By Kimberly Gaity
When senior captain Hunter Wanket broke his collar bone during his second year at Palomar Junior College in San Diego his football future looked grim. Senior captain Aubrey Norris from Staten Island, New York faced a similar situation when he was forced to redshirt in 2006 due to an injury he suffered just three games into the season.
Despite unfortunate injuries and competing for the same position, these two quarterbacks have found a way to not only overcome their individual obstacles, but to work together in leading their team to what looks to be a promising, successful season.
Central is currently undefeated in the conference at 4-0 and is 6-1 overall. The team’s goal is to win out the remainder of their games which will earn them the title “NEC Champions” and grant them an automatic bid to the playoffs. Even with one loss, Central could get into the playoffs by means of a vote (based on total points), but according to Wanket, they don’t want to leave anything to chance.
“We feel like we have something really special this season and we want to take advantage of it; we don’t want to take chances on committee votes deciding our fate and we don’t want to share the title with another team, either,” Wanket said. “We want to win the conference outright.”
That “something special” Wanket is referring to is something that can’t be practiced on the field or taught off the field, and that’s strong team chemistry. With a solid veteran team leading the way, he explains how unselfishness and team unity help give the Blue Devils an edge on their competition.
“Our first year here we were all kind of unsettled and didn’t quite know what to expect but after a great summer camp this year we are all on the same page and we all know our roles. Everyone is splitting time and it’s a good feeling to have a team that’s so unselfish but still wants the ball all the time,” he added. “We all understand we have to use what we’ve got to win, and so far, it’s been working really well.”
Co-quarterback Aubrey Norris has similar feelings about splitting his time with Wanket.
“The two-QB system is working for our team. It keeps the opposing defense thinking, and both me and Hunter bring game breaking qualities to our offense, so if it’s working, why change it up? We both have the same goal which is to win the NEC and lead our team to victory.”
With just four games left, and all of them conference games, Central is gearing up for a pivotal point in their season. When asked what the most difficult part of the remaining schedule is, Wanket explained that when they look back on the season they’ll probably cite the Albany and Monmouth games, since they haven’t beat either team since 2005, but for right now, they only concentrate on the next opponent and take it one game at a time.
Coincidentally that pivotal point is fast approaching as Central will host Albany this Saturday at 12 noon. Albany is currently the conference leader with a record of 5-0, but Norris isn’t concerned about what they can do and is confident about the Blue Devils’ ability.
“The toughest part of the remainder of the schedule isn’t another team; it’s keeping our team on task on reaching our goal,” Norris said. “We have a very good team and so the only people that can beat us are ourselves. If we stay focused, we should be fine.”
