Perry High has some standout talent at the quarterback position this season.
On display Friday night were the Purdy brothers. Brock, the senior starting QB, and Chubba, the sophomore JV starter, who got his first taste of varsity action in the Pumas 49-17 win against the Desert Vista Thunder.
The elder Purdy brother picked up right where he left off in 2016, with 380 passing yards and six touchdowns.
“Brock is who he was last year,” head coach Preston Jones said. “He started right where he left off. He’s a great leader, he’s a great competitor and he’s an unbelievable quarterback.”
With the Pumas up 42-10 at the end of the third quarter, Chubba entered the game for Perry at QB.
“We had enough time on the clock,” Jones said. “We thought it’d be a great time for him to get his first shot.”
Chubba didn’t take that shot for granted. With less than a minute left in the game, the sophomore ran for a 67 yard touchdown to highlight his varsity debut.
“I was just thinking I didn’t want to get caught, so I ran as fast as I could” Chubba said. “I knew that I’d make my teammates proud so I just took off.”
No one was as proud as Brock, however.
“He’s a better athlete than me,” Brock said. “He’s got a strong arm, great legs and for him to come up and get experience like that, that was huge for him tonight. I see a big future for him.”
As the older brother, Brock makes sure to steer Chubba in the right direction on and off the field.
“He just tells me to work hard and always go one hundred percent,” Chubba said. “At home, if I do something bad, he always gets on me hard…and he tells my parents, so they always make me go harder.”
Chubba won’t be the number two quarterback for the Pumas this year, Jones said. D’Shayne James, who replaced Brock after his junior season was cut short from a mono diagnosis, will most likely be the No. 2 guy.
“Chubba is not our backup, but he is our JV quarterback that we want to try to groom to get ready to fill someone’s shoes either next year or the year after that,” Jones said.
With Brock back under center for the Pumas in 2017 and two solid backups, Perry is poised for another impressive season.
“We want to see this school thrive and win a state championship,” Brock said. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to do that.”
