Shady Side Academy football coach Dave Havern was looking for a spark.

He found it in Jordan Foley.

Foley, a sophomore from Meridian, was penciled in as a starting cornerback for the Indians, but during the first two games of the season, Havern was hoping to find someone to kick-start the offense.

Nick Petrelli, who quarterbacked last year, was the team's starter again this year.

"Nick's a good football player, but maybe he was miscast at quarterback," said Havern. "He did a credible job for us last year.

"Jordan's a little guy (5-feet-8, 155 pounds), not big, but smart. We're not experienced in a lot of positions," Havern added.

In the second game of the season Sept. 3 at Greensburg Central Catholic, Foley came in to replace Petrelli, although just temporarily.

"Greensburg is a great program and we weren't doing too much," said Havern. "I thought, 'Let's put Jordan in.'

"He made good decisions but I wasn't ready to bench a senior yet. We had trouble moving (against Kittanning), so I put Jordan in and he stepped in and has done a real good job," Havern added.

In the Kittanning game, Foley completed 8 of 18 passes for 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The touchdown was on his first pass of the game, a 77-yard throw to Jim Ambrose.

The amazing aspect is that Foley didn't grow up playing quarterback.

"I didn't start as junior varsity quarterback last year," said Foley, who has attended Shady Side Academy since the sixth grade. "I starting at corner this year and I wasn't expecting to play much (at quarterback) after the Greensburg game. I played a few plays and that was it."

Foley was a running back as a sixth and seventh grader, and played a little quarterback in eighth grade.

Last season, he was the backup junior varsity quarterback and was fourth string on the varsity team.

The chance to start at quarterback at the varsity level - at any level - was a bit of a surprise.

"I play basketball and baseball, and I'm pretty competitive at those.

"I didn't think I'd start, not before camp. Then, I got some reps during summer and did a lot of lifting. If not, I wouldn't be as strong as I am now," he added.

Foley followed up the Kittanning game by completing 10 of 21 passes for 177 yards and two scores.

He threw for 112 yards and two more scores against Ford City two weeks ago.

For the season, Foley has completed 33 of 68 passes for 520 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions.

He added 35 yards rushing in last week's 15-7 loss to Valley and also ran for 30 yards on four carries and a touchdown in his first game against Greensburg Central Catholic.

"Jordan has good intangibles," said Havern. "He doesn't have a super arm, but he's accurate. He's calm and is tough as nails. He's picking things up. It's on-the-job training."

Havern cites an example in the Valley game, when, on the first drive, Foley engineered a 22-play, 75-yard drive.

"All but two were passes and he completed both and ran the option," said Havern.

The Valley game was still a loss, but Foley saw a lot of positives from his young team.

"It was a moral victory," said Foley. "We're all really happy. We were one pass away from winning."

The Indians (1-5, 0-4) opened the season with just 22 players team, but Havern sees a lot of potential with that sophomore class.

"We have five sophomores who start out of seven on the team," said Havern. "It's a small class but they're all real competitive. They haven't been beaten much as freshmen.

"Jordan and the fellow sophomores, they don't think they should be getting beat.

"I tell them, 'You're the rocks we're building on. When I write you a letter when you're in college, I'll be thanking you for what you were able to start here.'"