Friends Across the Field : College football: USC’s Johnson and Stanford’s Stenstrom were teammates at El Toro High.

No one should be surprised that these two players should be headliners in the closing weeks of the Pacific 10 Conference football season.

After all, both quarterbacks, Steve Stenstrom and Rob Johnson, were outstanding high school quarterbacks. But the remarkable part of this story is that they were not only at the same high school but in one season, 1989, played on the same team.

On Saturday, when USC plays Stanford at the Coliseum, they will meet as opponents, Johnson with USC, Stenstrom with Stanford. It will be an El Toro High alumni game.

The only major difference is their victories. USC is 5-4 overall, 4-1 in the Pac-10. Stanford is 3-5 and 1-4.

Both played for Johnson’s father, Bob Johnson, at El Toro High. Stenstrom is a year older than Johnson and as a high school senior was the starting quarterback. Johnson was his No. 1 target, at wide receiver.

“Rob was my go-to guy,� Stenstrom said.

“He’d played quarterback before that, so he had a natural sense for how pass routes should be run. We were on the same wavelength. We threw all summer before that season.�

Johnson says he still considers Stenstrom a friend.

“The thing about Steve is, he’s just a great human being,� he said.

“He’s well-mannered, bright, a very nice guy. . . . He’s the kind of guy you want your sister to date.�

When they were teammates, in the 1989 season, Stenstrom led El Toro to a 12-2 season. The Chargers lost to Paramount in the Southern Section Division III championship game, 26-20. Stenstrom completed 117 of 179 passes that year for 2,175 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Johnson caught 65 passes for 1,260 yards, leading the team’s receivers, and scored 12 touchdowns.

Bob Johnson said his son’s year at wide receiver was a one-year sabbatical.

“Rob had played a little quarterback as a sophomore, but Steve was being recruited to play quarterback, so I moved Rob to receiver for that one year,� said Johnson, now an assistant coach at Mission Viejo High.

“Both are similar as quarterbacks, but Rob might be a little more athletic. Rob also played basketball and baseball at El Toro. Steve’s second sport was golf.�

Now, four years later, here’s how the former teammates match up in the ninth week of the season:

Stenstrom:

Att.: 318

Comp: 215

Pct: 67.6

Int: 11

Yds: 2,606

TD: 22

*

Johnson:

Att.: 297

Comp: 209

Pct: 70.4

Int: 3

Yds: 2,377

TD: 20

Both are having record-breaking seasons. Johnson is on pace to challenge the one-season Pac-10 pass completion percentage record. It’s 70.7%, set by Rich Campbell at Cal in 1980.

Stenstrom can give Stanford its most productive passing year. He is on pace to break John Elway’s 1982 record of 3,311 yards. Stenstrom has thrown for at least 300 yards in every game this season--he passed for 402 last Saturday against Oregon State--except the season opening loss to Washington.

If Stenstrom throws one touchdown pass Saturday, he will tie Jim Plunkett for No. 2 on the Stanford list with 52 touchdowns. Elway is on top at 77. Stenstrom can even pass Plunkett on the Stanford yardage list this year with three more 300-yard games.

Plunkett threw for 7,544 yards, behind only Elway, who had 9,349.

Stanford lists Stenstrom as a senior, but he has a season of football eligibility remaining. If he returns next season, he could threaten all of Elway’s records.

Stenstrom’s coach, Bill Walsh, spoke of that this week.

“I think Steve will return next year, but you never know about player agents out there, making crazy offers,� he said.

“We have an outstanding freshman group this year, and our prospects are good for next year. I think Steve wants to be part of that.�

Stenstrom?

“I intend to play for Stanford next year,� he said.

Walsh said Stenstrom is already more fundamentally sound in some areas than many NFL quarterbacks.

“I sat down with him earlier this year and told him he’s already ahead of 70% of NFL quarterbacks in terms of throwing to alternate receivers,� Walsh said.

“Only about one-third of NFL quarterbacks can do that effectively.

“Steve and Rob are both similar in that they both throw soft passes, and make it easier for their receivers to make great catches. One difference might be that Steve is right now carrying our team more than Rob is.

“Steve has good agility, but he’s no (Terry) Bradshaw or (Steve) Young. He’s got a lot of rhythm to his motion. His big strength is that he’s a real (football) student. He’s learned the position step by step.�

Stenstrom was recruited by Dennis Green at Stanford, who then left for the Minnesota Vikings.

“It was tough to see that coaching staff leave, especially my position coach, Ron Turner,� Stenstrom said.

“But when Walsh came, he brought Terry Shea as the offensive coordinator, and it’s worked out great for us.�

Stenstrom calls Walsh “a consummate professional.�

“He looks like a guy who never gets angry, but he does,� he said.

“But he does it in a very professional way. When I screw up, he’ll say something like, ‘Steve, there was an open man on that play. I can’t understand why you can’t see that.’ �

Stenstrom is happy that two quarterbacks from the same high school team could be attacking the record books in the same major college conference.

“It’s amazing how this has worked out, and it’s really fun,� he said.

“I love watching (Rob’s) games, and I’m sure he watches mine.�

Johnson says he’s not surprised at how things turned out.

“Not at all, Steve’s a great quarterback,� he said. “I felt that way when he was throwing passes to me.�

They could have wound up at the same school.

“Notre Dame was Steve’s dream school, but they didn’t recruit him,� Johnson said. “But I was recruited by Stanford. I liked it there, but their program wasn’t strong, like it is now.�

When they met last year at Stanford, where the Cardinal beat USC, 23-9, Stenstrom completed 23 of 39 passes for 273 yards, Johnson 11 of 22 for 195 yards, before he was relieved by Reggie Perry.