The high school football season begins just six weeks from last Friday. Six! This week we take a look at a dozen quarterbacks to watch in Central Indiana for the upcoming season:
Akim Abdur-Rahim, Pike
The senior left-hander is poised for a big season as he takes over the full-time starter duties. Abdur-Rahim showed promise last year, completing 51.1 % of his passes (47-for-92) for 584 yards and six touchdowns with five interceptions. He is also a big-time threat to run, rushing for 130 yards and two TDs on 36 carries last season. Abdur-Rahim will give coach Pat Echeverria a playmaker at the quarterback position.
Tayven Jackson, Center Grove
Jackson, a Tennessee recruit, is entering his third year as a starting quarterback and won a Class 6A state championship as a junior. Jackson completed 62% of his passes last season (113-for-182) for 1,756 yards and 17 touchdowns with five interceptions. He also rushed for 191 yards and six TDs. It will be interesting to see if Center Grove utilizes Jackson more in the running game this season. The Trojans will be the No. 1 team in the state entering the season.
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Aidan Leffler, Roncalli
The 6-3, 215-pound senior goes into his fourth year as a starter (33 starts) after helping the Royals to a Class 4A state championship last season. Leffler completed 64.8% of his passes as a junior (125-for-193) for 1,714 yards and 24 TDs with five interceptions. He is also one of the team’s most prominent threats on the ground as he rushed for 746 yards and 17 TDs last season. For his career, Leffler has passed for a school-record 4,001 yards and 44 TDs and rushed for 1,637 yards and 35 TDs.
Zach Osborne, Carmel
Osborne, a 6-2, 205-pound senior, completed 51.7% of his passes as a junior for 1,353 yards and 16 TDs with seven interceptions. Like those listed above, Osborne is a dual-threat quarterback. He rushed for 575 yards and 10 TDs last season, including a 141-yard game against Pike. Osborne has offers from Colgate, Dartmouth, Penn, Valparaiso and Yale.
Nicholas Patterson, Mooresville
The 6-1, 215-pound Patterson, a junior, enjoyed a breakout sophom*ore season as he helped Mooresville to a 12-2 record and a Class 4A regional title. Patterson completed 59.3% of his passes (150-for-253) for 2,212 yards and 21 TDs with five interceptions. Patterson is a sturdy and strong runner. He averaged 6.0 yards per carry as a sophom*ore and finished with 774 yards and 20 TDs on the ground.
Kale Payne, Danville
It will be hard to top Danville’s season a year ago as the Warriors went 11-1 and reached the Class 3A state finals, falling to Bishop Chatard. The 6-3, 180-pound Payne was a big part of that success as he completed 68.7% of his passes for 1,874 yards and 27 TDs with nine interceptions. In 25 games over two seasons, Payne has thrown for 3,973 yards and 52 TDs and rushed for 579 yards and seven TDs.
Prince Powell, Warren Central
Powell, a senior, had some ups and downs in his first season as a starter. He completed 56.9% of his passes as a junior for 1,172 yards and four TDs and displayed his ability as a runner with 361 rushing yards and eight TDs. Powell should benefit from playing on an offense that endured some growing pains last season (three shutouts), but will have more experience in 2021.
Carter St. John, Bishop Chatard
St. John, in his first year as a starter last season, helped Chatard to a 13-1 record and the Class 3A state championship. St. John passed for 2,296 yards and 28 TDs with eight interceptions and rushed for 510 yards and five TDs. Chatard will move up to 4A this season due to the tournament success factor but will be helped by St. John’s experience at quarterback.
Gehrig Slunaker, Mt. Vernon
The 6-2, 185-pound Slunaker has been a big part of Mt. Vernon’s resurgence over the past three seasons, including a regional title in 2019 and a 12-1 record and a sectional championship last season. Slunaker completed 58.5% of his passes as a junior for 1,889 yards and 22 TDs with nine interceptions. For his career, he has 5,258 passing yards and 46 TDs and 449 rushing yards and 10 TDs.
Houston Swan, Eastern Hanco*ck
Swan, a senior who will be a four-year starter, completed 57.3% of his passes for 2,005 yards and 24 TDs with 10 interceptions in 10 games as a junior. He also rushed for 119 yards and three TDs. Overall, in three seasons, Swan has completed 59.7% of his passes for 5,677 yards and 68 TDs with 42 interceptions. Eastern Hanco*ck, after an 8-3 season in 2019, dropped to 4-6 last year and will have a new coach in Phil Morris after the retirement of Doug Armstrong.
J’uan Swanson, Ben Davis
Swanson showed plenty of promise in his junior season for Ben Davis as he completed 57.7% of his passes for 1,913 yards and 20 TDs with nine interceptions. He also rushed for 436 yards and six TDs. In his final five games of the season, Swanson passed for 997 yards and 14 TDs. Coach Jason Simmons and the Giants will look to the senior to keep that momentum going into 2021.
Maximus Webster, Westfield
Webster, who committed to Ball State last month, had a breakout junior season as he helped the Shamrocks reach the Class 6A state finals. Webster completed 68.8% of his passes for 2,178 yards and 28 TDs with five interceptions and rushed for 792 yards and 19 TDs. Westfield, with the 6-2, 225-pound Webster at the controls, should again be a top contender in 6A.
Five more to watch: Tyler Adkins, Martinsville, Jr.; Riley Palmeter, Edinburgh, Sr.; Danny O’Neil, Cathedral, Soph.; Brennan Stow, Lapel, Sr.; Elliott Young, Western Boone, Sr.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at 317-444-6649.
