Draper quarterback wins National Freshman of the Year

Freshmen generally don’t play varsity football. Especially in 5A programs such as Jordan’s, the starters are usually juniors and seniors.

Austin Kafentzis, a 15-year-old freshman out of Draper didn’t buy into that logic, and neither did his coach, Jordan’s Eric Kjar. Kafentzis started the season as the Beetdiggers’ first-string quarterback. Not only did he lead his team to a semifinal berth, but he also became one of the nation’s top-ranked quarterbacks overall in the process.

Along with being the only freshman named to the All-State team, Kafentzis was recently announced by the site MaxPreps.com as the 2011 U.S. Air Force National Freshman of the Year.

In an article from earlier in the season, Stephan Spiewak of MaxPreps.com praised Kafentzis for being “remarkably poised in the clutch.”

During the 2011 season, Kafentzis earned that praise by racking up yardage that would make any high school team jealous.

He threw for 3,188 yards and 28 touchdowns with a 58 percent completion rating. In the NCAA, his quarterback rating would be over 143, on par with some of the top-ranked quarterbacks in Division 1.

He also led the team in rushing. On the ground, Kafentzis picked up 1,377 yards and 22 touchdowns and he averaged more than six and a half yards per carry. This also matches the stats of many of the best running backs in the NCAA.

On the ground and in the air, Kafentzis averaged over 351 yards of total offense per game, which ranks him as the number one total offensive player in the state and number nine in the nation.

Keep in mind: he is only in ninth grade.

Thanks, in part, to the team’s offensive production, the Beetdiggers boasted an 8-2 record over the regular season, outscoring their opponents by an average of 18 points.

Kafentzis lead his team all the way to the state semifinals against Lone Peak on Nov. 11. In that game, he had more than 100 yards passing and both a passing and a rushing touchdown in the first quarter. But left the game at the beginning of the second after a hard hit behind the line.

For the rest of the game, Kafentzis had to sit on the sideline, a role most freshman players are accustomed to. With his broken collarbone wrapped by the medical staff, he watched as his team narrowly missed its opportunity to play in the state championships, losing 45-41.

With three years left in his high school career, and now a national award under his belt, Kafentzis might find another opportunity to lead his team to the playoffs in the seasons to come.