JASPER, Tenn. -- A year ago Bryce Massengale was a tight end who had just turned in his Marion County football gear.
Like all of his football teammates, he was without a head coach, but unlike most he was able to move on because of his spring sports commitment. Then the quarterback who had helped lead the Warriors into the 2013 playoffs transferred before new coach Ricky Ross arrived on campus.
In all that transpired, Ross found a quarterback replacement. Massengale was all but drafted for the position, and he'll be there Saturday when the Warriors tackle Peabody in the TSSAA Class 2A championship game at Cookeville. Kickoff is at noon EST at Tennessee Tech's Tucker Stadium.
"When I got here I watched the kids work out. I watched him work out hard, interact with his teammates," Ross said. "He never missed any morning (workout). It was important to him. Those are traits I want in my quarterback."
Ross went to baseball practice to see if he saw a live arm, and it was the same candidate he'd picked from football workouts.
"People were telling me he was a tight end, but I watched him in baseball. If you can throw a baseball you can probably throw a football, and this kid was one of our better pitchers," Ross said. "I decided he was going to be our guy."
Of course he had to run it by the candidate, and once that candidate got over his surprise he agreed enthusiastically.
Marion County quarterback Bryce Massengale (12) throws on the run."I told him I'd like for him to compete for the job, and he said, 'Oh yeah.' That's what you want to hear, and he never quit competing for the job," Ross recalled.
"I guess it was about the middle of the baseball season," Massengale said. "They walked up and asked me and, yeah, my jaw dropped pretty much to the floor."
Because of penalties placed on the school due to actions of the previous head coach and part of his staff, the Warriors' offseason on-field work with coaches was limited to one week.
"So when I was by myself, I started throwing with my dad to try and get back what used to be my form," Massengale said. "I played quarterback in the youth leagues but got moved to tight end in middle school."
He likes the new gig.
"It's a lot more fun being the guy right in the middle of everything," he said.
His hard work though the summer and into and through this season was never more noticeable than last week. His team was behind with two minutes left and he came up with two big passes that led to a score and the semifinal victory.
"We went 85 yards with less than two minutes to play," Ross said. "That drive probably cemented all the crazy things we do in practice. We two-minute drill all the time but never use it. For him there's a lot of validation from what happened last Friday. It was practice taking over."
The coach emphasized that it was the mark of a winner.
"He didn't hesitate. He didn't think about the situation. He just operated," Ross said. "That's what a winner does. It was huge for us and a huge step in his progression to being a better quarterback."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.