EVERETT — All he does … is catch touchdowns.
No, Archbishop Murphy receiver Ian Telge isn’t a sure-fire NFL Hall of Famer like Chris Carter. His highlight reel won’t make for ESPN banter between Chris Berman and Tom Jackson.
But when the rare opportunity comes for Telge to catch a pass, it generally is a touchdown.
In a typical Archbishop Murphy football game, the Wildcats offense runs 60 plays. Telge lines up as a receiver maybe 50 times. If his coach, Terry Ennis, is feeling particularly adventurous, Telge might get one ball — maybe two — thrown his way.
"You’ve got to catch it," said Telge, whose team will play Zillah for the Class A state title, 1 p.m. Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. "You don’t get too many chances. Maybe once a quarter, once a half, maybe once a game."
When Ennis chooses to push the Telge button, it typically pays off for the Wildcats. The 6-foot, 175-pound senior has caught eight passes this year — five of them for TDs. He averages 26.4 yards per catch, and generally gets his opportunities when all 11 players on the other team bite on one of the 50-something running plays Archbishop Murphy runs each week.
When his chance arrives, he generally stands, waiting, waiting, waiting for the ball to come his way.
"Those are killer — horrible," Telge said, smiling. "I hate those — waiting for the ball to get there."
And if he were to ever drop such a wide-open pass?
"Everybody in the whole place would say, ‘Oh wow, how did he drop that?," said Telge, who caught a TD pass in the 2002 state title game to help Archbishop Murphy beat Royal.
The good news for the Wildcats is that he doesn’t drop anything.
"He’ll catch everything I throw around him," quarterback Kyle Wilkins said.
Though Ennis would sooner breakdance on Zillah’s practice field today than call 20 passing plays on Saturday, he is quick to point out that Telge does much more for the team than catch touchdowns.
He plays cornerback on defense and is the team’s punter. When Ennis calls a running play, Telge is not out there to be a decoy.
He’s out there to hit someone.
He is often responsible for taking out the opponents’ free safety, who is sometimes the other team’s last chance at making a tackle. When the Wildcats break a run of more than 30 yards or longer — something they’ve done 21 times this season — it’s a good bet Telge put someone on his back.
"From his split end position, we think he is one of our most productive blockers," Ennis said. "We kind of keep track of what we call "knockdowns," and he’s leading the team in that. I think he takes a lot of satisfaction in what he does that doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet."
Telge, as is turns out, would rather throw blocks and go to the state title game than have Ennis pull a Neuheisel and put all of his eggs in Telge’s basket. He was not at all fond of being held out of Tuesday’s practice with a mild shoulder injury, missing the opportunity to knock down some scout-teamers.
Watching a teammate speed past his block, he says, gives him "exactly the same" feeling as catching a TD pass.
"If he breaks it that far, I want to make sure he gets a touchdown," Telge said. "And on quick pitches, I get to hit the first guy that crosses the line."
If he’s not hitting someone, chances are he’s about to score a touchdown.
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