Jaguars quarterback learning to share the load | Sports | santafenewmexican.com - Santa Fe New Mexican

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Jonathan Salazar offered the best advice he could to an inexperienced, talented quarterback still learning how to play at the varsity level.

It’s OK to take what a defense is willing to give you.

Or as Salazar, Capital’s first-year offensive coordinator, put it: “You’ll never starve if you eat the free lunch,” Salazar recalls telling junior signal-caller Julian Muñoz.

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It’s a lesson Muñoz is slowly learning in his first year as the Jaguars’ starting quarterback. The 5-foot-10, 160-pounder is immensely talented with his right arm and his legs. Muñoz has put both of them to good use this season, as he accumulated 743 passing yards and a team-best 437 rushing yards to go with 21 combined touchdowns passing and running. He is a big reason Capital sits at 3-3 heading into its District 1/2-5A opener at home against Piedra Vista at 7 p.m. Friday.

However, Muñoz had to learn that he can’t carry the load all by himself. The first few weeks of the season were a sometimes-painful exercise in on-the-job training. He threw for 43 yards in a 60-8 loss to St. Michael’s on Aug. 27 and committed three interceptions against Moriarty. He helped rally the Jaguars from a 21-6 deficit to a 35-34 overtime win over Moriarty on his bootleg 2-point run in which he took a hard hit while crossing the goal line.

There was the 88-yard performance through the air in a 47-30 loss to Belen on Sept. 24, but he put together perhaps his best performance of the season in a 50-0 beatdown of Albuquerque Rio Grande last weekend.

Muñoz went 9-for-14 for 143 yards and four touchdowns. What was more significant was that he got the ball out of his hands quickly and let his teammates do the work. He admitted he wasn’t doing that at times.

“I think when I first played, I mean, I was obviously excited,” Muñoz said. “But I feel like I had a lot more pressure than I do now. I feel a little more relaxed. I know what we’re getting, that you just do so much.”

Some of the pressure Muñoz felt was tied to the departure of his brother, Gio Muñoz, and a group of talented seniors who graduated in the spring. His older brother, who is playing for New Mexico Highlands University this fall, was a big part of the Jaguars’ success over the past four years. His presence helped the Jaguars win two district titles and go 2-2 in a truncated spring season to cement their legacy as one of the more successful classes in the program’s history.

The younger Muñoz, who played sparingly on the varsity in the spring, said he wanted to make his own mark, which has led him to try and make big plays when there were none to be made. Capital head coach Joaquin Garcia said he and his coaching staff worked with him on learning to settle for a short gain just to advance the ball.

“I tell our guys if we’re going two, three yards a pop, I’m OK with that,” Garcia said. “As long as we’re driving, the ball can continue to be positive as far as yardage.”

Muñoz got off to a hot start in the season opener against Grants, as he threw for 134 yards and four touchdowns. He also gaining 134 yards on the ground to lead Capital to a 55-20 win in which it overcame an early 6-0 deficit. The reality check came the following week, as the Horsemen were the more physical team and knocked around Muñoz as he held on to the ball too long in trying to make the spectacular play.

Muñoz’s growing pains mirrored the junior- and sophomore-dominant Jaguars, as they were learning how to play at the varsity level while also adapting to Garcia — who was hired as head coach in June after spending two seasons as an assistant — a new coaching staff and a system. It’s still a work in progress, Garcia said, but the players are beginning to understand not to get pushed around by bigger teams, especially the offensive line.

“You know, coach [James] Pearlman and coach [Johnathan] Toya have been working with them on just blocking to the whistle,” Garcia said. “That was one thing in the first few games. They were getting to where they need to be, but then they’d stop. Now, they understand you have to keep your feet moving until you hear the whistle, and then you start getting to the second and third levels [blocking linebackers and defensive backs].”

With the offensive line becoming more aggressive, it allows Muñoz to get the ball to his weapons. Junior receiver Javier Martinez was an example of that, as he had his best performance of the season with 104 receiving yards and catching all four of Muñoz’s touchdowns in a 50-0 win over Rio Grande. In all, 10 players have caught at least one pass this season, and Muñoz has hit six players with his touchdown passes.

Garcia said the Jaguars are expecting a few players to return after regaining their academic eligibility, including junior wideout Anthony Anaya III. They will give Muñoz more weapons at his disposal and make Capital a dangerous team down the stretch, Salazar said.

“We haven’t even begun to peak yet,” Salazar said. “And this is the time of the year we need to start peaking.”

Once that happens, Muñoz can take what the defense gives, and let his teammates do the rest.

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