'I want a state championship'

RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — The Bigelow Panthers shocked the 2A last year, earning their first conference title in school history and reaching the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.

The most shocking part of the Panthers' 11-2 season was that a sophomore led the way at quarterback: Spencer Langston.

"A sophomore quarterback couldn't have asked for a better situation," coach Jeff Starks said. "He had five seniors protecting him on the offensive line, three senior receivers and a senior tailback that rushed for more than 1,200 yards. It was a scenario that set him up for success. He had no pressure on him with that kind of supporting cast."

Langston faced his toughest challenge at quarterback in the second round of the playoffs as the Panthers played host to Woodlawn. The Bears' speed on defense plaguedLangston early in the game.

"I hadn't faced a defense that fast all season," Langston said. "The speed of the defenders messed up my basic timing routes. I was determined that it wouldn't be our last game, so I made a few adjustments to get the ball out quicker."

The adjustments paid off. The Panthers trailed Woodlawn with three minutes left when Langston connected with tailback Trey Brown to regain the lead. Woodlawn responded by returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, taking a 25-23 lead.

"I've never seen such a difference in atmosphere in such a short time," Starks said. "We were on top of the world when we scored, and then were the lowest we've ever been when Woodlawn returned the kickoff for a touchdown."

Langston was unshaken.He marched the Panthers back down the field and hit all-state receiver Cody Wiley in the back of the end zone on the sixth play of the drive. The Panthers took a 30 -25 lead with 35 seconds left in the game and held on for the win.

"We put together a drive to put it away, and it was just a great, special moment," Starks said. "Spencer made several key passes on that last drive. He showed a lot of poise that night."

Langston will have to show even more poise in 2009, as the 12 seniors that provided so much support for him last fall have graduated.

"There will be more pressure on me this year, I'm sure of that," Langston said. "But we have a really talented junior class with incredible athleticism. As good as last season was, I'm definitely looking forward to the next two years."

Starks said, "The kids we have coming back were conference champs in junior high. They know something about playing football, and the only reason some of them didn't start last year was because of senior class. They've been waiting their turn, and they can play ball. There's not going to be much of a dropoff.

"But more will be expected of Spencer this year. He's got to be a leader in the huddle, getting us in and out of the right formations. He has to act like a senior as a junior," Starks added.

Langston completed 102 of 201 passes last fall, racking up 1,674 yards and 28 touchdowns. To match and exceed last year's production, Starks said Langston must improve his accuracy.

"He doesn't have the height at receiver that he had last year, so he's going to have to be more in command of his throws," Starks said. "He needs to be able to make the easy passes to get our offense going.

"He's also going to be expected to run the ball more in the Wing T. He's a big, strong kid with a little bit of speed, so we're going to use him in our running attack. He'll have to be ready to take more of a punishment."

Langtson's biggest area of needed improvement has nothing to do with physical strength.

"I've been at Bigelow 17 years, and athletically, Spencer is as good at quarterback as we've ever had," Starks said. "He has the tools to be great, but he has to get more serious. He's always focused on Fridays, but sometimes it's not there during the week. He needs to work on beingmentally focused on the task at hand all week.

"And he has matured since the seventh grade. He understands that his role is make or break. He knows he'll get a lot of credit when we do well, and he'll get a lot of blame when we struggle. He understands the complexity of the position."

Langston has used this summer to work on all aspects of his game, both physical and mental.

"I've been lifting nonstop to improve my st reng t h," Langston said. "My goal is to improve my arm strength. I've been working at Parisi Speed School in Conway three days a week to improve my speed and agility.

"I'm trying to be the best leader I can be, too. I really want to push my teammates this year, because I want a state championship, and I think we have the talent to do that," Langston said.

A f t er a brea kout 2 0 0 8 season, Starks and Langston share the same desire for Bigelow football - to keep winning.

"Last year was a great experience for everyone involved," Starks said. "There was so much excitement in the school and the community, and wewant to keep that going. We just want to repeat that success. When you taste winning,it makes you greedy. You don't want to stop. We want to build on what we've done."

River Valley Ozark, Pages 160 on 08/09/2009