LITTLE ROCK — Collin Hunter is Glen Rose’s starting quarterback, but the senior is also a starting safety.
That’s life at many Class 3A schools, where stars like Hunter are asked to shine on both sides of the ball.
But there are times, Beavers Coach Mark Kehner said, where it’s better for Hunter to be a supporting character, particularly on defense.
Hunter, for example, lowered his shoulder and delivered a thunderous hit on Malvern senior tailback Tim Hardimon in the Sept. 3 season opener, an energized battle of Hot Spring County rivals separated by only about 10 miles.
“Well, my offensive coordinator, Coach Darrell Ellis, we had a long talk about that,” Kehner said. “But I told him at that time, if we’re going to get where we needed to go, Collin’s got to play safety. If he’s not playing safety back there, we’re probably not here today.”
Hunter’s f inal career game comes in the Class 3A final at noon Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, when Glen Rose (13-1) faces Harding Academy (13-0).
A victory would give the Beavers, top-ranked in Class 3A, their second state championship in six seasons and further cement Hunter, 6-1, 180 pounds, as one of the best players in school history.
Kehner said Hunter has started every game at quarterback the last three seasons and helped Glen Rose to a 32-6 overall record, including 19-2 in 5-3A play, 3 playoff appearances, 2 conference championships and 1 perfect regular season.
“That’s phenomenal,” Kehner said.
Stuttgart Coach Billy Elmore said he’s not surprised how Hunter’s career has unfolded.
Hunter was a seventh grader in 2007, when, in Elmore’s final season as coach at Glen Rose, the Beavers won the Class 3A state championship.
Elmore said he remembers Hunter having the frame ofa “big kid” and displaying “leadership qualities.”
“You could see out of that bunch, he was a competitor,” Elmore said. “You could always say that about him.”
Hunter was in the eighth grade when Kehner said he envisioned him becoming Glen Rose’s starting quarterback as a sophomore.
Hunter threw for approximately 1,400 yards as a sophomore and completed 125 of 249 passes for 2,032 yards and 20 touchdowns last fall.
As a senior, Hunter has completed 127 of 212 passes for 2,413 yards and 23 touchdowns. He finished 15 of 20 passing for 178 yards in last week’s 17-14 semifinal victory over Prescott.
“Have gone through some bumps with him,” Kehner said. “But just like Friday, the speed of the game was unbelievable and he was right on the money. Just stood tall with confidence, and in a game like that, your kids need to look at a quarterback and know that he knows you’re going to win football games.”
Kehner said Hunter possesses a strong arm, intelligence, strong work ethic and, maybe most important, the toughness to play offense and defense - thus far injury free.
“We’ve rolled the dice; we’ve taken the chance,” Kehner said. “But he’s a big, strong physical kid. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”
Sports, Pages 24 on 12/06/2012