Quarterbacks take spotlight when Newport hosts Mercer Island tonight | Prep football preview
Published 9:39 pm Thursday, September 8, 2011
Two of the top quarterbacks in the state will be on display tonight when Newport meets Mercer Island.
And both Jeff Lindquist and Isaac Dotson love it that way.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Lindquist said of facing Dotson, who’s Knights defeated his Islanders 28-21 in 2010. “Not to say that anyone else isn’t good, but getting to play against a guy that is an equal talent is a lot of fun.”
The senior and University of Washington commit is widely considered to be one of the top five prep quarterbacks in the country and during the summer was one of 24 signal-callers invited to the prestigious Elite 11 quarterback competition. A lot of people in the area took notice, including Dotson.
“I know him, so it was pretty cool,” Dotson said of watching the ESPN broadcast. “He’s a great athlete”
Mercer Island head coach Brett Ogata is excited for the matchup as well, though he admittedly hopes Dotson saves his best performance for another opponent.
“It’s fun to have two great athletes playing each other,” Ogata said. “He’s fun to watch, but I hope he doesn’t have the greatest game tomorrow.”
In his team’s 43-34 win over Interlake last week, Dotson had 228 yards on 12 carries, a trio of scores on the ground and one through the air. He broke open the scoring with a 71-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the game. Lindquist, by contrast, was intercepted twice in the first quarter and also lost a fumble, digging a hole that proved a few inches too deep to climb from as the Islanders fell 36-35 by Seattle Prep at Century Link Field on a partially blocked PAT. But no one around the Islanders’ program believes he will have a repeat performance tonight.
“He [Lindquist] was really nervous and I think the hype got to him a little bit,” Ogata said. “Once he calmed down and started smiling and having fun, he played well.”
Lindquist will be out not only to avenge last week’s performance, but help the Islanders to their first win over Newport since 2004.
“Regardless of the stats,” Lindquist said. “It’s whether or not you get in the win category.”
