By DAVID COOK
The quarterback position at Lansing Catholic has seen many fine athletes. Currently, it hass its biggest and possibly best quarterback of all time. Junior Tony Poljan is a 6-foot-7-inch, 215-pound-and-still-growing signal caller with a big-time arm. An all-around athlete, he is also one of the top junior basketball players in the state.
Poljan opened the season on fire, as he passed for over 400 yards and six touchdowns in the first two games of the season and connected on over 70% of his passes. As a team, the Cougars put up over 30 points in their first three wins of the season.
“I feel like the season is going really well,” Poljan said. “We still have a lot to work on. Our goals are to play week to week and do the best we can. We started off a lot better than last year, but for myself, I am steadily working toward my goals. I still have a lot to work on and a lot more to learn about my position and about the game of football.”
Poljan put in plenty of work on his football skills in the off-season in addition to playing travel basketball. “I have been working very hard since last season,” he said. “This year is night-and-day from last year at the quarterback position.”
A key to Poljan’s success this year has been his senior wide receivers Jack Peters and Zac Baker. “Jack worked really hard in the off-season, and his hard work has paid off in a starting position,” Poljan said. “He already has four touchdowns this year. My other main receiver is Zac Baker. He is a returning starter for our receiving corps. Every time I throw the ball to Zac, I know it will be caught. Zac and Jack are both returning receivers for me, and another year is making a big difference this year.”
A three-year varsity starter for the Cougars, Poljan played strong safety as a freshman before taking over the quarterback position last year as a sophomore. Poljan is the latest in a long line of Cougar quarterbacks that includes current Central Michigan University quarterback Cooper Rush.
“Cooper is an exceptional football player,” Poljan said. “He just led his CMU team to a win over Purdue.
“Being a quarterback for Coach Ahern is really something special. He has been coaching football longer than I have been alive. He expects a lot from his quarterbacks. I am really lucky to have a coach as outstanding as Coach Ahern, because I can learn the game of football from him and grow as a quarterback.”
As a standout in two sports, Poljan will someday have to choose whether to play football, basketball, or both in college. “I really enjoy playing quarterback and would like to play it at the next level,” Poljan said. “I love to play football because it is football season right now. I also love playing basketball when basketball season rolls around. I wouldn’t be opposed to playing both at the next level.”