Catawba College’s quarterbacking duties have been linked successfully with the No. 3 for the last three years.
The man wearing No. 3 — Mitch Ellis — graduated last spring as the second most prolific passer in team history. Ellis, who first starred at North Rowan High, amassed 5,550 career passing yards and boasted an impressive touchdown-to-interception ratio of 45-25.
In his place this year stands another No. 3 — a trio of candidates for the job that has Indians head coach David Bennett longing for the good ol’ days.
“Having Mitch over the last three years, you knew he was your quarterback,”Bennett said. “Now, quarterback becomes like any other position in the mix. If you’ve got a guard who’s not doing good, a receiver, a DB, if they’re not having a good day, move on to the next guy.”
Whoever lands in the starter, backup and third-string roles will get there by the slimmest of margins.
Senior Scott Sensing, based on his three years in the program, is the probable starter for Saturday’s opener against Livingstone. Bennett likes Sensing’s size — 6-foot-5, 220 pounds — but the Ledford High star hasn’t had a chance to shine at Catawba yet.
Behind him are red-shirt freshmen Luke Samples (6-3, 210) and Antwaun Hillary (6-0, 185). Neither has taken a college snap.
Sensing at least has a start under his belt. Last year when Ellis went down with an injury, Sensing got the nod at Lenoir-Rhyne. He threw for 110 yards that game, but totalled just 241 yards all season on 15-of-44 accuracy.
Albeit limited, Bennett at least appreciates Sensing’s experience. But the coach also likes Samples’ toughness and strong arm and the all-around talent Hillary displays. Hillary also has been battling back from the twisted knee he suffered in the Catawba spring game.
“Quarterback could be musical chairs,”Bennett said — literally. “We might go out there before the game, put two chairs on the sideline, let ’em start dancing around it, two of them sit down; then pull one out, let them two go around again and see who can get in the chair.”
Finding a quarterback is Bennett’s biggest concern on the offense, but certainly not his only one. Catawba will take the field Saturday with nine new starters on the offensive unit: all five linemen, the entire backfield and the tight end.
An all-star cast of wide receivers remains in juniors Nick Means and Cedric Squirewell, who shared team-high honors last year with 43 catches; junior O.J. Lennon, who averaged 23 yards per kickoff return last year and caught 32 passes; and seniors Arnold Gaither and Derrick Stokes.
The question is, will the QBs be able to find the targets?
“We’ve got to protect the quarterback and get these guys the ball,”Bennett said. “What’s amazing is, in the three scrimmages we had, O.J. Lennon never touched the ball.”
Bennett shouldered the blame on behalf of the coaches for that. The quarterbacks also realize they’ll be pushed to the limits by opposing defenses and won’t have the luxury of sitting back in the pocket, waiting for a favorite receiver to pop open.
For now, Sensing is the man to lead Catawba over the Blue Bears. But along with Samples and Hillary, he’ll be on the hot seat this season — and sitting on the bench is the alternative to losing Bennett’s game of musical chairs.
“More than ever before, if one of the guys can’t get it done, we’ve got confidence in the other two,”Bennett said. “You probably won’t have to be booing me saying ‘Why don’t ya’ll put another quarterback in?It’ll probably happen quicker than somebody can boo.”
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Sports editor Ronnie Gallagher contributed to this story. Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or
shanf@salisburypost.com .
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