Cotey: First starts not without miscues

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published September 4, 2007

Following his team's dismantling of Plant on Friday night, Armwood coach Sean Callahan reminded everyone that hey, guess what, this isn't a 7-on-7 league.

Callahan was clearly taking a swipe at all the hype surrounding Plant's Aaron Murray, who had a great summer in passing leagues but should have done a week at the run-for-your-life league to get ready for the Hawks.

Murray did not throw bouquets to wide-open receivers, just like Jefferson's Zack Grossi did not carve up Hillsborough's defense and Gulf's Madison Burr and Land O'Lakes' Ely Payne didn't put up huge numbers in their first varsity starts.

We shouldn't be all that surprised.

Replacing a Division I-A quarterback, like all these signal callers were asked to do, is a process that takes more than one game. Especially when you are stepping in for a guy who won a state title and Florida's Mr. Football award Robert Marve at Plant, Hillsborough County's all-time leading passer (Jefferson's Stephen Garcia), the only guy to ever get Gulf into the playoffs (Alton Voss) and a player with a golden last name who went 9-2 last season (Land O'Lakes' Joe Weatherford).

Quarterback is only the most complicated position on the field, the one that requires the most poise, leadership and concentration. Throw in two defenses like Armwood's and Hillsborough's, and suddenly Ronald McDonald is asking if he can borrow those shoes you were trying to fill.

You need a good line, backs who can block for you, receivers who run the right routes and catch balls, and so much more.

Running backs, they just need a hole. Suitable replacements generally abound. Hernando's Dwayne Mobley (1991), Pasco's Troy Hambrick (1994), Robinson's Zain Gilmore (1997) and King's Fred Reid (1999) were all replaced by 1,000-yard rushers. Only Gaither struggled to find a replacement for Lydell Ross (2000) and may have finally found him seven years later in the form of Jarvis Giles.

Oh, and keep this in mind when assessing Murray's night: Back in 2004, when Plant was trailing East Bay 10-7, the great Marve himself threw a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions to thwart a Panthers' rally.

Here are some other big shoes that required filling, none all that successful in Week 1:

Donald Caldwell, Jefferson: The 1996 player of the year gave way to D'Andre Jackson, a good athlete but never able to adequately replace Caldwell under center.

Kenny Kelly, Tampa Catholic: As prolific as they come thanks to all-world wideout Darrell Jackson, the Crusaders' gunslinger was replaced at first by Luke Ewalt, his backup in 1996.

In the Crusaders' first game, they beat Cape Coral 9-7 and the defense scored every point. An inauspicious debut considering Tampa Catholic once scored nine points in pregame warmups.

Drew Weatherford, Land O'Lakes: The 2003 player of the year and Pasco County's all-time leading passer was replaced by his brother, Joe. How's that for living up to your predecessor?

In the Gators' first game in 2004, Joe Weatherford was solid, but it was a running back named Scott Mays who scored all the touchdowns in a win.

Andre Caldwell, Jefferson: Yes, Stephen Garcia was on the roster, but he saved what would actually be a pretty spectacular debut for the next year.

Instead, David Turner got the call to replace the 2002 player of the year. He completed only 6 of 19 passes. Jefferson won, though, thanks to Robert Baham and his bum shoulder running an interception back.

Chris Davis, St. Petersburg Catholic: Ranked as one of the top three athletes in the country his senior season, the 2001 player of the year was irreplaceable as it turned out, at least early on. Gary Fiegel stepped in and got the win, and Billy Tapp followed, but no one fit the Barons' offense better than Davis.

Truly great quarterbacks don't usually get replaced by truly great quarterbacks, and in the rare case they do, we tend not to notice right away.

What does it take to find someone to replace the guy who threw for 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns?

Easy.

Patience.

John C. Cotey can be reached at (813) 909-4612 or johncotey@gmail.com.

[Last modified September 4, 2007, 00:59:58]