Introducing our WXXV Student Athlete of the Week, Hancock Quarterback Justin Wedgeworth!

Week one of the high school football season is officially in the books — and now, this guy is in the history books. In Hancock’s game against the Stone Tomcats, senior quarterback Justin Wedgeworth put up video-game numbers, throwing for 563 yards and five total touchdowns while completing 35 of 50 passes — a 70 percent completion rate. His lights-out performance set school records for single-game passing yards, total yards, completions and attempts. But Wedgeworth is quick to give credit to the guys around him — especially his talented receivers and an outstanding offensive line.

“I was snug as a bug in a rug with my offensive line. They made it so much easier on me. The receivers and I have great chemistry. I think every one of the starting receivers had 50 or more yards each, and two of them had almost 200 receiving yards. We spread it out so evenly, and we work really well together. A 70 percent completion rate isn’t just me — it’s them. We all came together,” said Justin Wedgeworth.

The numbers are impressive on their own. But what if I told you this was Wedgeworth’s first-ever varsity start? Now a senior, Wedgeworth had to wait his turn to take over under center. But his time on the sidelines was far from wasted. Instead, he used it as an opportunity to learn from two of the best.

“Hancock is really a big quarterback factory. Dylan Moran was great and taught me a lot. Watching Dylan my freshman year, and even in seventh and eighth grade when I was a ball boy, I got to watch Dylan. Dylan is more of a passing guy, and Kaison is more of a run-with-his-feet type of guy. So I really took things from both of them and put it into my game. I think Kaison is way better of a runner, and Dylan is a better passer, but I think I’m a good middle in between the two,” said Wedgeworth.

A good middle, to say the very least. Before he watched Moran and Koenenn, though, Wedgeworth had his first coach at home — his dad, who helped instill a love for the game at an early age. Now, Wedgeworth says the support of his family continues to be one of his biggest motivations.

“What motivates me the most is probably my family and Jesus. I want to play to make my family proud. That’s the biggest thing. Whenever I see my dad and my mom cheering in the stands, and seeing everyone else after the game telling me I did good, that’s really all I care about. I care about winning the most, then of course my family,” said Wedgeworth.

And although the Hawks came up just one possession short in their week-one matchup, Wedgeworth has plenty of confidence in what this team can accomplish.

“I definitely want to have a winning season and a home playoff game. I think it’s really possible this year because we’ve got a great team with a bunch of seniors. We have a lot of things to fix on both sides of the ball, and I think if we fix them, we can be one of the best teams in the state,” said Wedgeworth.

The next step toward those goals comes this Friday night, when Hancock hosts Harrison Central with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Best of luck to Justin and the rest of the Hawks!