By Aaron Coe
Herald Writer
MUKILTEO — In a matter of moments he went from being little more than an observer to potential goat.
Ah, the life of a backup quarterback.
For 46 minutes he was pretty much just a fan with a sideline pass. His Kamiak team was clinging to a 9-7 lead on a near-frozen French Field in a 2000 Class 4A state playoff quarterfinal game, and his main job was to keep his hands warm and stay out of everyone’s way.
That all changed when starting quarterback Ryan Jones was helped off the field after landing hard on his shoulder.
Knights coach Dan Mack sent him into the game with less than two minutes left. All he had to do was hand the ball off to a running back a few times.
Seemed simple enough.
He pulled away from the center as the play began, but there was one minor problem.
The football didn’t come with him. It sat all alone on the turf for a moment before a Tahoma lineman pounced on it. Tahoma was given one more shot. But fortunately for backup quarterback Johnny Mack, Kamiak’s defense held strong.
After the fumbled snap he walked back to the sideline and readied himself for a verbal blasting from the coach, who also happens to be his father.
"I was just thinking, ‘Oh no,’" Johnny Mack said. "That’s all I can really say about that."
At times like these, he almost forgets Dan Mack is Dad. On Friday nights, he’s just Coach.
Likewise, Dad often forgets that’s his son out there. But when his son fumbled the ball away that cold Friday night, he remembered.
"I felt bad for him," the father said. "And I was a little disappointed."
Just then, the father disappeared and was replaced by the coach.
"Then, I gave him an earful," said the fourth-year head coach. "When he’s out on the field, most of the time, he’s just my quarterback."
This year, Johnny Mack is much more than an observer. He’s the starting quarterback on the 7-0 Kamiak football team, which is ranked third in the state. He’s gone from wide-eyed junior backup to a senior who is beginning to be recruited by several colleges, including Portland State and Wake Forest.
He’s the lead actor in a production that has outscored opponents 318-83. He’s passed for 1,171 yards and 11 touchdowns while completing 56 percent of his passes.
Kamiak games this season have been all but over by halftime. So, Mack has done most of his work in the first half before the game gets out of hand and the keys are handed to the running backs.
His statistics are impressive, yes, but might be eye-popping if Kamiak weren’t embarrassing opponents by a margin of 188-40 during the first 24 minutes of games. Eight of Mack’s 11 TDs have been thrown in the first half. After that, his job becomes much like it was that night at French Field.
If you throw the ball in the second half while in the pasting process, it looks bad.
Especially when the quarterback is the coach’s kid.
Somehow, Johnny Mack says he never felt the pressure as he readied himself to be the starter.
Being the coach’s kid can be trying, especially for a quarterback. There are those who say you’re only there because of your family tree — not because of hard work and athletic ability.
And Johnny Mack was following the two Ryans — Ryan Kanekeberg and Ryan Jones — both of whom playing college football these days. So he had big shoes to fill, and with a coach’s kid, everybody knows who’s providing the shoes.
Somehow, most of the players on the team couldn’t care less that the Macks eat dinner together after practice.
"I’ve been very impressed with how they’ve handled the whole thing," said assistant coach Tim Mead, who began the Kamiak football program when the school opened in 1993. "It’s never been an issue."
Teammates recognized the younger Mack’s hard work and leadership and voted him team captain before the season began. They see him throwing countless passes when practice is over, and know he’s much more than Dan Mack’s son.
He’s a heck of a quarterback.
"We might have said some stuff when he was a sophomore," said Justin Washington, the team’s leading rusher.
"Not any more."
Aside from a major interest in fly fishing, the Macks are pretty much all about football. Both are film freaks, watching countless hours in dark rooms hoping to find the slightest exploitable weakness in an opponent. Donna Mack, the quarterback’s mom and the coach’s husband, even gets in on the act. She often plays receiver so her son can work on his passes.
"It’s football, football, football around here," said Donna Mack, who is a professional artist and former high school cheerleader. "I love football, too, so that makes it exciting."
Johnny Mack, who can throw the ball 65 yards, says he has to ease up a bit when he’s throwing to Mom. He simply loves to throw footballs.
"He’s always throwing," Mom said. "All the time."
Football always has been his true love. He was a ball boy for the Mariner High School team before Kamiak even existed, back when his father was a Mariner assistant under legendary coach Frank Goddard. He did the same duty at Kamiak games all the way through the eighth grade. Then he had to quit so he could work on being the Knights’ quarterback.
"I’ve wanted to be a quarterback for as long as I can remember," he said.
Even more fun than playing for Dad, who is fully willing to confess his love of the passing game, is playing for a coach who uses the quarterback for much more than a middleman between center and running back.
"I can’t imagine playing for anyone else," Johnny Mack said. "It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been an exciting year."
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