West Springfield junior quarterback Bryn Renner knows exactly what his wide receivers are thinking when he drops back to pass. It was only a year ago that he was one of them.
Renner caught a team-high 54 passes last season from record-setting quarterback Peter Lalich, who took his rocket arm to the University of Virginia. Combined with a vastly improved defense, Renner’s smooth transition from receiver to signal caller is a big reason the Spartans (5-1) have a realistic shot at the program’s first Patriot District championship since 1993.
“Last year we all felt like we had a great team,” said Renner, whose Spartans lost two district games by less than a touchdown and another vs. Lake Braddock that they led 21-7. “But it just never clicked for us. For whatever reason we couldn’t make things fall our way. We had to put a stop to it somehow.”
They’ve done exactly that. West Springfield sits at 3-0 in the district, including wins over Hayfield (47-7) and Annandale (54-41). The Spartans also beat an undermanned Robinson squad, 21-7. Renner has completed 91 of 150 passes for 1,113 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also has 272 rushing yards and another five touchdowns on the ground.
“It’s actually been fun playing quarterback after being a receiver in this offense,” said Renner. “I know exactly where they’re supposed to be at all times and we have such an explosive group of receivers it seems like they’re always open.”
Juniors Andy Stallings (33 receptions, 317 yards, four touchdowns) and Tucker Tobin (18 receptions, 243 yards) and senior Josh Vallejos (21 receptions, 33 yards, three touchdowns) have more than made up for the loss at receiver of Renner and Scott Williams, who also had 54 catches last year before transferring to Blue Ridge Academy in Charlottesville, Va.
Maybe the biggest improvement for West Springfield is on the defensive side. The inexperienced group that allowed 40.4 points per game last year has given up just 17.8 ppg over the last five weeks.
“It was real frustrating to hear people tell us all the time we were the reason we were losing,” said senior defensive back Richard DeMocker. “And we couldn’t really say anything. This whole year has been about proving everybody wrong.”
Title chase
» West Springfield, off to a 5-1 start, pummeled Patriot District contender West Potomac last week, 38-14.
» The Patriot race is far from over. Lake Braddock is also5-1 and 3-0 in the district with West Potomac (5-1, 2-1) and South County (3-3, 2-1) right behind.
» Spartans play at South County tonight. They scored 59 points in a win over the Stallions last fall.
