Published: September 04, 2011
Catelli makes most of debut at quarterback
By Matt SchubertPeninsula Daily News
THE LONG WAIT was worth it for Frank Catelli.
After two years of sitting behind prolific passer Drew Rickerson, the Sequim senior finally got his chance to start under center Friday night against Forks.
Catelli did not disappoint either, completing 15-of-21 passes for 251 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in just two quarters of action in the 42-0 win. It was just the sort of performance Sequim head coach Erik Wiker expected out of his quarterback. It’s also one Catelli appears likely to repeat all season.
“I think he played really well, but that’s what we expected him to do, too,” Wiker said. “He’s been doing that in summer league. He’s been doing that in the fall.”
In reality, he’s been doing that whenever he’s had the chance since 2009.
Anyone who saw his very first varsity game that season came away knowing Wiker had a special talent on his hands. Catelli completed just three passes that game — coincidentally, also against Forks — but those three went for 102 yards and a touchdown. That included a pair of majestic deep balls that flew off his right hand like rockets.
It seemed only a matter of time before he’d be the one taking snaps with the first team.
With a 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame at the time, Catelli had the type of body head coaches drool over. And as his throws against the Spartans illustrated, he had plenty of arm strength.
Yet with Rickerson, then a junior, still in front of him, Catelli had to bide his time as a backup quarterback and starting wide receiver/defensive end.
Wiker said the choice to start him at receiver instead of quarterback was more of a team decision than a referendum on who was the better passer. The idea was to give Catelli — an all-league caliber defensive end — more rest so he could focus on the other side of the ball.
“He could have played as good or better than Drew [at QB], but Drew couldn’t play defense,” Wiker said. “So for the whole team scheme, it was better for Drew to play at quarterback and Frank to play [receiver] and part-time quarterback because then he could get rest.
"If he started at [quarterback], Rickerson would have maybe played a little receiver . . . so it was better for everybody and more rest for [Frank]. And [Drew] could do pretty good at quarterback. It’s not like he was mediocre. He was pretty good.”
Indeed, Rickerson put up big-time numbers in his three seasons at quarterback, the last two coming after Sequim switched to a wide open spread offense.
On Friday night against Forks, Catelli operated the no-huddle attack with just as much efficiency.
“It was really exciting, I felt really comfortable,” Catelli said. “I’ve been with this offense for like three years, and it was a really good feeling. I didn’t get to run as much as I thought I would. I only ran like three times. But other than that, it was pretty fun.”
With the Forks defense stacking six in the box in an effort to stop the run, Catelli was forced to go to the air often. And the senior, now 6-3, 235 pounds, had all the throws on display. There were wide receiver screens, crossing routes and fades. He even nearly completed one of his signature tight-spiraled deep bombs as well.
All told, he spread the ball around to six different wide receivers, with each of his three touchdown passes going to a different player.
After being more of a chucker and power runner the past two seasons, it was clear Catelli had developed a touch on his passes that makes things easier on Sequim’s deep receiving corps.
“I’ve been wanting to throw the ball for a long time,” said Catelli, also a state champion shot putter. “It worked out really well because they had a cover two and six guys in the box. They were trying to stop the run more than the pass. Every time I threw a go, it was pretty much there.”
As one might expect, Catelli has already caught the eye of a few colleges. Air Force, Idaho and Eastern Washington all like him as a defensive player (he had 13 sacks last season at end.)
His bone-jarring sack of Forks quarterback Braden Decker in the first quarter of Friday night’s game showed he’s still got the chops there, too.
Whatever the case, there’s little doubt he could line up at all sorts of positions at the next level.
“He could play a lot of places. He could play D-tackle, D-end, offensive lineman,” Wiker said.
Who knows? Maybe even quarterback.