FORT WAYNE – The tough times continued for Bishop Dwenger quarterbacks in Friday’s scrimmage against Bishop Luers.
Saints junior quarterback John Kelty was helped off the Saint Francis field midway through the scrimmage after getting tackled against the three-time defending Class 2A Knights’ vaunted defense.
Kelty seemed to favor his left ankle and was on the Dwenger sidelines with a wrap on his left ankle and on crutches after the scrimmage.
“It’s a play that (Kelty) is not even supposed to be a factor in, but there was such a push by their defensive line that they got penetration, and they were through our linemen and onto him before he had a chance to figure out what was going on,” Dwenger coach Chris Svarczkopf said.
Kelty joined fellow junior quarterback Mike Fiacable on crutches on the sidelines. Fiacable, last year’s starter, tore the ACL in his left ankle last Friday. He is scheduled to have surgery next Friday, when the Saints play South Side at Zollner Stadium.
Sophomore Cody Miller finished out the scrimmage at quarterback after alternating playing time with Kelty, who was wearing the no-contact red jersey.
“That had nothing to do with whether (Kelty) was live or he wasn’t,” Svarczkopf said. “Coach Matt Lindsay (at Luers) and I discussed during the week that the quarterback situation on both sides was not something we wanted to have any injuries.”
Miller was injured himself on the first practice and missed most of two-a-days.
“For someone who we didn’t have during two-a-days he did a pretty nice job,” Svarczkopf said of Miller. “Especially since he took charge in the huddle.”
Svarczkopf said he was unsure of the severity of Kelty’s injury but was already talking as if Miller would be his starter in the season opener.
“It’s difficult to be real positive from what I saw,” Svarczkopf said of the scrimmage. “A couple of good individual plays here and there, but not where we need to be. We have a long way to go before we are able to compete with South Side.”
Luers is also looking for a new quarterback, albeit because of the graduation of three-year starter James Knapke. In the first series of 15 offensive plays, all four of Luers’ potential signal-callers played – junior Quinn Cook, freshman Noah Wesensky, senior Kyle Bliss and sophomore Travis Eckert.
“Quinn and Noah ran the first unit and both did some really good things,” Lindsay said. “I was happy with that, but nothing happened that would lead me to say that ‘he is definitely the guy.’ They are both very capable, and it is a good problem to have.”
Loaded with Division I talent, Luers appears to only be a decent quarterback away from a run to another SAC and state championship.
“It’s a huge void (at quarterback),” Cook said. “James was a great player but with the playmakers we have, our job is going to be very easy. We just have to manage the game and distribute the ball to our playmakers, and they will win the games for us.”
