Player of the Week : Patrick Henry Doesn’t Have Quarterback Problems

SAN DIEGO â€”  San Diego football fans learned all too well the importance of an adequate replacement at quarterback when the Chargers’ Dan Fouts left Sunday’s game against Cleveland with a knee injury.

“Watching the fans get on Mark Herrmann really got to me,� Patrick Henry High School quarterback Keith Courtney said. “The fans say he’s terrible, but he’s just not used to the first-stringers. He only gets to go with the second-stringers in practice.

“Any quarterback knows what he’s going through.�

Especially Courtney. A 6-foot 1-inch, 180-pound senior, Courtney was the backup to Scott Middaugh at Patrick Henry last season. And although it wasn’t Courtney’s fault, the Patriots got off to an 0-2 start with him starting this season.

“It was more frustrating than anything else,� Courtney said. “I knew we had a good team. We have a winning tradition at Patrick Henry and we were beginning to get ragged on by people.�

But those critics were silenced a bit Friday, when Courtney led the Patriots to a 28-6 win over Clairemont. He completed 19 of 31 passes for 294 yards and 3 touchdowns. For his efforts, Courtney has been named The Times’ Player of the Week.

“The first two games we weren’t clicking,� Courtney said. “But everything came together last week. I didn’t get sacked at all. And the receivers didn’t drop a pass. Any pass that was incomplete was probably my fault.�

Surely Courtney also had something to do with Patrick Henry’s four touchdowns, one each quarter. Before Friday’s game, Clairemont had one of the county’s top defenses, allowing an average of seven points per game.

“The first couple of games helped (Courtney) out a bunch,� said Patriot tight end Jeff Theilacker, who caught 8 passes Friday for 88 yards. “He just needed some experience. He didn’t get to play much last season.�

The combination of Courtney to Theilacker has been one constant in the Patriot offense. Courtney has completed 45 of 88 passes for 633 yards in three games this season, 20 of those completions have gone to Theilacker.

Courtney, who said he wants to go on and play quarterback in college next season, has received letters from the University of New Mexico and Northern Arizona University. He said he feels fortunate to be directing the Patriots.

Courtney was born in San Diego, but moved to San Luis Obispo shortly thereafter. He played his sophomore season at Morro Bay High before returning to San Diego and Patrick Henry last season.

Courtney very nearly moved to the Crawford High area, a move that hardly would have been advantageous to a quarterback with college aspirations. Although one of the county’s better teams, Crawford plays it conservatively on offense.