CLASS 6A CHAMPIONSHIP: GREENWOOD VS. EL DORADO

Burgess snugly fits Greenwood’s QB mold

Jabe Burgess is the latest in a long line of Greenwood quarterbacks who know how to put a tight spin on their passes. Burgess, a cousin to former Greenwood stars Brooks Coatney and Tyler Wilson, is completing almost 75 percent of his passes.
Jabe Burgess is the latest in a long line of Greenwood quarterbacks who know how to put a tight spin on their passes. Burgess, a cousin to former Greenwood stars Brooks Coatney and Tyler Wilson, is completing almost 75 percent of his passes.

— Jabe Burgess was maybe in the third grade when it was discovered that he could spin it, Greenwood Coach Rick Jones said.

Spinning it is a term Jones uses to describe how a football looks after it’s released from the hand of a quarterback.

A nice, tight rotation trumps clutter and flutter.

“He could spin the ball,” Jones said. “That was not a problem at all.”

It’s still not.

Almost a decade later, Burge ss is the starting quarterback for Greenwood (13-0), which tries to stretch its winning streak to 38 games in the Class 6A final against Pine Bluff (12-1) on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Burgess, a junior, is among the state’s most accurate quarterbacks, completing 74.8 percent of his passes (205 of 274) and throwing for 2,708 yards and 33 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions.

It would almost be blasphemy if Burgess, 6-2, 185 pounds, couldn’t spin it, since he’s the cousin of Brooks Coatney and Tyler Wilson, the two most famous quarterbacks in Greenwood history.

“Just the luck of the draw that you have some great families in town that produce quarterbacks,” Jones said with a laugh.

Coatney, who coaches nearby Van Buren, led Greenwood to the Class AAA state championship game as a sophomore in 1996 and finished his career with 9,962 yards and 101 touchdown passes.

Before becoming the most prolific passer in Arkansas Razorbacks history, Wilson threw for 8,226 yards and 94 touchdowns at Greenwood, leading the Bulldogs to Class 5A state championships in 2006 and 2007.

Now, Burgess is calling the shots for an offense that has scored touchdowns on 65 percent of its drives this season (76 of 117).

“Jabe has met expectations, and that is a pretty high standard, to tell you the truth,” Jones said. “He’s getting better. We hit a point there in the middle of the season where it was a concern that I didn’t think we were making improvement, but he’s been so solid down the stretch.”

Really solid.

Burgess has completed 82.9 percent of his passes the past four weeks (63 of 76) for 828 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“Good football player,” Pine Bluff Coach Bobby Bolding said. “He’s tall, he can see down the field and he’s accurate.”

Physically, Burgess mirrors most of Greenwood’s state championship quarterbacks during the Jones era.

Daniel Stegall, who signed with Miami after leading Greenwood to the Class AAAA title in 2005, was listed 6-2, 175, as a senior. Wilson was listed 6-3, 182, as a senior. Stephen Hogan, an Arkansas State signee, was listed 6-3, 200, when Greenwood won the Class 5A state championship in 2010.

“It’s just pure luck to move to a town of 8,900 and run across tall, lanky kids who can throw the ball,” said Jones, Greenwood’s coach since 2004. “We’ve been very lucky.”

Burgess completed 12 of 16 passes for 51 yards in limited action as a sophomore.

Jones said he envisioned Burgess becoming the starter “one day,” but he entered fall practice locked in a battle with senior Houston Kennedy. Jones said Kennedy’s arm became sore about two weeks into camp and couldn’t function like he normally does.

That opened the door for Burgess, now entrenched as Greenwood’s quarterback of the present and future.

“The thing is he went out and played well,” Jones said. “He took care of the football. He did the things you want a quarterback to do. When it’s all said and done, it’s being productive on the field.”

It’s about spinning it.

Jones said he gets a feel of who can and who can’t two days a week each July, when he holds a camp for quarterbacks in Greenwood who are in the third through 12th grade.

Jones said Burgess, even as a third-grader, projected a tall frame, live arm and proper mechanics.

“When I go down there with the little ones, if they’re throwing the ball that’s the correct size for their age, if they can spin it, then they have a chance,” Jones said. “With his family situation being the way it is, you always sort of look out for those guys.”

Sports, Pages 21 on 11/30/2012

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