South Charleston senior quarterback Marcel Brown is confident in his abilities.
They'll be the ones sitting in South Charleston's cheering section at University of Charleston Stadium with blue faces.
That's what happens when you hold your breath long enough, which the Browns might just do considering what happened to Marcel in last season's Grid-o-rama on the same football field.
The Black Eagles' budding quarterback suffered a season-ending broken arm in the annual preseason event. South Charleston was playing Capital in a two-quarter scrimmage when Brown landed awkwardly on his right, throwing arm.
Hello, surgery. Goodbye, season.
Not since he first put on shoulder pads at age 7 had Brown missed an entire season because of injury.
"It really helped me appreciate football more," said Brown, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior who's penciled in to start behind center for the Black Eagles in 2008.
First, of course, he has to get through Saturday's Grid-o-rama scrimmages against Lincoln County and St. Albans.
South Charleston, coming off a disappointing 5-5 year, opens the regular season on Aug. 29 at Riverside.
Brown thinks he's a better player after sitting out a season.
"I was really hoping I could come back (last year), but I look at it now as something that happened for a reason," Brown said. "I got to see a lot of things from watching from the sidelines."
The time off also allowed Brown to strengthen his right arm. It packs more zip than ever, he said. Plus, the added strength has boosted his confidence.
Brown doesn't think he'll be worried about a repeat injury once the hard contact begins.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It will be easy to spot Marcel Brown's family at Saturday's Mountain State Athletic Conference Grid-o-rama.
They'll be the ones sitting in South Charleston's cheering section at University of Charleston Stadium with blue faces.
That's what happens when you hold your breath long enough, which the Browns might just do considering what happened to Marcel in last season's Grid-o-rama on the same football field.
The Black Eagles' budding quarterback suffered a season-ending broken arm in the annual preseason event. South Charleston was playing Capital in a two-quarter scrimmage when Brown landed awkwardly on his right, throwing arm.
Hello, surgery. Goodbye, season.
Not since he first put on shoulder pads at age 7 had Brown missed an entire season because of injury.
"It really helped me appreciate football more," said Brown, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior who's penciled in to start behind center for the Black Eagles in 2008.
First, of course, he has to get through Saturday's Grid-o-rama scrimmages against Lincoln County and St. Albans.
South Charleston, coming off a disappointing 5-5 year, opens the regular season on Aug. 29 at Riverside.
Brown thinks he's a better player after sitting out a season.
"I was really hoping I could come back (last year), but I look at it now as something that happened for a reason," Brown said. "I got to see a lot of things from watching from the sidelines."
The time off also allowed Brown to strengthen his right arm. It packs more zip than ever, he said. Plus, the added strength has boosted his confidence.
Brown doesn't think he'll be worried about a repeat injury once the hard contact begins.
"It's not going to stop me from trying my best and doing what I need to do to help us win," Brown said. "Like I said, it's stronger than it was before."
Brown's injury in 2007 forced South Charleston Coach John Messinger to move the since-graduated Deion Spurlock to quarterback permanently.
Spurlock had an outstanding season, passing for more than 1,400 yards and rushing for more than 1,500.
"We would have liked to have used him more as an athlete and moved him around the field," Messinger said. "He could have been a defensive coordinator's nightmare. Had I had Brown, I could have done more things with Deion."
"Those are big shoes to fill,'' Brown said of Spurlock. "But I think I can do it. I just have to be confident in myself and get my teammates to be confident in me."
That's the advice Spurlock gave Brown not too long ago.
"Me and Deion are close friends," Brown said. "I talked to him the night before our first practice and asked him what I needed to do to stay focused and he helped me out.
"He told me to just get the team involved in everything I do and make sure they know I'm the leader."
Sophomore Tyler Harris is pushing Brown in practice, but he looks at the competition not as a threat but as a way to improve.
"It's like Matt Leinart with the Cardinals," Brown said. "He knows he's the starter, but he's still getting pushed by Kurt Warner to make him better."
Whatever happens this season, Brown will be happy as long as he stays healthy and plays a key role either on offense or defense -- or both.
"I remember that first game (last year)," Brown said. "I walked out of the locker room and I just about started crying knowing that I couldn't help the team."
