Christian Brothers’ unique QB situation spotlighted going into section final against Grant
Deakon Holden spent last summer getting ready for high school and a less spotlighted role as a junior varsity quarterback at Christian Brothers. Such is life for an incoming freshman.
“I was supposed to play some games against some not-so-good teams and then get pulled up (to varsity) for playoffs,” Holden said this week.
Fast-forward three months into his high school life, and Holden has contributed to the Falcons’ varsity team in a major way — while playing against some pretty good teams.
The skinny first-year varsity player, listed at just 140 pounds, helped keep the season alive with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes during last week’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinal playoff game in relief of junior quarterback William Littlejohn. That victory over Woodcreek has Christian Brothers gearing up for the championship game Friday against Grant at 1 p.m. at Hughes Stadium.
“He’s just very mature and fearless,” Falcons head coach Larry Morla told The Bee this week. “He doesn’t feel like he’s pressured at any time.”
It was the second time in two weeks Holden came on to successfully spell Littlejohn. The freshman threw a pair of touchdown passes in each game and put “a spark in our offense,” Morla said of the back-to-back playoff wins. The Falcons on Friday were down by a touchdown before Holden came in and tossed a pair of scoring passes to tight end Marcus Price.
Littlejohn entered the season as the starter, but missed time early in the year with a fractured finger on his throwing hand, leading to Holden taking over as starter for a handful of games.
Christian Brothers’ quarterback situation is an intriguing story ahead of Friday’s cross-town championship bout against Grant, which boasts one of the most talented rosters in the section, including star safety Kingston Lopa. Morla indicated his plan for which quarterback will play remains up in the air and will be predicated on how the game goes.
Often, having two quarterbacks who play means a team lacks one solidified leader. But Morla’s team has bought into the idea of having two signal callers that complement each other. Holden is more of a traditional dropback passer with a fearlessness to throw deep. Littlejohn, a junior, offers more of a running threat that defenses have to account for.
“We had a joke, if we were one quarterback, we’d be the ultimate quarterback,” Littlejohn said. “But we always try to help each other.”
Littlejohn left Friday’s game with an apparent leg injury, but celebrated with Holden just like the rest of his teammates during and after the win. If there’s jealousy or bad feelings, both quarterbacks do a good job of not letting them seep out.
“It’s always competitive on the field,” Littlejohn said. “But off the field, we have a good relationship. We always talk, watch film together. We’re competing for reps, but we also help each other with reads and that type of stuff.”
At both players’ disposal is star receiver Phillip Bell, the sophomore, who is getting scholarship offers from Division I college programs all over the country. Most recently, he was offered by USC, and has a trip to Texas planned in the coming weeks. Bell followed up his first-team Bee All-Metro honors as a freshman with 68 catches for 766 yards and 19 touchdowns this season, all while being the focus of defensive coordinators’ game plans.
Against Jesuit in the Holy Bowl earlier this season, and on Friday against Woodcreek, opposing coaches kept two or three defenders on Bell throughout.
“He’s still much involved in our offense,” Morla said. “Because him drawing those double- and triple-teams opens up opportunities for the rest of the players — and we have a lot of skilled players. He just gets all the attention, but we have other kids that can make plays.”
That was evident in Friday’s win over Woodcreek, with Price finding openings in the middle of the field for the two key touchdowns while an extra safety was lined up deep over Bell, who routinely beat his primary defender off the line of scrimmage.
But Bell’s responsibilities on Friday will go far beyond his play as a receiver. He’s also roaming at free safety, where he can use his elite speed and ball skills to defend over the top. Slowing Grant’s receivers, like Lopa and Kyrell Goss-Pruitt, will be imperative if the Falcons are going to come away with the upset win. The Pacers scored 80 points in their semifinal win last week against Patterson.
“They’re physical, they’re fast, their strong, but, I mean, it’s like an old Grant team,” Morla said. “They were the same way back when I played. They like to throw the ball deep and they like to get in your face and talk mess, and they like to bully you.
“It’s going to depend on how our kids respond to that that’s going to determine how the game’s going to go.”
