Right signal was changing positions

The reality that only one guy can be the quarterback, in some rare cases two guys, makes it a tough job to pursue.

Often, a player who unsuccessfully makes a run at the glamour position ends up fading into obscurity, a disgruntled mess.

So it’s important to note the individual successes taking place at Columbus North and Columbus East high schools.

Let’s start with Bull Dogs senior Mitchell Kelley, who put a lot of work into winning the starting quarterback’s job for the 2014 season. Kelley, who is 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, does not have the prototypical build for a quarterback.

However, he is such a good athlete and leader that head coach Tim Bless gave him a try. After the first three games, things didn’t quite work out, and Triston Perry, the current quarterback, took over.

Kelley didn’t roll up into a ball.

Instead, he started learning everything he could about being a great safety. Wonder how that worked out?

Three games into his senior season, Kelley has a whopping 33 tackles. He has become the biggest force on a defense that gets better every game and might just lead North to a Conference Indiana championship.

Over at East, junior Caleb Voelker was working in drills as the backup to senior K.J. McCarter. However, when McCarter suffered a hamstring injury and was unable to start the first four games, East went with sophomore Josh Major.

Voelker simply tried to help his team in other ways. As a wide receiver, he has caught six passes in the first three games for 119 yards, an average of 19.8 yards a catch. He had a couple of clutch catches in the win against Columbus North, and it appears that he will be a big part of East’s passing game when McCarter returns.

Most of the time I have seen the other side of the equation, where players fade away when they don’t land the quarterback’s role. So Kelley and Voelker should get a tip of the hat for their perseverance and their dedication to their teams.

A sub-par offering of picks last week has left me 13-5 on the season. Here are the Week 4 selections.

Columbus East 49, Jennings County 7: The Panthers, 2-1, have made some significant strides this season, but they aren’t ready to give East a run yet. The Olympians defense will set the tone in this one.

Columbus North 42, Franklin Central 13: The Flashes came close to upsetting Bloomington South last Friday and that, I’m sure, caught the Bull Dogs’ attention. North tailback Mitchell Burton is due for a huge game.

South Decatur 40, Edinburgh 14: The Lancers are struggling on defense, and that won’t change this week.

Floyd Central 35, Seymour 20: The Owls might have a hard time recovering after being pounded by Columbus East a week ago.

North Putnam 41, Brown County 12: The Eagles have made strides this season, but they are overmatched on the road in this one.