Ventura County high school football notebook: Tafoya is living the dream as Fillmore's QB
As the son of a coach, the former team water boy and a kid who dreamed of being behind center from the time he first tossed a football, Anthony Tafoya finds no moment is too big.
"I grew up knowing I wanted to be the quarterback at Fillmore," Tafoya says. "I was 6 years old when I started playing. I've dreamed about this for a long time."
The sophomore quarterback cemented his place in Ventura County's record books in just his sixth start last Friday.
Amid a 69-0 rout of visiting Vasquez, Tafoya tied an esteemed county mark by throwing seven touchdown passes. The 6-foot, 180-pounder accomplished the feat in just 12 passing attempts in the game's first 17 minutes.
Tafoya connected with Nate Delgadillo on a 55-yard scoring strike on the first play from scrimmage. Four different receivers would be involved.
Delgadillo later hauled in a 25-yard scoring pass. Jarod Uridel notched three TD receptions for a combined 60 yards. Daniel Magana and Drew Portugal also had touchdown catches.
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Just as he has in games all season long, Tafoya makes sure to pass on the credit.
"It's really because of my teammates," he said. "The receivers are all running great routes. The (offensive line) is playing great and giving me so much time. I can't do it without them."
Tafoya was removed from the game with the Flashes holding a 48-0 lead in the first half. By then, he had completed 11 of 12 attempts for 188 yards.
He learned at halftime what he had accomplished. Coach Charlie Weis found out himself because of what The Star's ace record-keeper Derry Eads had tweeted on social media.
"I had no idea it was a record until coach told me at halftime," said Tafoya. "I thought it was amazing."
Tafoya becomes the ninth county quarterback to rack up seven touchdown passes in a single game, and only the second 10th-grader. Cameron Rising of Newbury Park, now a standout with the University of Utah, is the only other sophomore.
Rudy Carpenter of Newbury Park was the first QB to post seven TD passes in 2002 vs. Agoura.
Tafoya is off to a torrid start at age 15, and Weiss is anything but surprised.
"He's grown up around the game and is committed to working hard and continuing to improve," said Weis. "He's so mature, so poised. I think the sky is just the beginning of the limits for him."
In six games, Tafoya has completed 82 of 123 attempts (66%) for 1,195 yards, 16 touchdowns and one lone interception. In his last three games, he's completed 52 of 61 attempts — a glossy 85% — for 803 yards and 12 TDs.
"I'm feeling comfortable," he said. "I've grown up playing football and learned so much of the game from my dad. I've played with most of my teammates so awhile, so I approach starting in high school as being no different.
"I'm the quarterback and I know I need to be the leader in the huddle."
Tafoya's dad Tony is the defensive coordinator for the Flashes.
Tafoya started as a freshman on Fillmore's JV team, then would act as the varsity backup on Friday nights. With Joey Holladay as the established starter, Tafoya entered three varsity games and completed 6 of 8 attempts for 112 yards.
He was thrilled just to be on the sidelines.
"It meant a lot to me," he said. "I had been the team water boy for a long time and had dreamed of being a varsity player."
Tafoya's emergence this season is most opportune for the Flashes. Standout running back Anthony Chessani was lost to a season-ending injury on the basketball court last spring.
Establishing a premier passing attack likely turns Fillmore (4-2 overall) into the Citrus League favorite when the league campaign begins Oct. 7 vs. Nordhoff.
"We're confident, but we're taking one game at a time," said Tafoya. "Every game is going to be tough. It's our goal to win the league championship, but we know we have to earn it."
Moorpark's turnaround
One of the county's proudest programs, Moorpark stumbled to a 1-9 record a season ago. In three Camino League games, the Musketeers were outscored 133-35.
That's all in the rearview mirror now.
Moorpark stands a heady 4-1, including 1-0 in the Canyon League after its clutch 34-27 victory over Oak Park a week ago.
Leading the turnabout has been quarterback Connor Smith, who has thrown for 884 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 249 yards and six scores, running back Luke Cochran (435 yards, 6 TDs) and a solid defense.
Moorpark's players and coaches say they saw this coming. The offseason was about dedication, commitment and team bonding.
Success for the program is nothing new. The Musketeers reached the CIF-SS Division 5 championship game as recently as 2017.
Now comes the challenge. Can Moorpark earn a playoff spot? It's a tall order, but the Musketeers won't back down.
They'll need to defeat one of the league's Big 3 — Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo — and take care of business vs. Royal and Agoura.
First up is host Newbury Park and ace freshman quarterback Brady Smigiel on Friday night. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
Loren Ledin is the Prep Editor for The Star. He can be reached at loren.ledin@vcstar.com or 805-437-0285.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Anthony Tafoya living the dream as Fillmore High School's QB
