a great job of relying on each other and when someone did go down and we were faced with adversity someone would step up and make big plays for us. That was huge for us throughout the season."

One of Fajardo's best games in the regular season came against Servite's biggest rival. He rushed for 131 yards and one touchdown and passed for 150 yards and two touchdowns to help the Friars beat Mater Dei, 30-20, for the first time since 1988.

Fajardo made many great plays this season, but one stands out. It happened in the Pac-5 semifinals against Mission Viejo and will go down simply as "The Play."

With the game knotted, 12-12, Fajardo led the Friars down the field for the go-ahead score in the closing minutes. Servite was at midfield and the Diablos, who arguably had the best and fastest defense in the county this season, came after Fajardo with a ferocious pass rush. Fajardo rolled left to buy some time and slipped a tackle before finding Rudy Guerrero downfield. Fajardo let loose a pass across his body and connected with Guerrero, who took it from there, slashing across the field for the touchdown. Servite held on to win, 19-18, when Mission Viejo's two-point conversion attempt in the final seconds failed.

"As I was throwing it I got tripped up," Fajardo said. "That was like one of the hardest throws I've made in my entire life. Good old Rudy came through for me clutch once again. All season long he's been coming through clutch. He caught it, made a cut across the whole field and made a great play for us."

Fajardo was used to improvising because that's how Servite practiced.

"We'll practice how we play," Fajardo said. "If we bust a play, we're still working. It's never over. Even in seven-on-seven with no rush, if everyone's covered we'll scramble and work our broken plays. That's why we came through clutch in the season. Since we practiced it we knew what to do in game-time situations."

Servite's All-County linebacker Matt Inman was a victim of some of Fajardo's improv work in practice.

"It's halfway impossible (to stop Fajardo in practice) most of the time," Inman said. "He's too quick. You try to stay with him and he's just too fast. I don't see how the other teams do it because we couldn't do it. You can do everything right and then he takes off and runs."

With all of Fajardo's succes this season, he only has received one Division I-A offer from San Jose State so far.

"I don't know how he just got his first offer a week ago," Servite playmaker Chris Nicholls said. "He's done amazing. I mean, he's a quarterback that's rushed for over 1,000 yards. He's like another running back for us, too. He's done a great job."

It would be hard for Fajardo's work to go unnoticed. He has had back-to-back spectacular outings on Prime Ticket the past two weekends. Some college is about to find a gem.