A look back: Pleasant Hill's Dalton Crane, Carrollton's Hunter Flowers have fantastic seasons at quarterback

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1 A look back: Pleasant Hill's Dalton Crane, Carrollton's Hunter Flowers have fantastic seasons at quarterback by John Hough, Sports Writer December :00 AM

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3 For the WIVC in 2017, the football season gifted fans with fantastic campaigns by a number of quarterbacks. In the WIVC South Carrollton s super sophomore Hunter Flowers broke the school record for touchdown passes in a season, Calhoun s Ty Bick gained 1,500 total yards and tallied 18 total, which is one of the best in Warriors history. For the WIVC North, Joe Hendricker (Brown County), Isaac Riddle (Beardstown), and Taylor Klusemeyer (Unity) all had stellar years as well. However, the one who stood out the most and impressed the coaches throughout, in particular, the WIVC South was none other than Pleasant Hill s Dalton Crane who was named First Team all-conference quarterback. Ty Bick, Hunter Flowers, and all of them are good. I knew I d be a contender; I didn t know if I would get it or not because they re all excellent. It s a great honor to get that. Crane, a 5-foot-8 senior quarterback threw for 1,907 yards, 20 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He completed 62 percent of his passes and posted a quarterback rating. Crane who is a dual-threat quarterback, rushed for 850 yards and 14 touchdowns. Overall he gained 2,757 yards total yards and 34 total touchdowns. Crane can beat you with his arm and legs, but he prefers to throw a long touchdown pass than a long rushing touchdown. Flowers threw for 2,550 yards, 34 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and had a quarterback rating of He rushed for 311 yards and 6 touchdowns. Definitely a long touchdown pass," Crane said. "I love going back on Hudl and watching it land perfectly into a arms. I feel like it s the best thing ever. His best game occurred in a heart-breaking loss to Greenfield-Northwestern when he gained 443 total yards and threw two touchdowns and rushed for two more. Perhaps what pushed Crane s case was the fact that he helped lead Pleasant Hill to a 5-4 record and a playoff berth for the first time since 2009.

4 I know I couldn t do it without my team, but I definitely feel I was a huge part of it and I couldn t do it without them. My team made my stats, Crane said. It s huge because since it s our senior year we go to the playoffs. I know we didn t win in the first round, but it was great having the atmosphere and everything. We had 17 varsity players, so we got to know each other very well, which was huge for us too.

5 The Wolves started out 0-2 but went on a two-game winning streak, which included a memorable victory over arch-rivals Calhoun. Pleasant Hill then dropped their next two games and needed to win out their last three to qualify for the playoffs. It added an element of suspense, but the Wolves who had talent, but low on depth came through. Our last three games were Winchester, Brown County, and Unity. We knew that Brown County was ranked No. 9 in the state so that was huge. Unity is 2A, so they re always going to play us tough." They not only won but did so in style. A drubbing of West Central was followed by a shocking 34-7 upset over the Hornets in Brown County. Pleasant Hill completed their mission with a 48-7 blowout of Unity-Payson. Crane was a two-year starter at quarterback but did start in every game his sophomore season at running back and defensive back. Being on a football team that doesn t have much depth means just about everyone has to chip in on both sides of the ball. That means a team like Pleasant Hill has to go the extra mile to stay with their opposition physically and mentally. For an athlete as gifted as Crane the Wolves needed to maximize his abilities to the fullest and there were times where he was barely hanging on. I gotta learn all my reads and everything, and all the coverages as a. It definitely took a lot of work; it wasn t easy. If I played just quarterback it would be so much easier, but I didn t mind playing both, Crane said. In that Greenfield game, it was hot and humid. At the end of the game, it was getting to me. At the moment, Crane says he s probably going to MacMurray College in Jacksonville to study Pre-Medicine. As far as football is concerned, he s not sure whether he ll pursue that, but if he does, then he wants to play in a skilled position. I ve had all these colleges ask me where I want to play and it s definitely wide receiver, Crane said. I feel a lot better with the ball in my hands and make plays for my team. He s made a career out of making plays, and if does or doesn t continue with football, he s certainly made the most of his it in Pleasant Hill and one of the best to come from there.

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