Lefty Leaders: Three southpaws start at quarterback for Pontotoc teams
Aug. 31—Left-handed quarterbacks are more common than they used to be, but they're still not common—not exactly. We're unique in Pontotoc this season, because under our Friday Night Lights we have a lefty QBs starting at each of our three schools: Reece Kentner at North Pontotoc, Conner Armstrong at Pontotoc (City), and Jackson Harmon at South Pontotoc. That is uncommon.
Having three southpaws leading our teams is an anomaly to the fans in the stands, but the boys themselves don't pay it much attention.
"I really don't think about it, but I guess that being left-handed has made a difference in how I've played sports over the years," said the stoic Armstrong, now beginning his senior season under center for the Warriors.
Kentner, also a senior, agreed. "I don't think about it everyday, except if I have to use a pair of scissors," said a smiling Kentner, known for his sense of humor.
Harmon is the youngest of the three southpaw QBs, a sophomore, (Coincidentally, he even has a paw on the side of his "South" Pontotoc helmet) but he had an equally nonchalant perspective. "I've had to adjust over the years, but it hasn't been too hard," he said.
Left-handers make up about 10% of the general population, and although no data was available about high school quarterbacks, in the NFL, only .09% of the current QB's are lefties. In the 2016 NFL season, no left-handed quarterback threw a single pass during a game. Before Tua Tagovailoa's start for the Miami Dolphins in November of 2020, a lefty quarterback hadn't started an NFL game since 2015, when Kellen Moore lined up under center for the Dallas Cowboys.
Theories abound about why lefties so seldom head-up offenses on the gridiron; that, as opposed to baseball, for example, where southpaw pitchers and hitters are considered rare gold in the lineup. Coach Andy Crotwell, who coaches Kentner at North Pontotoc, put his finger on the most often-cited reason why so few southpaws are QBs.
"The biggest adjustment is for receivers," said Crotwell, himself a left-handed quarterback in his high-school playing days. "The ball spins counterclockwise, and it's definitely something that takes receivers time to adjust to."
When a receiver catches a ball from a righty, he's catching a counterclockwise spin. A southpaw's pass spins with the clock, as the wide-out sees it. Most kids grew up catching balls counterclockwise. (As a footnote, Coach Bill Belicheck, of the New England Patriots, puts a lot of stock into left-footed punters, because he believes it makes the ball harder to catch.)
Kentner wasn't sure that theory holds water, however.
"When my guys catch 100 passes I throw each day in practice, they get pretty used to it, so I'm not sure it really matters much," said Kentner.
Armstrong agreed, adding that he'd grown up, since flag-football, playing quarterback and throwing to many of the same guys to whom he throws now. "I've been throwing to Nic (Townsend) and Jayden (Montgomery) since we were kids," said Armstrong. "They tell me the ball looks different out of a righty's hand, but they're used to me, so it works."
South Pontotoc's Harmon, like Kentner at North, is a big baseball player. Also like Kentner, he's a pitcher, and he said there's something to the idea that the release point and movement of the ball from a lefty's hand is different. "Lefties have more run on their pitches, I think, and maybe more break — or, at least a different break — on their curve ball," said Harmon, adding that it's an advantage as a pitcher, and not really a detriment as a quarterback, as far as he could tell. In fact, it might have certain advantages, he added, such as making things more difficult for defensive backs. "They might have to take different angles, coming in on coverages," said Harmon.
Armstrong has a high release point throwing the football, and it looks unique from the sideline. He credited former Pontotoc coach, Tommy Morton, with helping him adapt and develop a strong style as a lefty.
"I had Coach Morton my freshman year, and he's just about the best there is, and he told me to keep it high and get it out quick," said Armstrong.
Most fans can remember a favorite southpaw QB. It goes by generation. Kenny "The Snake" Stabler is a favorite of guys about 45 and older. Stabler (1970-84) and Steve Young are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Four-time Pro Bowler and 1988 MVP Boomer Esiason was a lefty quarterback, as were three-time Pro Bowler Mark Brunell, four-time Pro Bowler Michael Vick and longtime NFL starters Jim Zorn, Bobby Douglass and Scott Mitchell. Tim Tebow was a southpaw quarterback familiar to younger fans.
Left-handed QB's have done some amazing things, but here's a fascinating fact: After Dellen Moore did it for Dallas in 2015, and before Tua did it for the Dolphins in Nov. 2020, only three people in the NFL even threw left-handed touchdowns: Dez Bryant (Dec. 26, 2016), Kevin Byard (Sept. 16, 2018), and Jarvis Landry (Oct. 4, 2020). Byard was a safety, while Bryant and Landry were wide receivers. That's only three left-handed TD throws in a span of five years — and none were from quarterbacks.
Among our boys, Armstrong threw two touchdowns in the Warriors' Aug. 19 scrimmage against East Union, and Kenter threw three for the Vikings against Water Valley in a scrimmage. Kenter threw four more against TCPS.
Another reason lefties don't often play quarterback, according to skeptics, is that coaches have to flip the playbook. Many things have to be done in reverse. The old concept of the "blind side" meant that the strongest offensive lineman played left tackle, in order to guard the right-handed QB's back in the pocket while he looked downfield for a receiver.
Corey Armstrong is an assistant football coach at Pontotoc, as well as Conner's dad.
"Play calling is different because you have to think about which way he (the quarterback) comes out and how his head is turned," said Armstrong. " We have gone air raid and right out of the gate we had to change some stuff to make it fit a lefty." (Air Raid is a type of offense that uses a single running back with four wide-outs, and places a high priority on the passing game.)
"I struggled helping him, growing up," said Coach Corey Armstrong. " It's a right-handers' world."
Like Armstrong, Kentner at North is a fourth -year starter, so catching passes from a southpaw is all his receivers have known, he said. In addition, Kentner's predecessor at North, Corley Hooper, was a lefty as was Eli Allen, South's QB, whose senior season was 2020. .
Kentner pointed out that most of life's difficulties for lefties are anecdotal.
"I hit my head on cabinets, because they're all made to swing open for right-handers," he said, laughing, adding that going for a round of golf with his friends necessitates an entirely separate set of clubs.
Harmon and Armstrong both said they've learned to adapt, to some extent. They both eat and write right-handed, they said. Armstrong uses his right hand to work a computer mouse..
"You just have to teach yourself to do things righty," sometimes" Harmon said, with a dose of good sportsmanship. "It's not really that hard."
