Published October 28, 2008 11:08 pm - Jenks at Muskogee
7:30 p.m. Friday
Indian Bowl
TV: KWHB-47 Tape Delay
Radio: KXOJ 100.3 FM
Jenks’ QB shuffle had a turn here once
By Mike Kays
Phoenix Sports Editor
What could’ve been Muskogee’s controversy has become Jenks’ problem in recent weeks — if you can call it a problem.
Beau Marsaln’s stay in Muskogee was short. Marsaln, who set freshman passing records at Locust Grove two seasons ago, came to Muskogee for a summer and looked to be battling now-graduated Trae Cook for the starting quarterback job as a sophomore last season. Things didn’t work that way and before summer’s end, Marsaln’s dad, Frank, had accepted a coordinator position at Blackwell.
Late this summer, Marsaln moved to Jenks but couldn’t become eligible until his folks closed on their house in Blackwell. Once on the roster, he came off the bench to direct the Trojans to two fourth-quarter touchdowns and forced the game with Union into overtime before Union prevailed, 24-17.
That got Marsaln the job until head coach Allan Trimble made another switch two weeks ago — inserting sophomore Sawyer Kollmorgen. All he did was lead the Trojans to a 42-0 lead throwing three touchdown passes and exited well before halftime. It was 63-0 at the half.
Marsaln directed Jenks to its other three TDs, two on passes, but Kollmorgen drew the start last week against Bartlesville and led the Trojans to a 50-13 win.
Trimble said Tuesday, and its Muskogee coach Matt Hennesy’s understanding as well, that Kollmorgen will draw the start Friday when the two teams battle at Indian Bowl on Friday with the District 6A-3 championship at stake.
“We think he's the best guy based on our evaluation at this point,” Trimble said.
Hennesy didn’t have a strong opinion either way on who he wanted to prepare for.
“Neither of them are Ginther,” he said, referring respectfully to Mark Ginther, who beat the Roughers four times in three seasons including scores of 52-35 in the semifinals two seasons ago and 50-35 last year.
“We’re not concerned with either running the ball. I think Beau can throw the deep ball better but on the short stuff, the boots, I’m not in on their meetings but I don’t know, I think that might have been why they made the switch.”
On Marsaln leaving here?
“His dad had been a head coach and to go to a staff position is an adjustment. He got the opportunity to be a coordinator and he took it,” Hennesy said. “Whether he wouldn’t have started, I wouldn’t say that decision was etched in stone at that point but they did what he felt was best.”
So it will be two sophomores leading their respective offenses Friday night, Muskogee’s Archie Bradley being the other.
Hennesy did draw a comparison between those two.
“He hasn’t had a big game that Beau has,” Hennesy said of Kollmorgen. “Our sophomore has won two big games this year.”