Phantom Stang
11-13-2006, 03:43 PM
From the Fort Worth Star Telegram
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Posted on Fri, Nov. 10, 2006
Year of the Passer?
Many of the Area’s Best Teams Rely on Top-Flight Quarterbacks
In the land of “three yards and a cloud of dust,” a new trend is forming that has showcased some of the area’s best quarterbacks’ abilities to toss it deep and score through the air.
J.J. Harp — Argyle High School
Argyle’s J.J. Harp has thrown for nearly 2,000 yards this season with 18 touchdowns, and leads all 3A quarterbacks in the area in passing. He has done all of this having missed his last game.
Coach Todd Rodgers said he was impressed with the way his young quarterback had matured throughout the non-district schedule and said his absence was felt in Argyle’s recent loss to Decatur.
“I think we would have been able to play better offensively if he was in,” Rodgers said.
Harp has thrown for 300 yards only once this season, in a 52-3 routing of Frisco Wakeland, but he has helped lead the Eagles to a 7-2 record on a team that lost all but five of its starters from last year’s squad.
With a completion percentage of more than 67 percent and only five interceptions on the season, Harp has established himself as an impact player in District 8-3A.
— John English, Contributing Writer
Will McAngus — Northwest High School
Northwest’s quarterback Will McAngus has been a key player for his team this season, leading the Texans to a 6-3 mark and putting them on the brink of making the playoffs.
McAngus has passed for more than 1,600 yards and 19 touchdowns in eight games, with only five interceptions.
Northwest’s defense has been excellent throughout most of the season, but in Week 4, in the Texans’ district opener against Keller, it gave up 48 points.
McAngus stepped up, going 13 for 19 for 250 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for two more touchdowns in the game to give the Texans a 56-48 victory.
McAngus also passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns against Carroll, giving the Dragons their toughest challenge of the season.
Northwest is 3-3 in district heading into tonight’s game against Keller Central and, though he is suffering from a hand injury and may not play, McAngus will be there, helping his team however he can.
--John English, Contributing Writer
Casey Russell — Colleyville Heritage High School
It has been a record-setting year for the only-year starter. Russell has thrown for 2,534 yards and 30 TDs — that’s more than three per game — and has seemed to have picked up the pace in his completion percentage, which didn’t start out all that pretty. Russell is going to have two 1,000-yard receivers in Breece Johnson, who is already at that mark, and Evan Walker, who is about 40 yards shy. This is a different-looking spread offense that the Panthers are running this year from what they were running last year. Chris Ponder was a dual threat as he came close to 1,000 rushing yards. Russell will be lucky to have more than 200. He’s just not as mobile as Ponder was and is the proverbial pocket passer. He can move; he’s just not going to take off and try to win any footraces.
That may be why a lot of Division I schools are not busting down his doors right now with offers. It could be footwork. It could be speed. It could be size. But one thing is definite — Russell has done a great job running this offense without much help of a running game.
Russell isn’t afraid to take a hit. He will stand in the pocket and wait until the last possible moment to deliver a pass. But this is the time of the season where he has to put his stamp on the team and get them out of their rut. The Panthers have been very unimpressive lately — even though the playoff situation is set. They suffered a terrible loss to a horrible Keller team that can’t stop anybody. The breakdowns need to get cleaned up, and the onus will be on him to get the team off this three-game losing streak to Grapevine on Friday.
— Kevin Lonnquist, Staff Writer
Matt Faulkner, Marcus High School
As Matt Faulkner’s season has gone, so has the Marauders’ season. Faulkner dazzled from September to early October, putting up huge numbers, and Marcus got off to a 4-1 and 2-0 District 6-5A start. But a concussion suffered on Oct. 6 against Creekview sent the season spinning in another direction. In Marcus’ first four games against Grapevine, Mansfield Summit, Keller and Carrollton R.L. Turner, he threw for 1,354 yards, 14 TDs and 5 picks. Then came the Creekview game, where he didn’t finish and threw for 98 yards.
In the past four games against Flower Mound, Lewisville, Newman Smith and Hebron, he has thrown for 804 yards, 6 TDs and 9 picks. Since then, Marcus is 1-3 to drop to 5-4 and 3-3.
Faulkner has a quick release and good arm strength. He can sidestep a pass rush to get rid of the ball. His footwork is a work in progress, but that’s coachable. Not all of Marcus’ issues are Faulkner’s fault. But the Marauders have played themselves from a position of strength into a position of needing help.
The good news for Faulkner is that he has his Division-I college situation settled. Last week, he gave his oral commitment to Fresno State. The Bulldogs have quickly fallen off the charts as a mid-major power, but Faulkner could be a good fit for them.
Faulkner is another in the line of QBs the school has sent to Division I ranks. But he can be viewed as the one who got the program back into the playoffs with a great performance against Coppell on Friday. He’s going to have to dig for something deeper. He knows that.
— Kevin Lonnquist, Staff Writer
Riley Dodge, Carroll High School
Following in the footsteps of Carroll quarterbacks the past four seasons would be a tough act for any athlete.
But as a junior, Dragons quarterback Riley Dodge has made a name for himself in 2006, showing leadership and putting up outstanding numbers while overcoming the obstacles associated with being the son of the head coach and wanting to prove himself worthy of the starting job.
Heading into the 10th and final regular season game of the year, Dodge has passed for 2,444 yards and 32 touchdowns, one of the top performances in the area so far. Dodge has completed 150 of 229 attempts — a completion percentage of 65.5 that is among the best in the area — and has only thrown four interceptions.
The touchdown number is the best in the area, but the passing yardage is not the leading total this season. The top yardage numbers belongs to Casey Russell, quarterback at 5-5A district rival Colleyville Heritage, who has 2,527 yards. Russell is also second with 30 touchdowns.
Dodge’s passing yards are also not far ahead of three other quarterbacks – Marcus’ Matt Faulkner, Keller’s Cal Farley and Haltom’s Kyle McDonald. However, Dodge offers something those quarterbacks don’t: the ability to be a dangerous runner with the ball in his own hands. Dodge has run for 861 yards and 11 touchdowns, showing the ability to evade would-be tacklers with speed and impressive moves.
That makes Dodge’s passing yardage that much more impressive, since Dodge also has the option of giving the ball to Carroll running back and team rushing leader Tre Newton (1,036 yards, 11 touchdowns).
Each of the Dragons’ three previous quarterbacks have finished their seasons by receiving 5A Offensive Player of the Year honors from the Associated Press. Based on Dodge’s numbers thus far, and entering what could possibly be another long postseason, the junior could likely become the fourth consecutive Carroll quarterback to receive the honor.
— Zach Warner, Staff Writer
=================================
Posted on Fri, Nov. 10, 2006
Year of the Passer?
Many of the Area’s Best Teams Rely on Top-Flight Quarterbacks
In the land of “three yards and a cloud of dust,” a new trend is forming that has showcased some of the area’s best quarterbacks’ abilities to toss it deep and score through the air.
J.J. Harp — Argyle High School
Argyle’s J.J. Harp has thrown for nearly 2,000 yards this season with 18 touchdowns, and leads all 3A quarterbacks in the area in passing. He has done all of this having missed his last game.
Coach Todd Rodgers said he was impressed with the way his young quarterback had matured throughout the non-district schedule and said his absence was felt in Argyle’s recent loss to Decatur.
“I think we would have been able to play better offensively if he was in,” Rodgers said.
Harp has thrown for 300 yards only once this season, in a 52-3 routing of Frisco Wakeland, but he has helped lead the Eagles to a 7-2 record on a team that lost all but five of its starters from last year’s squad.
With a completion percentage of more than 67 percent and only five interceptions on the season, Harp has established himself as an impact player in District 8-3A.
— John English, Contributing Writer
Will McAngus — Northwest High School
Northwest’s quarterback Will McAngus has been a key player for his team this season, leading the Texans to a 6-3 mark and putting them on the brink of making the playoffs.
McAngus has passed for more than 1,600 yards and 19 touchdowns in eight games, with only five interceptions.
Northwest’s defense has been excellent throughout most of the season, but in Week 4, in the Texans’ district opener against Keller, it gave up 48 points.
McAngus stepped up, going 13 for 19 for 250 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for two more touchdowns in the game to give the Texans a 56-48 victory.
McAngus also passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns against Carroll, giving the Dragons their toughest challenge of the season.
Northwest is 3-3 in district heading into tonight’s game against Keller Central and, though he is suffering from a hand injury and may not play, McAngus will be there, helping his team however he can.
--John English, Contributing Writer
Casey Russell — Colleyville Heritage High School
It has been a record-setting year for the only-year starter. Russell has thrown for 2,534 yards and 30 TDs — that’s more than three per game — and has seemed to have picked up the pace in his completion percentage, which didn’t start out all that pretty. Russell is going to have two 1,000-yard receivers in Breece Johnson, who is already at that mark, and Evan Walker, who is about 40 yards shy. This is a different-looking spread offense that the Panthers are running this year from what they were running last year. Chris Ponder was a dual threat as he came close to 1,000 rushing yards. Russell will be lucky to have more than 200. He’s just not as mobile as Ponder was and is the proverbial pocket passer. He can move; he’s just not going to take off and try to win any footraces.
That may be why a lot of Division I schools are not busting down his doors right now with offers. It could be footwork. It could be speed. It could be size. But one thing is definite — Russell has done a great job running this offense without much help of a running game.
Russell isn’t afraid to take a hit. He will stand in the pocket and wait until the last possible moment to deliver a pass. But this is the time of the season where he has to put his stamp on the team and get them out of their rut. The Panthers have been very unimpressive lately — even though the playoff situation is set. They suffered a terrible loss to a horrible Keller team that can’t stop anybody. The breakdowns need to get cleaned up, and the onus will be on him to get the team off this three-game losing streak to Grapevine on Friday.
— Kevin Lonnquist, Staff Writer
Matt Faulkner, Marcus High School
As Matt Faulkner’s season has gone, so has the Marauders’ season. Faulkner dazzled from September to early October, putting up huge numbers, and Marcus got off to a 4-1 and 2-0 District 6-5A start. But a concussion suffered on Oct. 6 against Creekview sent the season spinning in another direction. In Marcus’ first four games against Grapevine, Mansfield Summit, Keller and Carrollton R.L. Turner, he threw for 1,354 yards, 14 TDs and 5 picks. Then came the Creekview game, where he didn’t finish and threw for 98 yards.
In the past four games against Flower Mound, Lewisville, Newman Smith and Hebron, he has thrown for 804 yards, 6 TDs and 9 picks. Since then, Marcus is 1-3 to drop to 5-4 and 3-3.
Faulkner has a quick release and good arm strength. He can sidestep a pass rush to get rid of the ball. His footwork is a work in progress, but that’s coachable. Not all of Marcus’ issues are Faulkner’s fault. But the Marauders have played themselves from a position of strength into a position of needing help.
The good news for Faulkner is that he has his Division-I college situation settled. Last week, he gave his oral commitment to Fresno State. The Bulldogs have quickly fallen off the charts as a mid-major power, but Faulkner could be a good fit for them.
Faulkner is another in the line of QBs the school has sent to Division I ranks. But he can be viewed as the one who got the program back into the playoffs with a great performance against Coppell on Friday. He’s going to have to dig for something deeper. He knows that.
— Kevin Lonnquist, Staff Writer
Riley Dodge, Carroll High School
Following in the footsteps of Carroll quarterbacks the past four seasons would be a tough act for any athlete.
But as a junior, Dragons quarterback Riley Dodge has made a name for himself in 2006, showing leadership and putting up outstanding numbers while overcoming the obstacles associated with being the son of the head coach and wanting to prove himself worthy of the starting job.
Heading into the 10th and final regular season game of the year, Dodge has passed for 2,444 yards and 32 touchdowns, one of the top performances in the area so far. Dodge has completed 150 of 229 attempts — a completion percentage of 65.5 that is among the best in the area — and has only thrown four interceptions.
The touchdown number is the best in the area, but the passing yardage is not the leading total this season. The top yardage numbers belongs to Casey Russell, quarterback at 5-5A district rival Colleyville Heritage, who has 2,527 yards. Russell is also second with 30 touchdowns.
Dodge’s passing yards are also not far ahead of three other quarterbacks – Marcus’ Matt Faulkner, Keller’s Cal Farley and Haltom’s Kyle McDonald. However, Dodge offers something those quarterbacks don’t: the ability to be a dangerous runner with the ball in his own hands. Dodge has run for 861 yards and 11 touchdowns, showing the ability to evade would-be tacklers with speed and impressive moves.
That makes Dodge’s passing yardage that much more impressive, since Dodge also has the option of giving the ball to Carroll running back and team rushing leader Tre Newton (1,036 yards, 11 touchdowns).
Each of the Dragons’ three previous quarterbacks have finished their seasons by receiving 5A Offensive Player of the Year honors from the Associated Press. Based on Dodge’s numbers thus far, and entering what could possibly be another long postseason, the junior could likely become the fourth consecutive Carroll quarterback to receive the honor.
— Zach Warner, Staff Writer