Calhoun quarterback Baylon Spector passes at a 7-on-7 passing camp on Wednesday, July 13, 2016, in Calhoun, Tenn.CALHOUN, Ga. - Hal Lamb freely admits he and his Calhoun High School football coaching staff have been a bit spoiled over the last 15 seasons.
Or, in a term he would rather use, blessed to have had a run of quarterbacks never seen in the northwest Georgia area. The names are a Who's Who of signal-calling: Cody Worley, Tre Lamb, Michael Johnson, Nash Nance, Landon Curtis, Taylor Lamb and Kaelan Riley.
Each was at least first-team all-state, some were the classification's state player of the year, and most have gone on to play or are currently playing at the collegiate level. With that said, Coach Lamb and offensive coordinator Mike Davis knew 2016 would be a transition season, though neither expected it to be quite this transitional.
Senior Baylon Spector, a Clemson University safety commitment and formerly the backup to the graduated Riley, was asked to step in at quarterback while a strong group of youngsters was being groomed for the future. However, when the defense started struggling - most notably in a 56-0 loss to Cartersville that left the team with a 1-2 record - the staff decided Spector could no longer miss time on defense.
The Yellow Jackets have since gone to the heretofore dreaded two-quarterback system, with the 200-pound strong runner Spector joining sophomore Gavin Gray, who is a gifted passer, in sharing the position. Lamb said playing time is pretty much determined by the matchup and the flow of the game.
"We're doing it by feel," Lamb said. "Against Haralson we started and played Gavin the entire game, but against Adairsville we started Baylon and on the third play he ran for a touchdown to spark us. Gavin played the entire second half and did a great job."
Lamb reiterated the decision was not based on anything Spector had done wrong. The all-state defender, playing outside linebacker this year, was missed when not on the field.
"The bottom line is that Baylon is too valuable to us on defense," Lamb said. "We made a commitment to play him on defense full time and part time at quarterback. When he's on the field defensively the other team is not going to run to his side, and that allows us to do different things in the secondary.
"It's the best thing for us as a team, and that's all that matters to Baylon."
The platoon works for Calhoun in large part because there is no jealousy with the players involved, something Lamb pointed out. Spector has become a big fan of Gray's.
"Gavin's a great kid," said Spector, who leads the Jackets in rushing with 410 yards. "You have to have two of the right kind of kids to make this work. I love it when he's in, and he supports me when I'm in. He's going to be a great quarterback and he's really a calm kid. Nothing seems to bother him."
Gray proved that just moments into his first start against Coahulla Creek, where his first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. He completed his next nine passes, three going for touchdowns in a 57-6 win, and is 40-for-61 for 653 yards and eight touchdowns.
"You would have never known he had just thrown a pick-six," said Davis, Lamb's longtime offensive coordinator. "He went back in there, and after that he's never looked back. The kid is never too high or too low. I've seen him also play baseball and basketball, and he's a tremendous competitor, but he keeps it all under control."
As Calhoun works toward what would be its 16th consecutive region title, the team with the two-headed quarterback feels it is now better equipped to make another long playoff run.
"Right now, with the two of us, we can make it really hard for defenses to prepare," Spector said. "We should be able to match up with anybody."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22