Matthew Partyka has been a soccer player at St. Monica. This season he’s going to be the starting quarterback on the football team.
New head coach Larry Muno believes the best use of his personnel is to have Partyka play quarterback and Sam Holguin, who was being groomed for the position as a backup last season, concentrate on being a receiver.
“Sam may play some quarterback too but he’s really a force as a receiver,” said Muno. “He’s 6-foot-3 with considerable skills.”
Partyka is 5-foot-7, but his lack of size didn’t prevent him from making an impression in summer workouts and passing leagues.
“He’s tough and smart,” said Muno. “He may not have a powerful arm but he gets the ball there and makes good decisions.”
Partka and Holguin are both juniors. It will be a challenging situation for Partyka to debut in a road game Sept. 11 when St. Monica plays Mary Star in San Pedro.
But Muno expects the Mariners to run effectively too despite the graduation of Hector Santiesteban, who gained 1,000 yards last season.
