As Isaiah Jones prepared for his first start at quarterback on Friday for St. John, the senior thought about the lessons he learned from his predecessor and former Fans' Choice Award winner Adam Blanchard.

"I learned a lot from him. From form to being a leader on the team to having a positive attitude," said Jones. "I knew I had to fill in some big shoes to fill. Adam had a lot of passing yards and threw a lot of touchdowns."

Isaiah was able to fill those shoes and much more. He went 20 for 29 for 328 yards with 4 passing touchdowns.

He also ran in a touchdown as well. His performance won him the award after more than 13 thousand people voted for him.

"I didn't know how many passing yards I had until the stat sheet came in. Once I told the team, they were all excited," said Jones.

"He is a very smart quarterback. He's not afraid to check off a play when he sees an opportunity," said St. John head coach Eric Holden. "That's something that I'm excited about going forward."

"It was unexpected by me and everybody else. I don't know how to explain it. It just happened," said Jones.

Jones' performance is also interesting because it wasn't supposed to happen.

After the summer, Jones was slated as the backup quarterback and would play wide receiver this season. Unfortunately, the starter injured himself before the first game.

That was when Jones was asked to move from wide receiver to quarterback. The offense didn't miss a beat.

"It was a big transition. It was very tough. I had to learn the reads and know the playbook," said Jones. "It's a big confidence boost having all those good stats, it just makes me want to do better."

The defending 2A state champs have alot of everything. A strong defense that returns a solid core of linebackers. A running game that could give defenses fits. Tons of questions marks at key positions.

The Warriors, who won 14 games a year ago, are searching for a signal caller. The battle will come down to two sophomores: John Walker and David Selders. Both are powerful runners with decent arms that allow them to stretch a defense.

But with any small school, depth is always the issue. Head coach Zephaniah Powell has around 50 players on his roster to start the season but with guys having to play both ways, that could show its ugly head deeper in the season.