Wharton Football Faces Life Without Starting QB

The Wharton High football team dropped its home opener to the last Friday, 14-6. The Wildcats were able to move the ball against the stingy Lions defense but were kept out of the end zone. 

"We didn't finish," said head coach David Mitchell. "We got in the red zone twice but couldn't finish."

The Cats gained 291 yards on offense yet could only post a couple Chris Kinney field goals on the scoreboard.

But the worst thing to come out of the game was sophomore quarterback Chase Litton suffering a concussion in the fourth quarter. Litton will be out at least two weeks and is listed as "day-to-day," Mitchell said. 

Wharton will have to find some way to move on without him. At issue for the Cats is that senior backup quarterback Keith Hopkins, who played brilliantly in the , is academically ineligible.

The Cats instead will use a combination of junior Vernon Hargreaves and sophomore DJ Grant for the next few weeks.

"It's interesting (playing quarterback), definitely not something I'm used to," said Hargreaves. "I'm not so confident passing, but running I'm pretty comfortable with."

Hargreaves will have to do both for the Cats to be successful.

"He's a pure athlete, a play-maker," offensive coordinator Craig Rainey said of Hargreaves. "All he has to do is flip the script. He knows defense, knows how to read defenses."

Grant will also step in at quarterback.

"I feel like I have the ability to run, get out of the pocket when it breaks down, and make plays," said Grant.

Grant at least has experience at the position. He has played quarterback his whole career and started at quarterback on the JV team last year and this year.

"We're going to utilize each of their talents while staying true to our offensive game plan," Rainey said.

The focus this week in practice?

"Doing the right things," said Mitchell, "and execution."

Bringing the two quarterbacks up to speed will be high on the list as well.

This Week's Game

The Wildcats (0-1) travel to Sickles High (1-0), 7950 Gunn Highway, on Friday, Sept. 9. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

The Gryphons edged out Steinbrenner last Friday 10-0.