It didn’t take long for junior Sacred Heart quarterback Zach Weatherell to get hot after not playing football for nearly 11 months. After going down with a shoulder injury early in 2016, he’s back slinging touchdown passes to his receivers, which has helped the Crusaders jump out to a 2-0 record.
“My arm feels great,” Weatherell said. “As long as I’m throwing it right and taking care of it, it feels great. It’s awesome to be back, because I missed it.”
Weatherell heard a pop in his shoulder against Mount Olive last season. He had it looked at on the sideline, then preceded to throw another touchdown pass on the next offensive possession. That was the last pass he would throw in 2016, though.
(Note: Weatherell wrote the “From the Crowd” section for the Football Outlook magazine about his rehab.)
After months of rehabilitation, he returned to the field two weeks ago at Loyd Star, as he threw for 143 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 13-of-33 passing.
“I was really nervous, to be honest, because I haven’t played in so long,” Weatherell said. “I didn’t play very well, I don’t know, I was just really nervous. During the second half I started running the offense a little bit better, and it worked out for us.”
He followed that up with a monster game against Richton last Friday, throwing for 317 yards and five touchdowns on 16-for-25 passing. The game was a back and forth affair, and the Sacred Heart offense needed to make the plays to stay ahead of the Rebels.
“I love a shootout,” Weatherell said. “I can do a shootout all day. Throughout the whole game, I felt like we were the better team, so I thought we were going to win. After every touchdown (by the opponent), my goal is to go out and throw another touchdown. I’m ready to do that whenever. If they throw a pick, I’m out there ready to throw another touchdown. It doesn’t matter if I wait five seconds or the whole quarter.”
The production from Weatherell has allowed his receivers to have big games, too. Joseph Bishop has 15 receptions for 214 yards, first-year player Jeremiah Smith has five catches for 187 yards and five touchdowns and Paul Rowell has the sixth Weatherell touchdown.
Not to mention he has Campbell Klein, who has 194 rushing yards and four touchdowns, to hand the ball off to in the backfield.
“It’s sweet,” Weatherell said of his skill players. “All of them, I’m just really excited about all of the weapons I have.”
This isn’t the first time Sacred Heart has started 2-0 in its short history, but some believe this could be the best start since the level of competition it’s playing is better. The Crusaders are in a district with the past two 1A South State Champions, but that doesn’t stop Weatherell from having high expectations.
“I feel like we can win the district,” he said. “We always lose to a couple of teams in our district, and we can always lose, but I feel like we can play with any team in our district.”
