Teams in search of QBs

 It appears as if they are in the same boat.

The big question for a trio of area football coaches is whether they can find someone to lead the vessel that is their offense.

Coaches Bob Eason of Northside, Ben Marsh of Jacksonville and Southwest's Phil Padgett each took a step in finding a quarterback for the upcoming season when their clubs participated in a passing league session at Southwest High on Thursday.

Teams trying out new signal-callers seem to be the area's trend as the Monarchs, Cardinals and Stallions, as well as White Oak and East Duplin, are among clubs who played with seniors under center a season ago.

Richlands, Croatan, Topsail and Jones Senior are among those slated to return last year's starting quarterback. And while Cougars senior signal-caller Aaron Stull was absent Thursday due to his obligation to American Legion baseball, Croatan head coach David Perry is rather confident having his QB return will help produce a much-improved offense.

"Having Aaron back is big," he said. "Last year he threw for almost 1,000 yards, despite missing three games.

"We also have all of our wide receivers and skill players back, so I think we will be able to stretch people out more and go underneath."

Croatan, in recent seasons, has thrown more, compared to other schools. Squads such as Jacksonville, Northside and Southwest have had the capability to move the ball via the air, but have relied upon a strong ground game for much of the offensive success.

That means a handful of coaches are in search of a signal-caller who will make limited mistakes and make right decisions.

"We are looking for someone who can run the offense," said Marsh. "We are not asking them to be playmakers, we just ask them to get the ball to the playmakers.

"But I think Dayton Campos can be a playmaker."

Marsh has taken a good look at Campos, a junior who was last year's junior varsity quarterback. Campos and junior Will Coleman are up for the starting spot, filled in last year by Erik Erlandson and Jon Childress.

"We just want someone who is steady and a calming force in the huddle," Marsh said. "We want someone who knows what everyone is doing."

Eason mirrored Marsh's thought on what he is looking for from a quarterback. The Monarchs will try out juniors Zach Wright and Raul Delarosa to replace three-year starter Joe Womack, now at East Carolina University.

"Our quarterback is not a focal point in the offense because he will have a good supporting cast," said Eason. "But he has to be steady."

Meanwhile, Southwest looks to replace Chelton Carter, a sophomore last season who recently transferred. Juniors Chanda Hall and Jonathan Leonard will battle for the vacancy.

"I want our quarterback to get a lot of repetitions and feel comfortable," said Padgett. "He has to be able to hand off and throw some and we like for our quarterbacks to be able to run some."

But for Padgett, the most basic thing for a quarterback is the most important.

"The first thing is finding someone who can hand off," he said. "That part is a little more than people think."

Good thing for Padgett and other coaches is that they still have about two months until the season start to find what they are looking for.