Ask Justin Hordyk if he can improve on the gaudy statistics he amassed last fall and Bethel’s quarterback gives an honest answer.
“I just want to win games,” the senior said. “I’m playing for the team, alongside my teammates. Fortunately, I got numbers, but it wasn’t all me. My receivers caught the ball, my linemen blocked. It’s a team sport. Those are team numbers in my eyes.”
Sure, it sounds cliché and an awful lot like player-speak, but Braves coach Gavin Kralik doesn’t doubt Hordyk’s sincerity.
“In terms of having a leader on your team that has the physical gifts he has, probably more important are all the nonmeasurables,” Kralik said. “He’s the hardest worker we have on our team; he’s very, very smart and a tough kid. He’s a tremendous leader. He has the ability to connect with all kinds of different kids on our team and build relationships. You’re going to be hard-pressed to find a kid on our team that doesn’t look up to him and like him a lot.”
Hordyk is more than a model teammate. The third-year starter is also a heck of a quarterback.
Including Bethel’s playoff game – a 48-23 loss to Marysville-Pilchuck in Week 10 – Hordyk amassed 3,069 yards of total offense. In nine regular season games, The News Tribune’s all-area quarterback totaled 2,757 yards, the second-highest single-season total in South Puget Sound League history.
Kralik believes those numbers can grow.
“He’s a kid that really has developed even more this summer,” Kralik said. “We’re really excited about what he’s capable of doing this year. We think he can build upon that.”
Hordyk has a pair of experienced, talented receivers to target in David Fontenette and Brandon Kirian. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Fontenette has drawn interest from Pac-12 Conference programs. Last fall he caught 42 passes for 585 yards and eight touchdowns. Kirian, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior, has shown rapid improvement since totaling 20 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown in 2010.
“We think he’s a No. 1 receiver on another team,” Kralik said of Kirian. “With Fontenette and Kirian we have two big-time weapons on the team to complement Justin.”
The three have played together for years.
“We go back to junior high,” Hordyk said of Fontenette and Kirian. “They’re like brothers.”
Actually, Hordyk will be throwing to his younger brother Tyler Hordyk, too. The junior will start at slot receiver.
Hordyk has worked out with all three during the summer, joining teammates for 7-on-7 drills. Fontenette and Kirian say Hordyk has always had a higher football IQ than most, but his decision-making has gotten even better.
“He’s always been good and smart, but he’s over-the-top smart now,” Kirian said. “I think he’s smarter than most high school quarterbacks with reading defenses, things like that.”
Ever the smart quarterback, Hordyk offers a sensible thought when asked about Bethel’s chances at winning its first league title since 2003.
“We can’t go in underestimating anybody,” Hordyk said. “We’ve got to play the game, all 48 minutes.”
Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271 doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/preps
BEAMER Crystal Ball
1. Bethel (6-4)
2. Federal Way (4-6)
3. Curtis (12-1)
4. Rogers (9-2)
5. Graham-Kapowsin (6-5)
6. Puyallup (3-7)
7. Emerald Ridge (2-8)
8. Beamer (4-6)
9. Spanaway Lake (3-7) TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYER
In his first season playing varsity football, Federal Way’s D.J. May burst upon the SPSL South. May rushed for 1,117 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 14 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns, earning first-team all-league honors at running back. May was also effective as a kick returner, averaging 24.7 yards per return; he ran one back for an 88-yard touchdown.
TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER
Yes, Joshua Garnett is a better offensive lineman – one of the best in the country, in fact – but he can impact a game in many more ways on defense. Puyallup’s first-team all-league defensive lineman will be used in a variety of ways, wreaking havoc in the interior, coming off the edge and, occasionally, playing linebacker.
IMPACT NEWCOMERS
At least for the start of the season, Federal Way will use two quarterbacks. D’Londo Tucker, a 6-foot, 175-pound junior, brings speed and elusiveness. Evan Elliott, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound junior, is a more accurate passer, though coach John Meagher says he’s also a “fearless” runner.
DID YOU KNOW?
Since a sixth classification was added in 1997, the SPSL South has seen five teams win back-to-back league titles. Bethel and Curtis each won three in a row – the Braves reigned in 2001-03 and Curtis claimed championships in 2008-2010. If the Vikings add another crown this fall, they’ll become the first team in the 43-year history of the SPSL to win four consecutive league titles.
GAME OF THE YEAR: Bethel at Curtis, 7 p.m. Oct. 21
Until Curtis is knocked off its perch, the path to the SPSL South title runs through the three-time defending champion Vikings. Plenty could be at stake in this Week 8 matchup.
Doug Pacey, staff writer
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