Owen sophomore Kendrick Weaver (2).
SWANNANOA – Kendrick Weaver is a student of the game and a quick learner, too.
What a combination.
Owen’s football season is over. The Warhorses have spent the past week inventorying equipment and going through the withdrawal of no practice.
Back-to-back seasons with a 1-9 record are a reality that the Buncombe County program is dealing with after Friday’s final regular-season game – a 16-14 loss at Polk County.
The sun still came up Saturday in the Swannanoa Valley and the Warhorses have plenty to look forward to with Weaver at the helm of their offense.
He is one of only three sophomores in Western North Carolina football to pass for 1,000 yards this season, and could be the first that young to ever do it at Owen.
“(Veteran Warhorses assistant coach/athletic director Anthony Lee) and I were talking, and we’re not sure if we’ve ever had a sophomore quarterback pass for 1,000 yards,” said Owen coach Nathan Padgett, who graduated from the school in 1994.
“Kendrick has really grown over the course of the season. He loves to compete.”
Weaver is a gifted 6-foot-1, 180-pound underclassman who saw a little time at the varsity level in 2015. But this fall was his time to shine and Weaver did — he completed 54 percent of his 136 pass attempts with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions to a cadre or receivers including seniors Tyler Sexton (26 receptions for 500 yards and six touchdowns) and Waleed Kahlil (20 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns).
Before the season ever began, Owen dealt with the news that former All-Western Highlands Conference back Sidney Gibbs was lost for the season due to a knee injury. The junior rushed for 1,750 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2015.
“We had to make adjustments,” Weaver said.
“(Padgett) always tells us that it’s now where you start but how you finish. I went to a football camp this summer in South Carolina and one of the coaches said that quarterback is not a position, it’s a lifestyle. Learning defenses and learning how to break down defenses has really helped me on the offensive side of the ball.”
Weaver has played basketball and run track in the past, but said he will likely devote his next sporting venture to the 2017 Warhorses baseball team.
“I like watching film at home,” Weaver said.
“I think we’re going to have a solid future with this football program. With us being so young and with Sidney coming back, I think it will really help in upcoming seasons. It’s going to take a lot of hard work on the field and in the weight room.”
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