Oswego QB shows poise under pressure
Sophomore QB shines on Panthers' game-winning drive
Late last spring I was up in the press box during an Oswego baseball game when a couple of Panthers boosters told me, "We've got a quarterback."
Usually I take this type of thing with a grain of salt -- everyone's always got a quarterback, or a running back, or whoever, waiting in the wings.
(Hung T. Vu/For The Beacon-News)
And let's be honest -- when you say "Oswego football," the quarterback position rarely comes up. Not to say past signal callers weren't solid kids. It's just that running backs and defensive players usually dominate the headlines.
After watching Panthers come back and beat Plainfield North 14-13 Friday night, that spring statement was right on.
Sophomore quarterback Ryan West did not have a breakout game for the Panthers. Actually, according to the stat line, he had a below average one (6-of-18 for 61 yards).
Yet in the clutch, in the fourth quarter - the stage on which all quarterbacks are judged - he went 3-for-4 and hit Joe Kwiatkowski for the game-winning touchdown with just over a minute left to give the Panthers (4-1, 3-0) a leg up in the Southwest Prairie Conference.
The Panthers rallied from 7-0 and 13-7 deficits to beat the Tigers (3-2, 1-2), who had a chance to win in the final seconds when Connor Shukstor lined up for a 39-yard field goal attempt. But the snap was high and slipped through the hands of Bryce Corrigan, and his fire drill throw fell incomplete.
Despite the modest numbers, West showed enough skill and moxie to make Oswego fans excited about his future.
At 6-foot-2, he has the height to see over his line and an arm that can get the ball downfield with accuracy. It was a slick, muddy field yet he had the strength to pump fake with authority and pull the ball down if needed.
He also wasn't afraid to stand in against heavy rushes and had the mobility to keep plays alive with his feet.
He made some sophomore mistakes though, hence the poor completion rate. On a third down play at the Plainfield North 12-yard line in the second quarter, he didn't take his eyes off his primary receiver in the flat and missed an open Kwiatkowski in the end zone.
As it turned out, the Panthers didn't convert on fourth down and Plainfield North scored on a 76-yard Kapri Bibbs run shortly thereafter to take a 7-0 lead.
That lead stuck heading into the fourth quarter, and the Panthers couldn't really get anything going, rushing for just 104 yards. It's why the game was perfect test for the first year starting quarterback - could he bring his team back in a contest that could determine a conference title?
He wouldn't be out there if the Panthers coaches didn't think he could. And he rose to the occasion.
After Bibbs (158 yards) scored with 3:38 left in the game to make it 13-7 Tigers, the Panthers began their winning drive at their own 47. They rode Sean Danielson (82 yards) for 36 yards, while West zipped a quick pass to Kwiatkowski for eight more.
Then, on 2nd-and-8 from the Plainfield 9, the coaches put the ball in West's hands. He delivered with a college-level throw to Kwiatkowski on a slant through traffic, hitting the covered wideout between the numbers.
The young quarterback showed nothing but confidence in making his reads and throws, which bodes well for the remaining weeks of the regular season and the playoffs.
And it must be especially exciting for Panthers fans knowing they have two more years to watch him grow into a star.
