Downey, Central Catholic quarterbacks weigh in on ‘Deflategate”

Two of Modesto’s best high school quarterbacks agree that pressure matters when it comes to footballs.

No controversy has gripped the sports world in recent years quite like Deflategate, the football caper involving the New England Patriots and underinflated footballs that were discovered during their 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game.

There have been claims – despite their denials – that Patriots coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady were involved in having the air taken out of footballs used by New England.

Footballs that are underinflated, the theory goes, are easier to grip, throw and catch during cold, wet conditions.

But are they really? Would a quarterback really resort to subterfuge to let out 2 pounds per square inch of air pressure? Does it make that much of a difference?

According to Downey High School’s P.J. Wilson and Central Catholic’s Hunter Petlansky, it does.

“I personally don’t like a football that’s inflated to the max,” said Wilson, the first-team quarterback on The Bee’s All-Stanislaus District team. “Not that I can’t throw a ball like that, but I’d much rather have it underinflated. If I had to throw an overinflated ball on a windy or cold or wet day, it would be 10 times harder.”

Petlansky, a junior who has two state championships under his belt, agrees.

“I understand why somebody would not want a rock-hard ball,” said Petlansky, who, like the Downey quarterback, uses a Wilson GST brand football. “They’re not always the easiest to throw. If you don’t do everything right, it’s going to come out (of your hand) weird.”

Like a football used in the NFL or in college, the pressure of a high school football should be inflated to 12.5 to 13.5 pounds per square inch (PSI), according to National Federation of State High School Associations.

California Interscholastic Federation and the Sac-Joaquin Section use NFSH football rules. Teams are allowed to use their own footballs on offense. Sac-Joaquin Section teams must use Wilson.

Will DeBoard, spokesman for the Sac-Joaquin Section who covered high school sports for several years at The Bee, said he’s never seen officials before a game whip out a pressure gauge to check the air of a football.

However, Escalon coach Mark Loureiro said he’s been told a couple of times to add air. He said referees generally check the weight and feel of a ball before approving them. In fact, there was a game this year in Modesto that was halted briefly after a referee determined the ball needed more air.

“We’ll shoot a little more air into it if they ask,” Loureiro said.

DeBoard said in all his years either covering or attending games, there’s never been an issue over air pressure. He did say there was some buzz over Loureiro’s use of a rubber football in the 2010 CIF State Division III title game, where Escalon beat Madison of San Diego 30-14.

High school teams have the choice of leather or rubber, but must declare before kickoff.

Loureiro said he’ll use rubber balls in extremely rainy conditions, which was the case before the state championship game in 2010.

“There was no way I was going to go with leather,” he said.

He said leather balls can get slippery and heavy. Madison found that out when its quarterback, who had not fumbled the entire season, had four fumbles, with Escalon recovering three of them. The Cougars recovered five in all.

Central Catholic’s Petlansky said he inspects and chooses the football he’ll use before the game, inflating them to suit his feel.

“In practice, when we have to make use of all the balls, there are definitely some that you try to avoid,” said Petlanksy. “I think Tom Brady could tell the air pressure was not where it’s supposed to be, but it’s all really subjective.”

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Downey, Central Catholic quarterbacks weigh in on ‘Deflategate”."