In the second game of this early football season, Franklin High of the Delta Valley Conference (DVC) found themselves down 20-0 to Rodriquez High. Somehow, the Wildcats were able to rally back and win the game 27-26. A big reason for this come from behind win was quarterback, Derek McIntyre.
The drive started on their own 15 yard line as McIntyre was able to calmly lead his team and pull out his arsenal of tools to drive the Wildcats 85 yards in the last two minutes to pull out this victory. He made clutch throws to his wide receivers, Anthony King and Hayden Thornton. Fullback Steven Rodgers rumbled for two runs that got a big first down and the subsequent game winning touchdown. McIntyre was 4 for 4 with 45 yards on that drive. Franklin High Coach Mike Johnson says, "Derek, along with the other starters didn't panic and slowly crept back into the game. The last drive of 85 yards was impressive and Derek was a big part of it."
Last year, this junior quarterback helped lead the Wildcats to a 6-5 record that finished with a playoff loss to Pleasant Grove 28-7. McIntyre accounted for 1,472 yards passing with 17 touchdowns, 492 yards rushing with 9 touchdowns, and a 2nd team all DVC nominee. Through three games into his senior year, he is well on his way of eclipsing those numbers as he has 735 yards passing with 9 touchdowns and 220 yards rushing with 4 touchdowns. He hopes that his efforts will earn him an All-Metro quarterback nomination and a state title for the Wildcats.
At 6-foot and 190 pounds, McIntyre has been playing organized football for nine years and has been the varsity starter as quarterback for two years for the Wildcats. This Wildcat can run 4.70 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has a shuttle time of 4.41 seconds, can bench press 230 pounds, squat 400 pounds, and can throw a long pass of 50 yards. He models his game after former Florida star, Tim Tebow, because he is a hard running quarterback who has a huge passion and love for the game of football.
Coach Johnson says, "Derek is the leader of the offense. He has run our Spread for over 5 years now and truly understands what we expect from him. He understands his strengths as well as his weaknesses. He plays the quarterback position with the tenacity of a linebacker. He seems to play better the more times he gets hit. I typically will run him with the ball just to get him fired up."
Franklin High runs the spread offense that takes advantage of McIntyre's ability to pass on the run and his mobility. His best skill is his leadership and playmaker skills. During the offseason, he worked on his speed and foot quickness and also gives back to the community by coaching youth football programs.
The Wildcats run a 4-4 defense with McIntyre as the outside linebacker. He was a linebacker starter as a sophomore but did not start as a junior because the team did not have a backup quarterback. As a senior, he started as a linebacker in the Rodriquez game and forced a fumble on his first defensive play.
This Wildcat wants to play quarterback at the next level. Idaho State, Menlo, Northern Arizona, Willamette, and Sacramento State have been in contact with him. He wants to play for a program that can utilize his skills and has a good coaching relationship. Coach Johnson says, "I think Derek will help out any college team that is looking for a physical running quarterback that has the ability to throw the ball. We will have to wait to see who that might be."
McIntyre has no geographic restriction. He wants to get a solid education as he has a 3.66 GPA with a 1750 SAT score. He wants to major in Civil Engineering as his best subject is Math.
"TD" is what his teammates call him because of his touchdown scoring ability and his full name is "Thomas Derek" McIntyre. Expect TD to be generating a few more clutch touchdown drives for the Wildcats this season.
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