STRATTANVILLE, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Jase Ferguson prepared hard for his first varsity start at quarterback for the Central Clarion football team last season.
(Above, Jase Ferguson takes off running against Kane last season. Now a sophomore and bigger and strong, the Central Clarion QB wants to be more effective as a runner this season/photo by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography.)
He didn’t get a scrimmage because that game against Redbank Valley was canceled, but he watched hours of film on Punxsutawney, the Wildcats’ opponent to open the regular season.
By the end of the week, Ferguson, just a freshman, felt like he was ready.
“We had a pretty good idea what they were going to do,” Ferguson said. “I was feeling pretty confident going into the Punxsy game, and then …”
Then things changed dramatically.
The Chucks had to cancel the game because of COVID protocols on the morning of the opener. Just hours before kickoff, Central Clarion scrambled to find an opponent — Slippery Rock — and later that afternoon loaded onto a bus to play the Rockets on the road.
Suddenly, all that preparation against Punxsy was out the window. Ferguson had to make his first start against an unknown opponent on the road.
“That was my first-ever game, and I was already nervous,” Ferguson said. “The beginning of the season, yeah, it started rough.”
But Ferguson, a Clarion-Limestone student, didn’t allow the tumult of the first month of the season — and an 0-4 start — rattle him.
He showed poise beyond his years.
Midway through the season, Central Clarion began to click and the wins came — four in a row with Ferguson playing at a high level at quarterback.
The Wildcats were a playoff team, falling to Karns City in the first round of the playoffs.
But the experience was a valuable one for Ferguson and Central Clarion. The adversity the Wildcats faced tempered them like steel, and Ferguson feels like he is a better player already for it.
By the end of the season, his numbers were strong for a freshman. Ferguson completed 55% of his passes for 1,620 yards and 18 touchdowns.
“As a freshmen coming in and starting your first varsity game, it’s definitely tough, especially when you don’t have any film on the team you’re playing against,” said Central Clarion coach Dave Eggleton. “As we got into the season, we were able to prepare better for teams we were playing, and he got more comfortable. You could really see it on the field. Each game, I thought, he improved and just started to play freer.”
Now Ferguson is looking to expand his game more.
He’s grown.
He’s two inches taller and 20 pounds heavier. He worked diligently in the weight room this offseason to add muscle and strength.
“I lifted a lot over the offseason,” Ferguson said. “I feel like that really helped.”
Central Clarion is looking to expand Ferguson’s role into being more of a running threat this season.
He only rushed for 24 yards last season, but did score four TDs on the ground.
“I want to improve in the run game this year,” Ferguson said. “I had a couple of nice runs, but I didn’t really do much.”
Eggleton said he has no doubt Ferguson will take his game to the next level this season.
He already has. The coach has already seen it.
“His growth and maturity from last year to this year has just been tremendous,” Eggleton said. “He’s not only able to come in and diagnose and make reads in the passing game, but he’s also getting us into run plays that are giving us an advantage up front. We’re excited with what he’s doing.”
Ferguson has put the work in to become that cerebral quarterback.
“Lots of reps in practice,” Ferguson said. “We run plays over and over and over again, just repeating them. Getting the timing down. Getting the reads right.”
Ferguson has been playing football since the second grade. He began his grid career as a running back, but shifted to quarterback in the fifth grade. He’s been there ever since.
“I was pretty excited about that,” he said.
He also had a standout freshman season on the basketball court for Clarion-Limestone.
Football, though, is his favorite sport. He said he hasn’t though that much about life after high school — he’s just a sophomore, after all. That time will come.
For now, he’s solely focused on helping the Wildcats win.
“We have a great amount of athletes to share the ball,” Ferguson said. “We can run it and we can pass it. I think it’s gonna be pretty hard for teams to stop us.”
And his goals?
“Hopefully go undefeated,” Ferguson said. “That’s our top goal.”
Clarion-Limestone High School and Clarion Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
