Freshman QB excels
Carl Albert just reloads. The Class 5A power is back in the state semifinals with freshman quarterback Ben Harris running the offense.
Carl Albert quarterback Ben Harris feels a tad weird these days when he looks back on the past year.
At this point last year, he was done with his eighthgrade football season wondering what high school ball would be like.
Turns out, it’s better than anybody expected.
Harris, a 6-foot, 165pound freshman, has continued to impress everybody with a debut season that has the No. 1 Titans back in Friday’s Class 5A state semifinals against Skiatook.
“It’s my third playoff game, so I’m just going to do what we do,” Harris said. “I was pretty confident of how I was doing in the summer and first couple of games, but, yeah, I was surprised.”
Harris has shown remarkable poise with the aid of a plethora of talented players around him. Last week, he threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-23 rout of Claremore to earn The Oklahoman’s Player of the Week honor.
But as good as those numbers were, he impressed even more by bouncing back from an interception just before halftime.
“That’s been the biggest thing to me, just him stepping up there and taking control,” Carl Albert coach Mike Corley said. “Hopefully, that continues.”
Harris was supposed to be the Titans’ backup, but senior Carter LaValley fractured his collarbone in the preseason. Harris shined in his absence. Once LaValley returned, they split reps for a few games until LaValley underwent season-ending surgery.
In that span, Harris won over the coaching staff. More importantly, he won over his teammates.
“He’s really stepped up and hasn’t been afraid to lead the team,” senior Diego Richards said. “We treat him like he’s our little brother. We know being seniors and leaders we take the role of responsibility to protect him. We don’t let nobody get to him. It’s our job to protect him.”
Harris is surrounded by arguably the top supporting cast in the state. He’s got a star running back behind him in Dadrion Taylor. He’s got multiple star receivers, including Oklahoma State commitment Jason Taylor II and Richards.
That’s why he’s completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,435 yards and 31 touchdowns. He’s thrown just three interceptions.
Everything just feels right.
“Once I started completing passes it got easier and easier,” Harris said. “I just trust my guys to get the job done. They’ve taken care of me. They just love me.”