The ‘it’ factor: Picking great QBS
How high school coaches identify them
Blake Horvath wanted the ball in his hands.
Trailing 31-27 and facing fourthand-1 from the 11-yard line with under two minutes left Fridayat Westerville South, the Hillard Darby senior quarterback knew he wanted the responsibility of picking up the first down.
Horvath picked up two yards with a run up the middle and on the next play found the end zone for the game-winning touchdown — his fourth score of the night — to cap a 13-play, 55-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock.
“We got that play call and I knew,” Horvath said. “I said, ‘I want it in my hands.’ We needed one yard and I just stuck my head down to get through that hole.”
For Darby coach John Santagata, the drive encapsulated Horvath’s importance to the Panthers — and the attributes that make him successful as a starting quarterback.
“I think some people are just almost indifferent to what we think is pressure,” Santagata said. “They don’t even feel the pressure. They just feel the eagerness to get the ball and go. They know it’s an important situation and they just say, ‘I’ll take it.’ ”