Cascade Conference quarterbacks armed and dangerous
Published 11:41 pm Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Three Cascade Conference quarterbacks have been breaking school records ever since they first stepped onto the football field. Call them the Young Guns.
They are:
n Sultan’s Zach Beebe, a senior who threw for more than 2,000 yards in both his sophomore and junior campaigns.
n Lakewood’s Justin Lane, a junior who threw for 29 touchdowns as a sophomore, drawing raves from every coach in the conference.
n King’s Thomas Vincent, another junior, is a dual threat. He set a school record for total offensive yards and tallied 25 touchdowns (14 passing, 11 rushing) last season.
These three lead a pack of young QBs that also includes Coupeville senior Jason Bagby (992 yards passing) and Archbishop Murphy junior Austin VanderWel (959 yards passing).
“In my 27 years, I have not been in a league with this many quarterbacks,” Coupeville head coach Ron Bagby said. “We’re talking quality quarterbacks.
In a league that has been dominated by the run — the top four rushing teams all made the playoffs in 2008 — these quarterbacks and their coaches are looking to change the conference pecking order by keeping defenses on their heels.
“Everybody better be ready to play some pass defense in this league,” Archbishop Murphy head coach Dave Ward said.
Ron Bagby agreed: “You better have your defense prepared to stop the pass.”
Once again, Archbishop Murphy enters the season as the team to beat. But there is optimism among opposing coaches, knowing that every game should be a contest thanks to the contrast in styles.
“We’ve got a really good Wing-T team in Murphy. Then you’ll have a team like Sultan that’s going to chuck the ball,” King’s head coach Jim Shapiro said.
However, it doesn’t bode well for opposing teams that VanderWel, said to be Archbishop Murphy’s fastest player, is starting his first year as a full-time quarterback for the Wildcats.
“Even Archbishop Murphy has a good quarterback,” Ron Bagby said, before adding that he thought VanderWel, who shared time behind center last season, was the Wildcats’ best quarterback as a sophomore.
Having a quarterback like any of the above is “a luxury,” Lakewood head coach Dan Teeter said.
“It makes an offense very different when you have a quarterback that can pull the trigger,” Teeter said. “You can design plays and call plays.”
Teeter is fortunate to have a difference-making quarterback in Lane.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Lane was named first-team all-conference after throwing for 2,329 yards in his sophomore year and helped since-graduated wide receiver Jordan Stauffer become conference player of the year.
“I love the kid in Lakewood. He’s going to be real good,” Ron Bagby said of Lane.
South Whidbey head coach Mark Hodson said Lane is “crazy good” and that Lane could be the best QB in all of Class 2A.
Beebe also drew raves from opposing coaches.
Despite a dip in production in his junior year (2,154 yards and 23 TDs in his sophomore year compared to 2,078 and 12 TDs in his junior campaign) the Turk added another weapon to his arsenal: his legs. He rushed for 420 yards and three TDs.
“Beebe’s an animal. He’s a runner and a thrower,” said Cedarcrest head coach Jason Fredrick, who saw Beebe throw for 452 yards against his Red Wolves last season.
Flying under the radar has been Vincent, King’s junior quarterback.
The 6-foot, 180-pound Vincent threw for more than 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns, and rushed for 728 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore. He had game-highs of 284 yards passing and three TDs against Sultan, and rushed for 208 yards in a non-conference game against Charles Wright Academy.
Even if these quarterbacks drive opposing coaches crazy, it should make for exciting football for fans this season.
“It’s definitely entertaining as a spectator standpoint,” Shapiro said.
