Joel Schurtz Riverside Year: Senior Sport: Football Position:Qb/ Db

The outcome of last week’s Riverside-West Valley football game was still in doubt with more than six minutes remaining and the Rams were facing third and long.

Eagle defenders had quarterback Joel Schurtz pinned back near his end zone down with a sack imminent.

“Everybody was covered and I just took off,” said Schurtz.

He ran 18 yards for the first down and later tacked the final nail in WV’s coffin with a 37-yard touchdown run, ending the Eagles’ Frontier League championship bid.

Schurtz rushed for 90 yards on nine carries and scored three touchdowns, passed for 192 and two more scores and became the league’s total offense leader with 791 yards in five games.

“We tried to go upstairs more on longer patterns because of their defense,” said Schurtz.

Schurtz is most dangerous, however, when forced to run.

He said his ability to read the field is what has made him such a multiple offensive threat.

“After playing football for so long you get a feel for what’s going on,” said Schurtz, who weighs 200 pounds and times a 4.6 40.

“We like to run our quarterback when we have a kid like him,” said Rams coach Allen Martin.

Schurtz ran WV right out of Frontier title contention.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo