Junior Billy Garrity took over the quarterback role before Sumrall’s Week 2 game against Wesson. Since the change, he’s 2-0 as the starter with wins over the Cobras last week and Sacred Heart Friday night.
But, after throwing for 203 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-18 passing against Wesson, Garrity was brought back down to earth with an 8-for-20, 162-yard, two-touchdown and two-interception performance against the Crusaders.
“A win is a win,” Garrity said. “That’s all that matters.”
(GAME STORY: Sumrall pulls away in the second half)
Sumrall coach Shannon White was pleased with Garrity’s performance, though, but admitted there’s a lot of growth in his future.
And of course there is. Garrity hasn’t played the position since junior high, and he only had four days of practice before the Wesson game to get ready. Junior receiver Dannis Jackson, who started the season as quarterback, served as the team’s backup quarterback for two seasons when Rhett Harvey was the starter, and after one week into the season, White moved Jackson back out to receiver and Garrity at quarterback.
Garrity did play one game at quarterback as a freshman, though.
“I thought he had a good week of practice, and he played outstanding (against Wesson),” White said prior to his team’s game with Sacred Heart. “He was a quarterback in junior high, so he has a little background but not much. He’s a junior and practiced four days. What he did was absolutely amazing.”
Against the Crusaders, Garrity’s first two passes were completions of 39 and 23 yards, with the latter being for a touchdown, and he ended the first half with 107 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 6-of-11 passing.
It was a little more difficult in the second half, as Garrity only had two completions. His running ability, however, was the difference. After running for a single yard through the first two quarters, he totaled 81 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the second half on just six carries.
Point is, Garrity did what he had to do to move his team down the field to score. That’s what a good quarterback does.
“I had good blocking from my offensive line on those plays,” Garrity said. “I just tried to find my hole and hit it. I tried not to go down as hard as I could.”
The only pass-play that worked for Garrity and the Bobcats was the fade to Jackson. White joked after the game he probably should have called 10 more fades to Jackson, because the Crusaders’ defense had stuffed the run game, other than Garrity’s ability to run the ball.
For a player who hasn’t played quarterback much in his varsity career, Garrity will absolutely take his 2-0 start at the position. There is a long list of areas he wants to fix about his game, though.
“Picking up blitzes from linebackers, setting my feet a little bit more and not missing so many passes that I should hit,” he said.
High school teams go as far as the quarterback can take them, and Garrity’s ability to change his game in the second half from throwing to running was the difference.
That’s a good sign for the rest of the season.
