[qryche11]

Im in a state of shock to say the least but I am very confident that the Birds will continue to play well enough to win State this year and 3 peat. The defense will need to carry them the remainder of the season and keep them in games.

I feel that Patrick Towles was going to be the QB at Highlands next year and quite possibly his SR year as well. He has the tools and the size but just needs more experience. The only way to get that is to throw him into the fire and let him learn the rest of the year. Now he has no choice. I like Ty Seidle and his grit as a football player but he is not a good option at QB. Unfortunately his size doesnt allow him to be as affective as Towles. Seidle is a better one way defensive player and will help the Birds more on that side of the ball. Towles is a smart kid with very nice leadership qualities and will need to step up and take over this team. That is all there is to it, if Dale calls his number which I am sure he will.

Lets be honest, he will have HUGE shoes to fill because you just cant replace Bardo and his speed but Towles has a nice arm and does have the ability to escape a pass rush and pick up positive yardage. He is not a threat to take it to the house but if the line can give him time he will get better at reading coverages and hitting the open man. I think the line is good enough to keep defenders off of him and give him time to learn.

If the Birds do not let him develop this experience and resort to running the ball 90% of the time you will see teams pin their ears back and put 8 and 9 in the box and blitz him to death.

My personal thoughts are that Towles takes over and leads the Birds to a State Title much like Trent Dilfer did with BAltimore and the Ravens. He will learn a ton and make some mistakes but will not make enough of them that will cost the team the title. Next year the Birds need him to step up anyway so now is his time to shine.

With that said, he will have a very very strong competitor challenging him for the QB position next year in current freshman Donovan McCoy.

A sad ending to an excellent QB's season in BArdo. I wish him the best and hope that he fully recovers and gets the opportunity to play football on SAturdays next season because he showed a ton of people he is Div 1 material, especially a National audience.