Recommend This StoryArea programs well-armed for season
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By Jeremy Stafford - jstafford@nvdaily.com
WOODSTOCK -- Michael Reynolds, Matt Sherfey, and John-Michael Pirtle are as dissimilar in mentality and ability as they are in physical build.
Reynolds, Strasburg's tall, thin quarterback, relies on an uncanny sense of his surroundings to make plays where he can. He's not overbearing; he simply comes through when he's needed.
Sherfey, Central's pride and joy, is shorter than Reynolds but stockier, he's mobile and elusive, and has a touch as soft as cotton.
His 1,861 passing yards and 16 touchdowns led the area last season.
At Stonewall Jackson, Pirtle's strengths are atypical of a standard quarterback: While he's been known to occasionally dazzle through the air, Pirtle's 200-pound frame makes him as bruising as a fullback.
Yet the three Shenandoah County quarterbacks share at least two common bonds -- they're each entering their third season starting behind center, and their once-dynamic backfields have been shorn by graduation.
Reynolds, for the first time ever, is without Bub McKelvey (845 yards, 4 TDs) and fullback Tanner Orndorff (711 yards, 8 TDs). Sherfey is without tailbacks Leon McCray (500 yards, 3 TDs) and Derek Copenhaver (259 yards, 3 TDs) this season. And Pirtle will miss the luxury of having tailbacks Dylan Dawson (583 yards, 7 TDs) and Colton Koontz (336 yards, 2 TDs) line up behind him.
All three quarterbacks express remorse at the loss of their old backfields. They also express an unwavering confidence in their new backfields.
"[Dawson and Koontz are] extremely hard to replace because they each bring their own special talent," Pirtle said. "They were amazing running backs, and it was wonderful as a quarterback to look back there and see them.
"But at the same time, now I've got [Sean] Stroop, Cole [Shaffer], and [Trevor] Warner back there, and I couldn't ask for a better group of guys -- they're just like my previous backs."
It shouldn't be too far a stretch to say that the seasons of Central, Strasburg, and Stonewall Jackson will hinge on effective quarterback play. The offenses won't necessarily alter their focus from a season ago, and the quarterbacks may not see a drastic increase of throwing opportunities, but their ability to command a huddle, to methodically march their team downfield -- in effect, to master the art of quarterbacking -- will be all-important.
Sherfey, undoubtedly, is in the best position to finish what he started as a sophomore and continued as a junior.
Of the nearly 23 passes Sherfey attempted each game last season, he completed almost 12 and totaled more than 186 yards a game.
Because of Sherfey's passing, Central averaged 19.6 points a game last season, which is integral considering the Falcons were 6-1 when they scored at least 20 points, and 0-3 when they didn't.
But Sherfey makes it clear that Central's offense won't revolve around spectacular heaves downfield in the coming months: "We seem to easily forget, but we actually bring a four-year varsity player back," said Sherfey, speaking of tailback Seth Bauserman. "He's gonna do a good job this year -- it's hard losing Derek and Leon from last year, but a lot of people forget [Bauserman's] a four-year varsity player."
And Sherfey's a three-year varsity starter.
As a sophomore, Sherfey beat out a senior for starting quarterback honors and threw for 1,210 yards, but did little to prevent the Falcons from plodding through a 1-9 season. His nearly 2,000 passing yards last season saw Central through a 6-4 campaign, making the Falcons a legitimate contender for the Shenandoah District title.
But Central coach Mike Yew explained that Sherfey won't benefit from a third consecutive year of relative obscurity.
"This year, [teams] know he's a three-year starter, they know he's a quarterback that can throw it," Yew said. "He's not gonna be able to sneak up on anybody."
To account for the poundings he'll likely take, Sherfey gained weight -- about 6 pounds, he said -- though he jokes he'd rather grow in height. He also intends to stay in the pocket longer than he was wont to last season, when his linemen often lost sight of him.
"[It's] easier said than done," Sherfey said of staying poised in the pocket. "It's something I'm working on -- if I know I need to do something that puts this team in a winning position, then it's gonna be easier to do.
"I can speak for the team on this one: Everybody just wants to win."
The same sentiment can be felt in the Strasburg locker room -- the Rams have won a combined three games in the last two seasons, when McKelvey and Orndorff carried the bulk of the offensive load.
This year, Reynolds won't have them to rely on.
"I never wanted to think about [them leaving] because I always loved playing with them," Reynolds said. "I actually grew up with them my whole life -- they both have been in my classes ... and I've played with them since I was in midget football."
Replacing the departed backs will be a handful of sophomores and juniors: Brad Hough, Billy Mann, and Rakwon White, among others.
Reynolds also has a pair of senior wideouts to throw to. Sheldon Stickley is a speedy deep-threat, and Tyler Himelright owns a pair of sure hands.
Reynolds said this season he expects to hear a few more passing plays than last season, and for good reason: He understands the playbook, he threw with Stickley and Himelright in the offseason, and he makes solid pre-snap reads.
Case in point: In a loss to Stonewall Jackson last season, Reynolds proved how consistent and efficient he can be, completing 4-of-5 passes for 71 yards.
Against Madison County, he completed seven passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.
"Michael's got three years of experience, he's a leader," Rams coach Mark Roller said. "He knows what he can run, what he can't run -- that's the thing that he does best, he can identify things.
"He's embracing that great and he's always trying to help out."
Under Roller, Strasburg has been privy to run the ball, numbering upwards of 40 rushes a game, though the third-year coach said he's working to bring balance to the offense.
Reynolds foresees the transition happening sooner rather than later.
"We're probably gonna have a lot more throwing, obviously, but we can't just always throw," Reynolds said. "That's just gonna give it away, so it'll be a good balance between passing and running."
Stonewall Jackson, too, faces a promising situation despite the loss of two tailbacks. Cole Shaffer will likely start for the Generals, bringing with him a blend of the speed and power that Dawson and Koontz brought separately.
Jared Getz, Trevor Warner, and Sean Stroop will join Shaffer in the backfield.
Perhaps most importantly, the hulking Pirtle will provide Stonewall Jackson with a battering body not often seen in the Shenandoah District.
Here's why Stonewall Jackson should have little trouble replicating its rushing-efforts from last season: "I feel like my role can expand," Pirtle said, "and I feel like I'm gonna work as hard as I possibly can to be excellent in everything I do, and be crisp and be sharp.
"And if there's a mistake to be made, I don't want to be the one to make it and let these guys down, because they're working their butts off."
Indeed, Pirtle is the kind of quarterback who enjoys contributing in any way possible. Throwing? That's fine. Running? That's fine, too.
With about four passing attempts a game last season, Pirtle threw for 326 yards and a touchdown. On the same night Reynolds completed 80 percent of his passes, Pirtle had a night of his own, throwing for a touchdown and rushing for another.
Pirtle was ecstatic that night.
"Pirtle runs the show -- plain and simple, he's got to take the reins of the situation," Generals coach Dick Krol said. "With a 200-pound quarterback running the option ... he ought to inflict pain on people when he runs, he ought to pitch the ball when it's available, and he can throw the football.
"The ball is in his hands, and I mean that literally and figuratively."
The same can be said of Reynolds at Strasburg, and of Sherfey at Central.
They won't all slice a bevy of passes through the chilly Friday night air, they won't all illuminate their respective scoreboards night after night.
But they will provide continuity in backfields that return only trace amounts of experience.
When asked how he's handled being Strasburg's lone backfield leader, Reynolds smiled: "It is exciting when a running back asks me, 'What do I have to do,'" he said. "Now I can tell them."
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