Armed and extremely dangerous
Experience is one thing. Production is another.
The Butler County area has plenty of quarterbacks with plenty of both this season.
Moniteau senior Kyle Armagost tops that list. The third-year starter passed for 1,336 yards, rushed for 1,146 and accounted for 25 touchdowns for the Warriors last fall.
“My goals are to get those numbers to 2,000 yards passing and 1,500 rushing,” Armagost said. “But that has to come in the framework of winning.
“We want a league championship and we want to play in the District 9 championship game.”
Armagost achieved his passing totals despite completing only 43 percent of his aerials — 79 of 182.
“My completion percentage has to go up. That's on me,” Armagost said. “I need to step into my throws and cut it loose more. Last year, I was aiming the ball too much.”
Also coming off highly productive seasons behind center are Knoch senior Ky Kenyon, Freeport junior Brendan Lynch and Seneca Valley junior Jordan Brown.
Kenyon passed for 929 yards, rushed for 555 and accounted for 18 touchdowns in helping the Knights reach the second round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.
“I hope to make better decisions with the football this year,” Kenyon said. “Last year, I relied on my feet more than my arm.
“I feel like I have the confidence to look more at the receivers before I pull it down and take off. We can make more plays in the passing game.”
Being a senior, Kenyon also figures to take on more of a leadership role this season.
“We've got a lot of skilled guys back and that's gonna help,” he said. “Our backfield returns, so we know the formations and who's supposed to do what going into camp.
“I'm taking one game at a time. I'm all about team goals and we can't reach them if we look past anybody, because that's when you lose.”Leadership is a word weighing heavily on Lynch's mind at Freeport.“We had a bunch of seniors play prominent roles last year and they were our leaders,” Lynch said. “Now those guys are gone.“This year, the leadership stuff is on my shoulders a lot more.”Lynch compiled 1,640 yards passing and rushing and accounted for 17 touchdowns as the Yellowjackets reached the second round of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs.Lynch threw only four interceptions in 2010.“I know I need to be more accurate throwing the ball,” Lynch said. “Our veteran receivers made a bunch of acrobatic catches last year.“We have new receivers this year and we've spent all summer working on our timing together. I need to put the ball where they can catch it.“I'd love to throw for 1,000 and run for 1,000 this year, but I'll do whatever I need to do to help us win.”Seneca Valley's Brown has the least experience of the quartet, starting only five games for the Raiders last season. He threw for 1,244 yards and nine TDs in those games, however.“I can't say I was too surprised we clicked like that offensively because we all knew each other,” Brown said. “And we only lost one guy (Jordan Glaser) to graduation among the skilled players.”Unlike the other top returning quarterbacks — including Slippery Rock's Ryan Currie (403 yards) and Grove City's Tyler Dagres (447 yards) — Brown did not gain much rushing yardage last season. He netted just 34 yards on the ground.“I'm working on my footwork. I run a 4.75 40, so I have decent speed,” Brown said. “We run a spread offense, too, so I'm looking to throw the ball.“I'm also working on my flexibility with (former Butler standouts) Lyneil Mitchell and Tyrell Sales. I want to be a versatile quarterback.”He'll have plenty of company around the county this year.
