The center?

Yep. I've seen a lot teams lose games because the center was under attack and couldn't control snaps. He touches the ball on every single play and if you have a good nose tackle, you can exploit a less then good center and make a dramatic difference in a game. That, and the center starts every play with one hand.

I don’t care who the center is if you have an inexperienced and unseasoned quarterback taking snaps.

 

I don’t care who your leading rusher is if the QB can’t make a routine handoff 99.9% of the time.

 

I don’t care who your leading WR is if the QB can’t complete a variety of different and difficult passes from different angles in unpredictable circumstances on every play.

I'd go as far as arguing, if your team is a 90%/10%, or close, Run/pass, you could get away with your quarterback being the worst athlete on the field. Smart helps, but athletic is not a necessary item.

 

Heck, if you are a spread team that throws predominately screens and short passes, your quarterback doesn't have to be that great to pass for 2,000 a year. I've actually seen this quite a bit. No vertices, but short pitch and runs.

I'd like to see the rationale as well. Maybe if they are responsible for line calls? But even then, many high school coaches won't give their center that responsibility. The QB, I'd bet, calls the protection changes just as much as centers do across the state.

I guess our experiences are different, the majority of centers I see make the line calls and the quarterbacks don't make line calls.

I guess our experiences are different, the majority of centers I see make the line calls and the quarterbacks don't make line calls.

 

They may. I've been away for awhile.

With all that being said...preseason prediction Mayfield is your 2018 state champs.

Yep. I've seen a lot teams lose games because the center was under attack and couldn't control snaps. He touches the ball on every single play and if you have a good nose tackle, you can exploit a less then good center and make a dramatic difference in a game. That, and the center starts every play with one hand.

 

No chance a center is more important than a QB, especially for teams that don't utilize the shotgun or pistol formations.

No chance a center is more important than a QB, especially for teams that don't utilize the shotgun or pistol formations.

 

Big picture you are right

 

Small picture an argument can be made

 

 

Danville vs. Corbin in 2015 is an example I will always remember to the value of a Center.

 

Danville wins that game 20-0. The story was Corbin's Center. The Redhounds had I believe six bad snaps from the Center. Four resulted in long drive killing losses. The other two resulted in turnovers that led to Danville points. To your statment Corbin's QB was a very good player in Cameron Sizemore.

 

Does Corbin win that game if all of those snaps were perfect? Maybe or maybe not.

 

Did the struggles of the Center put them in a situation where it was almost impossible to win against a good team? Of course.

 

In the scope of that one game the Center proved to be more important than the QB. Obviously for the entire season the QB proved to be more important.

Big picture you are right

 

Small picture an argument can be made

 

 

Danville vs. Corbin in 2015 is an example I will always remember to the value of a Center.

 

Danville wins that game 20-0. The story was Corbin's Center. The Redhounds had I believe six bad snaps from the Center. Four resulted in long drive killing losses. The other two resulted in turnovers that led to Danville points. To your statment Corbin's QB was a very good player in Cameron Sizemore.

 

Does Corbin win that game if all of those snaps were perfect? Maybe or maybe not.

 

Did the struggles of the Center put them in a situation where it was almost impossible to win against a good team? Of course.

 

In the scope of that one game the Center proved to be more important than the QB. Obviously for the entire season the QB proved to be more important.

 

Danville had similar problems with center snaps in their championship game loss to CAL in 2016.

Big picture you are right

 

Small picture an argument can be made

 

 

Danville vs. Corbin in 2015 is an example I will always remember to the value of a Center.

 

Danville wins that game 20-0. The story was Corbin's Center. The Redhounds had I believe six bad snaps from the Center. Four resulted in long drive killing losses. The other two resulted in turnovers that led to Danville points. To your statment Corbin's QB was a very good player in Cameron Sizemore.

 

Does Corbin win that game if all of those snaps were perfect? Maybe or maybe not.

 

Did the struggles of the Center put them in a situation where it was almost impossible to win against a good team? Of course.

 

In the scope of that one game the Center proved to be more important than the QB. Obviously for the entire season the QB proved to be more important.

 

You can make an argument for any position on the field to be more important than the QB on any random night. The center is not more important than the QB in 95% of high school football games.

I would have DeSales at number 1 pre season, but for one reason, they lost their top returning running back to a transfer. He will now be a junior running back for Butler H.S. Way too many transfers going on in Jefferson county. Either allow all transfers,or deny all transfers, one or the other. The rules as printed are hardly ever enforced.