Grand Larson helps Temple

By Stephen Hargis Assistant Sports Editor
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 - tfponline.com

It was the biggest moment of his high school football career, but all Erik Larson could think about was simply trying to stand.

Tennessee Temple’s senior quarterback had just made a dive for the go-ahead two-point conversion late in last Friday’s Class 1A secondround playoff game against 2005 state champion Trousdale County. Just before Larson fell across the goal line, a Trousdale defender’s helmet hit his thigh.

"As soon as I landed, I heard everybody going crazy, so I knew I had made it," Larson said. "But then my leg started throbbing before I got up, and it hurt so bad I could barely limp off the field. Everybody was hugging me, and I was just trying to walk."

The pain didn’t last long, soothed by the third-ranked Crusaders’ 32-31 victory over the perennial state power. And once again, Larson proved he’s more than just a caretaker for one of the state’s most lethal offensive units.

After throwing for 1,978 yards and 25 touchdowns in the regular season, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Larson has completed 63 percent of his postseason attempts for 488 yards, six TDs and only one interception. The Crusaders (12-0) will travel to second-ranked Friendship Christian (12-0 ) Friday for a quarterfinal game.

"Erik has gone from someone who we asked to just not make any mistakes that would cost us a game early in the season, to being someone who we count on to go out and win the game for us," Temple coach Kevin Skogen said. "We made it very easy for him early in the season. Now we tell him he is one of the playmakers and the leader on the field, and he’s playing like it." Larson’s predecessor, Kevin Smithson, left Temple with the city’s single-game and season passing records. Larson, who had not played football in two years because of a torn ACL, enrolled at Temple last spring and immediately assumed the starting quarterback role. It took several games before he became comfortable in the Crusaders’ spread offense, but fortunately had loads of skill-position talent around him, including Seth Skogen, who became the state’s career leader in receiving yards and touchdowns this season.

"He does a very good job in what they run," Friendship coach John McNeal said. "The thing I notice on film is how well they execute their offense, which goes back to the quarterback."

Already blessed with a strong arm, the biggest improvement Larson made as the season progressed was his mental approach to the game, realizing that he is surrounded with enough talent that simply throwing the ball away is not always a bad thing.

"He would try to force things too much early on," Coach Skogen said. "That’s why he threw several interceptions in our first few games. But then he began to understand that as long as we keep the ball, we’ve got the guys around him who can make a big play at anytime, so just let it come to you.

"After that, you could just see his confidence soar. You can see that he even carries himself differently now. He knows what we can do offensively, he’s confident in the receivers and in himself to just go out and make plays."

E-mail Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com

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