The position battle for Athens High School's quarterback was tight at the beginning of the season.
Coach Ryan Adams said junior Treyce Albin, senior Brendan Sano and sophomore Clay Davis were all in contention for the top spot, and Albin separated himself from the rest.
But a game and a half — and a concussion — later, the position is vacant once more.
During practice on Tuesday, Albin and Sano both took snaps at quarterback. If Sano were to get the start, that would limit his plays defensively. If Albin get’s the start, however, Sano would switch back to defensive end, tight end and fullback.
So what would give the Athens Bulldogs (2-1) the best chance to win: Sano at quarterback, or Sano at defensive end?
Sano under center
Sano has played a game and a half as quarterback. To be fair to him in regards to the Canal Winchester game, he hadn’t taken any real snaps at quarterback, and was coming in having not warmed up, other than during the injury timeout.
But against Watkins Memorial, Sano showed a side at quarterback that many weren’t prepared for.
In his first start since the 2015 season, Sano threw for 236 yards on 21 completions with two touchdowns. He also ran for 69 yards and ran two touchdowns. He finished the game with more than 300 all-purpose yards, too, breaking his career high.
Offensively, Sano was virtually impossible to stop.
But when comparing him to Albin, Sano’s arm is stronger. Sano does not have any trouble in the throwing-power category, and he had quite a few 25+ yard passes to his receivers during Friday’s game.
So, look for his throwing power and running ability if he is under center against Alexander on Friday night.
Sano on the defensive line
Against Warren and during most of the Canal Winchester game, Sano was on defense. So far in the season, Sano has had seven-and-a-half tackles and two sacks.
He could have added to those stats Friday night, but his energy was conserved for offense.
Not having him on defense could have turned out a lot worse, too. The first defensive play Sano didn’t play against Canal Winchester, the opposing team went 66 yards for their game-winning touchdown.
Against Watkins Memorial, though, the Bulldogs got senior Brody Ball back. Having him on the defensive line was pretty much the equivalent of having Sano on the line, so imagine if they had played at the same time.
Final verdict
It's tough to decide. Sano is prolific on both sides of the ball. His surprising performance at quarterback has amazed his coaches enough to have them second-guess who should have the starting job. The addition of Ball back to the defense also helps eliminate the potential con of moving Sano to quarterback.
But Albin is young and promising. He is a dual-threat quarterback, and can put the ball down the field if he needs to. With so many offensive questions this early in the season, it would be wise for Adams to give Albin one last chance to prove he is capable of taking this team to the playoffs.
But after a solid performance from Sano just a week ago, it makes sense why he is in contention for the spot.
With Ball back, Sano at quarterback should be the move Adams makes for the game against Alexander. If he does that, Adams knows exactly how he plans to utilize Albin in the offensive scheme.
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Brendan Sano's name in the headline. The headline has been updated to show the most accurate information.
