Just call it the year of the quarterback.

Versatility was the name of the game for the area signal-callers as four of them made the Butler Eagle Football All-Stars Offensive Sweet 16 team.

They used their arms as well as their legs to get there.

Butler’s Nick Monteleone was at the head of the class when it came to putting up versatile numbers as he lead the Golden Tornado with 1,569 yards passing and 442 yards rushing.

In his career at Butler, Monteleone passed for 4,500 yards and rushed for another 1,000.

“We couldn’t not use Nick’s abilities,” said Butler coach Garry Cathell. “He accounted for 85 to 92 percent of our offense.”

The onus of the Golden Tornado attack was squarely on the senior’s shoulders. He was asked to do nearly everything.

Knowing that, he worked hard in the weight room in the off-season and improved in nearly every facet of the game, Cathell said.

Monteleone is making many college recruiters salivate over his ability to throw and run with the football, but he has not received any offers yet.

“I’ve been coaching for 21 years, and the recruiting of a quarterback of his caliber is very different. He’s getting a lot of interest, but nobody’s offered him anything yet. I’d like to see him end up at a nice place. He’s definitely the best quarterback I’ve ever coached.”

At Mars, D.J. Cannon wasn’t asked to throw much, but when he was, he was deadly.

The senior threw for 1,115 yards and nine scores. Perhaps most impressive was the fact he averaged 21 yards per completion.

At Moniteau, sophomore Tyler Armagost didn’t take his first snap as the starting quarterback until nearly midseason, but he threw for 1,279 yards and nine touchdowns.

Perhaps most impressive was the fact he threw only four interceptions in 151 attempts.

“He is mature beyond his years,” said Moniteau coach Steve Wilson. “I haven’t seen a sophomore quarterback with that much patience and poise in the pocket.”

Armagost has a strong arm and a knowledge of the passing game that belies his youth. But when Adam Cousins, who made the all-star team as a running back, was injured and missed three games, Armagost was asked to carry some of the load in the ground game as well.

He gained 136 yards and scored three touchdowns. The yardage total is a bit modest because sacks count against rushing yardage in high school.

“What was lost in his success passing was the fact he was a really good runner,” Wilson said.

But the best running quarterback in the all-star group was undoubtably Slippery Rock sophomore Jonathan Powell.

He took the reins under center for the Rockets after four-year starter Ben Collins graduated, and Powell didn’t miss a beat.

Powell rushed for 464 yards and five touchdowns, but 353 of those yards came in the final three games of the season.

His best game was against Meadville, when he rushed for 169 yards — thought to be the most by a Slippery Rock quarterback in the 40-year history of the program.

“When we put more of the football game on his shoulders, that’s when the team really took off,” said Slippery Rock coach Clyde Conti.

Powell also passed for 563 yards in an offense that relied heavily on the running game.

“He’s got that fight in him,” Conti said. “He’s the type of kid who you have to cut the heart out of him to beat him. It’s a good thing he wears a helmet, because he looks like he’s about 10 years old.”

<b>Quarterbacks: </b>Matt Endlish (Karns City), Brian Zimmerman (Freeport)<b>Running Backs: </b>Mike Himes (A-C Valley), Alex Whisler (Knoch), Ryan Ferguson (Slippery Rock), Colby Davis (Union), Nate Boltz (Union)<b>Wide Receivers: </b>Cruz Eshenbaugh (Moniteau), Andy Strutt (Butler), Josh Callender (Karns City), Drew Bestwick (Grove City)<b>Tight Ends: </b>Aaron Dorondo (Butler), Destin DeMarion (Grove City)<b>Linemen: </b>Seth Montgomery (Knoch), Randy Craig (Butler), Chris Chappel (Mars), Ryan Nearhoof (Mars)<b>Kickers: </b>Chris Haley (Butler), Craig Bicehouse (Slippery Rock), Gordon Craig (Grove City), Matt McConnell (Karns City)