Marquardt paid his dues while waiting for chance
NORMAN — Brandon Marquardt just kept putting in his time.
The Norman North quarterback knew if he kept working, he’d eventually get his chance as a starter.
He led his freshman team to an undefeated season. As a junior, he got some varsity action, sharing time with starter Cameron Hardesty.
But once his senior season arrived, Marquardt knew it was his chance to shine in the position he’d been longing for.
The result was one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in state history: 4,624 yards and 48 touchdowns with a 69.2 completion percentage.
His yardage and touchdown numbers were the most ever by a Class 6A quarterback. The yardage total was the second most in state history, behind only Locust Grove star Mason Fine’s record year of 5,006 yards.
The Oklahoman’s AllState Offensive Player of the Year, Marquardt put the ball in the air 386
times, and only seven of them were intercepted. Three of his receivers had more than 1,200 yards.
An underrated value he provided, Marquardt also rushed for 307 yards, and could keep plays alive by eluding danger in the pocket.
“When he was in seventh or eighth grade, he just had a characteristic that you knew he was gonna be a leader and a really good player,” Norman North coach Brent Barnes said. “He was always a little ahead of his years in maturity and leadership. He just had that quality, and when you’re playing quarterback, that’s important.
At six-feet and 190 pounds, Marquardt doesn’t have the prototypical quarterback body that brings in college scouts, though several Division-II schools and some lower level D-I programs have showed interest.
But he believes the recruiting will come, just like his opportunity as a varsity starter eventually came.
While he was paying his dues as a backup and a junior-varsity player, Marquardt was consuming the smallest details of Barnes’ offense. Gifted with the arm strength and accuracy to be a good thrower, he added a complete knowledge of the offense and the ability to read defenses.
It became the perfect recipe for an incredible senior season that started with 12 straight wins and ended with a heart-breaking loss to Tulsa Union in the Class 6A-I state championship game.
“We always knew he was gonna have a chance to be special when he got older,” Barnes said. “When his time came, he was 100 percent ready for it.”
So were the guys he had grown up throwing to, fellow seniors like Charlie Kolar and Collin Klein in particular.
That added to the success, but it also made for a fun season.
“It’s the greatest year of my life,” Marquardt said. “Being able to be the starting quarterback and have such a run… it was really cool to be a part of something like that, and know we put on for the city and we made a run for it.”
Marquardt saw the potential for a team that could compete for a state championship early on. Even as far back as that undefeated freshman season.
“Ever since our freshman year, I knew we had what we needed,” he said. “We might not be the most athletic guys, but we have the heart and determination to do whatever we had to do.
“I knew from the start that we had it, and this year it translated from what we had our freshman year, and I think it was a pretty cool story.”