FOOTBALL: Troast has shot to show what he learned

By Scott Galetti, Staff Writer
SOUTH EL MONTE - As a junior backup to Michael Flynn, South Pasadena High School graduate Jonathan Troast showed a glimpse of things to come when he threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns in his first year on the varsity football team.
During his senior season, however, Troast's role was far from being a limited one.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder blossomed into an overall team leader.
Before he prepares for college, Troast is preparing for Friday's Hall of Fame All-Star game at Bassett High School at 7:30 p.m.
"(Playing in this game) was one of my goals at the beginning of the season, but I didn't know if I was going to make the team and was just hoping to have a good enough season," Troast said. "When I got the call, I was really thrilled and excited that I would get to work with good coaches and players."
Troast definitely had a strong enough year.
He completed slightly less than 49 percent of his passes for 1,696 yards and 12 touchdowns as the Tigers went 5-5.
"Jonathan is a very good quarterback with a lot of potential," said South El Monte coach Erick Escamilla, the West team's coach. "He only had one year (as a starter) of high school ball, his senior year, so he's still learning and his upside is tremendous."
His duties weren't limited to throwing the ball. Troast also was one of the top punters in the area. He punted 36 times for 1,552 yards - a 43.11-yard average.
He recently took a recruiting trip to Louisiana Tech, but wasn't offered a scholarship because it was perceived that he lacked experience.
To gain some valuable experience, Troast plans to attend Pasadena City College in the fall.
"I came close to an offer from Louisiana Tech after I went on my official visit, but they went with someone with more experience because I only started my senior year," Troast said. "I'm looking to get more experience (at PCC) and, hopefully in the end, an offer to play anywhere because that's my main goal."
Troast's top games as a quarterback came against a pair of tough opponents. He threw for 258 yards and a touchdown in a 41-16 loss to Monrovia and followed by going 20 of 28 for 306 yards and a TD in a 20-14 setback against Temple City.
Troast turned some heads with his punting prowess during a nonleague 35-3 loss to Alhambra when he had five attempts for 281 yards, an average of 56.2 yards per punt.
"He has a tremendous arm, good footwork and is learning how to read defenses well," Escamilla said.
Footwork is something Troast spent a lot of time on this past season.
"I worked with a bunch of guys to get my footwork straight because I learned that footwork is a major part of being a quarterback," Troast said.
Escamilla said Troast has picked up the West's offense rather quickly.