By Harold Raker
Jim Roth admits that, if he would have had his way, his junior quarterback, Jake Townsend, would not have gained the amount of experience he has in this his first season as a starter.
Yet the Southern Columbia coach is sure glad things worked out the way they did.
Like most coaches, Roth would rather not rush a new quarterback into pressure situations. And, at Southern, where running the ball has always been a way of life, that would normally not be a problem.
But this year's Tigers were breaking in not only a new quarterback, but a whole new set of running backs.
"He got a lot of experience early because of necessity. We were in games where we needed to throw," Roth said. "If I would have had my way, we would have been ahead in games or in better control where we could have run the ball."
He said, "But we ended up throwing a bunch early because we were in games where we were behind. And we got into a number of two-minute drills early."
For Townsend, he was getting to do what he had always dreamed of doing: playing quarterback for Southern Columbia, just like his father, Dewey, who helped lead the 1984 Tigers to a Mid-Penn Conference title and now coaches the junior high team.
"I always knew I was going to be a quarterback, not just because my dad was, but because I like the position, too," said Townsend, who will lead the Tigers against Tri-Valley tonight in a PIAA Class A quarterfinal against Tri-Valley at Schuylkill Haven High School.
The 6-foot, 165-pound Townsend, who has played quarterback since he began in the midget program, has thrown for 1,286 yards and 13 touchdowns for the 9-4 Tigers, winners of six straight games.
Both he and Roth acknowledge that the early experience has paid dividends and has made the Tigers more balanced.
"The positive now when you look back on it is that he gained a lot of experience and I think that has a lot to do with how he's played the second half of the season," Roth said. "He is playing more consistently, with more confidence."
Townsend, son of Dewey and Wendy Townsend, said, "I got a little nervous here and there, but once I got into the flow of the game, the guys up front are veterans and just going through the game they helped me out."
He said he knew he had to come through for the team when he got into tough situations in close games. And that is why he always wanted to play the position.
"I like being the guy that everybody looks to, to know what they are doing, running the offense, because I like being in control and being able to control what's going on," he said. "When it's out of my hands, it's tougher and kind of frustrating."
Townsend said he never felt the pressure while playing quarterback at the lower levels, but he knew things would be different this season with huge crowds and the entire community watching him.
"I was really looking forward to it. I knew the guys in the backfield were, too, because it is their first year," Townsend said.
He said everyone looked to the leadership of the veteran linemen to help get them through it and he and his backfield mates believed the team would be successful this year.
"I thought as long as we could get some confidence, we should have a real good year. Those linemen are in their senior seasons and they wanted to do real well," Townsend added.
He said the running backs and receivers knew that as long as they did their jobs, "We could do some pretty cool things."
"It was exciting. We had some guys who were ready to win some football games."
And winning football games is what most of the Southern teams that Townsend watched growing up did, taking five straight state championships to go with 16 consecutive District 4 titles. Townsend recalls watching all-state quarterback Dan Latorre leading the Tigers to state titles and after that it was Ted Heitzman.
"I saw them win state titles and I saw the leadership and how they played a big role in making it a winning team," Townsend said.
Roth said Townsend's background was an advantage in that players who grow up in a football family usually have a stronger football sense and Townsend had a good understanding and awareness of the game.
"He had a start where he was kind of thrown into the fire and being a first-year starter and not having a lot of experience, being in critical situations where he was forced to throw the ball, that is not the easiest way to come along and get your experience," Roth said.
And early in the season, with so many new starters and the team losing four of its first seven games, the doubters were out in force. Southern's enviable record of having never missed the district playoffs seemed in jeopardy.
Townsend said, "I never doubted, but you could tell (all of the players) were frustrated, knowing Southern football and the winning tradition, the history and all the wins. Making the playoffs was a big deal."
He said the team turned its season around after a week-six loss to rival Bloomsburg, following that with a respectable 35-28 loss to Class AAA state power Selinsgrove.
"I knew then that they had their heads on and they were ready to win some games and get us into the playoffs," Townsend said.
