Sports Spotlight on KFYR-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader

Jesse Kartes

Scott Westerberg

9/30/2009

He had to wait until his senior year to be the Patriot`s starting quarterback, but Jesse Kartes has taken what he learned as a back-up to a pair of all-staters and he is now making a name for himself as the man "under center" for Century team.

The Patriots are off to a 4 and 1 start.

Jumping into a starting quarterback role isn`t always a very easy thing to do. Quarterbacks usually receive a lot of credit when things go well, but also catch a lot of heat when things don`t. But so far things have gone well for Jesse Kartes. The Patriots signal caller has led his team to wins in four of their first five games.

"I think I`ve settled into it a little bit more," Kartes says. "I was a little nervous at first, but I think I`ve settled down a little bit."

"I think the maturation of some of our receivers has helped and I think the one thing that Jesse has going for him is he is very confident in his reads and he understands his limitation and his strengths and right now he`s playing to his strengths quite well," says head coach Ron Wingenbach.

And Kartes has seen what it takes to be a successful quarterback at Century, having spent time backing up both Zach Wentz and Hunter Johnson.

"We`re still running a lot of the same type of offensive format as those two ran, and he got to watch and play a little bit and certainly at the J.V. level did some of those same things, so he`s been a very good student in that respect," says Wingenbach.

And Kartes` teammates have seen first-hand just how smart he is when it comes to football.

"I used to play college football against him on video games and he would just tear me apart cause he knew what the defense was doing already," says Jake Glass, a Century senior. "He`s a smart guy."

But now that it`s his turn to lead the Patriots, Kartes wants to make sure he finishes what the two before him started.

"I did feel some pressure knowing they both went to the semifinal game, but we`re looking to get that one more game," he says.

And the Patriots will need the consistent play of their senior quarterback if they hope to fulfill their goal of making it to the AAA title game.

Kartes and the Patriots were just one point out of second place in Monday`s poll.

On Friday, Century plays number one Bismarck High.

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