A first look at the latest player profile from PaPreps Staff Writer Rebeka Rice. These first looks are exclusive only to PaPreps subscribers!
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There is a saying coaches like to share: To be a good player, you have to make the other players around you better.
Pottsgrove's junior quarterback Tory Hudgins fit that bill perfectly during the second half of the Falcons' game at Boyertown on Friday night as he lead them to a come-from-behind 18-12 victory.
Hudgins has stepped in for his first year at quarterback to fill the very big shoes that were emptied when four-year starter Terrell Chestnut graduated. He has the opportunity to lead a top team in the PAC-10, and he's maturing quickly along with most of the Pottsgrove offense, which sports a lot of new faces after being hit heavy by graduation.
It's been a learning experience, even from quarter to quarter. While playing in unrelenting rain Friday night, Hudgins didn't have much of an opportunity to do much of anything but run. He ended the game with 87 yards on the ground and a touchdown, but most of that yardage was from the second half.
For the first half, the 6-foot, 170-pound junior looked like he wasn't sure what to do when Boyertown's defense stuffed the box with the passing option pretty nonexistent. He tried to run four times, but only gained ten yards. Eventually, Hudgins dropped back to throw a pass, but slipped in the mud and was credited with a loss on the play. The entire offense looked just as lost, as star tailback Mark Dukes only touched the ball twice in the first half.
"We didn't play our best in the first half; (but) we knew we could beat [Boyertown]," Hudgins said.
Hudgins shook off a lackluster first half in which Boyertown lead 12-0, shouldered much of the offensive burden, and led his team to a come-from-behind win in the second half.
The Falcons finally took another chance at throwing the ball on the first play in the second half, and Hudgins made the most of the opportunity this time. With most of the Boyertown secondary caught unaware, Hudgins dropped back and immediately put the ball over the shoulder of senior receiver Johnny Fowler for a 56-yard scoring hookup to bring Pottsgrove within one score.
He then took advantage of a Boyertown penalty that turned a fourth-and-11 punt into a fresh set of downs for the Falcons. After faking a hand off, Hudgins broke 3 tackles when he turned the corner to take the ball in from 25 yards out.
Although the game plan wasn't to have him run as much as he did coming into the night, Pottsgrove went with it and made it the new plan when the rain made play difficult. That idea registered with the offense after the second trip out of the locker room.
"We had our assignments and knew what we had to do, we just perfected it in the second half," Hudgins said.
Perfecting the strategy wasn't what won the game, however. That was all on Hudgins' improvisation. With a little over 1:30 remaining in the game, a pass to the right broke down and Hudgins ran to the opposite side of the field to get some running room. As he approached the line of scrimmage, he glanced up and saw Fowler find some space in the endzone. Hudgins completed his second pass of the night for a 19-yard touchdown to give him 75 yards through the air and a 2-for-2 passing performance. The pass also handed Pottsgrove an 18-12 lead with little time left for the Boyertown offense to manufacture some points.
Hudgins credited the offensive line with many of the improvements in the second half, stating that everyone started to pick up their assignments.
"The line did a great job…they blocked for me, blocked for the running backs, and got them open," he said. "They did a good job."
Hudgins has yet to put up any outstanding statistical performances like Chestnut did. But he's guided Pottsgrove to a 3-1 start, and coach Rick Pennypacker thinks Hudgins deserves to take some of the credit for the Boyertown win.
"Tory's a good quarterback, a gamer," Pennypacker told the Pottstown Mercury. "He's a big-play kid because he's so elusive. He has speed a lot of people don't know about."
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There is a saying coaches like to share: To be a good player, you have to make the other players around you better.
Pottsgrove's junior quarterback Tory Hudgins fit that bill perfectly during the second half of the Falcons' game at Boyertown on Friday night as he lead them to a come-from-behind 18-12 victory.
Hudgins has stepped in for his first year at quarterback to fill the very big shoes that were emptied when four-year starter Terrell Chestnut graduated. He has the opportunity to lead a top team in the PAC-10, and he's maturing quickly along with most of the Pottsgrove offense, which sports a lot of new faces after being hit heavy by graduation.
It's been a learning experience, even from quarter to quarter. While playing in unrelenting rain Friday night, Hudgins didn't have much of an opportunity to do much of anything but run. He ended the game with 87 yards on the ground and a touchdown, but most of that yardage was from the second half.
For the first half, the 6-foot, 170-pound junior looked like he wasn't sure what to do when Boyertown's defense stuffed the box with the passing option pretty nonexistent. He tried to run four times, but only gained ten yards. Eventually, Hudgins dropped back to throw a pass, but slipped in the mud and was credited with a loss on the play. The entire offense looked just as lost, as star tailback Mark Dukes only touched the ball twice in the first half.
"We didn't play our best in the first half; (but) we knew we could beat [Boyertown]," Hudgins said.
Hudgins shook off a lackluster first half in which Boyertown lead 12-0, shouldered much of the offensive burden, and led his team to a come-from-behind win in the second half.
The Falcons finally took another chance at throwing the ball on the first play in the second half, and Hudgins made the most of the opportunity this time. With most of the Boyertown secondary caught unaware, Hudgins dropped back and immediately put the ball over the shoulder of senior receiver Johnny Fowler for a 56-yard scoring hookup to bring Pottsgrove within one score.
He then took advantage of a Boyertown penalty that turned a fourth-and-11 punt into a fresh set of downs for the Falcons. After faking a hand off, Hudgins broke 3 tackles when he turned the corner to take the ball in from 25 yards out.
Although the game plan wasn't to have him run as much as he did coming into the night, Pottsgrove went with it and made it the new plan when the rain made play difficult. That idea registered with the offense after the second trip out of the locker room.
"We had our assignments and knew what we had to do, we just perfected it in the second half," Hudgins said.
Perfecting the strategy wasn't what won the game, however. That was all on Hudgins' improvisation. With a little over 1:30 remaining in the game, a pass to the right broke down and Hudgins ran to the opposite side of the field to get some running room. As he approached the line of scrimmage, he glanced up and saw Fowler find some space in the endzone. Hudgins completed his second pass of the night for a 19-yard touchdown to give him 75 yards through the air and a 2-for-2 passing performance. The pass also handed Pottsgrove an 18-12 lead with little time left for the Boyertown offense to manufacture some points.
Hudgins credited the offensive line with many of the improvements in the second half, stating that everyone started to pick up their assignments.
"The line did a great job…they blocked for me, blocked for the running backs, and got them open," he said. "They did a good job."
Hudgins has yet to put up any outstanding statistical performances like Chestnut did. But he's guided Pottsgrove to a 3-1 start, and coach Rick Pennypacker thinks Hudgins deserves to take some of the credit for the Boyertown win.
"Tory's a good quarterback, a gamer," Pennypacker told the Pottstown Mercury. "He's a big-play kid because he's so elusive. He has speed a lot of people don't know about."