Western Wildcats want to make a statement with a playoff run. Their QB is leading the way
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Adam Ratkevich doesn’t need many words to describe his quarterback.
So to sum up his thoughts, Davie Western’s veteran coach decided to repurpose a chant from Apple TV’s soccer-centered comedy “Ted Lasso” that fans in the show used to serenade AFC Richmond midfielder Roy Kent.
“He’s Collin freakin’ Hurst, man,” Ratkevich said. “That kid’s here. He’s there. He’s everywhere.”
Hurst’s impact certainly was felt everywhere on Saturday as host Western cruised past Parkland Stoneman Douglas 43-7 in a Region 4-8A quarterfinal playoff game, the first step what the Wildcats hope is a run to their first state football title. The junior quarterback completed 13 of 19 passes for 240 yards and five touchdowns, the last of which came midway through the third quarter to start a running clock in the blowout victory.
It has been the story of Hurst’s season — the story of his high school career, really.
He was thrown into the starting role three games into his freshman year and never looked back. He has matured into one of the top quarterbacks in Broward County.
The only thing missing: Getting to that state championship game and bringing a title back to Western.
Hurst and the Wildcats are in position to make such a run happen this year.
“I’ve grown in the offense,” Hurst said. “I really know my keys, my checks, all that other stuff. I think just my knowledge spreading to the team and the offense just makes us a really well-rounded machine.”
‘A lead-by-example guy’
As for the Hurst-Kent comparison, Hurst has seen the show (“I love that guy,” he said of Kent) and understands the similarities — to an extent.
Hurst is the leader of his team, the player the team listens to and commands attention in the locker room.
So when his coaches and teammates started using the chant for him, Hurst embraced it although there is one main difference between the two.
“I’m not a cocky guy,” Hurst said. “I keep my head down and work hard, but it is pretty funny.”
“He’s a lead-by-example guy,” Ratkevich added. “He’s quiet. He’s not a huge talker. The most you’re gonna get out of him most times is ‘Here we go,’ but it doesn’t matter what the situation is. He’s ready to just strap it on and get after it.”
It’s been that way ever since Hurst took over the starting quarterback job on Sept. 13, 2019. It was the third game of his freshman year. Western was playing University School. The quarterback on the other side, Nick Vattiato, was one of Hurst’s mentors and training partners.
He completed 11 of 15 passes for 151 yards and ran for a touchdown that night in a 14-9 defeat. He’s had the starting job ever since.
“It was nerve-racking,” Hurst said. “I just went in there. I knew what I had to do, the same thing I do in practice. ... It was a great stepping stone for sure.”
He has elevated his game ever since. He finished his freshman year completing 61.1 percent of his passes for 2,102 yards and 26 touchdowns against just seven interceptions as he led Western to the regional finals, leading the Wildcats to playoff wins over South Dade and Miami Palmetto before falling to eventual state champion Miami Columbus.
“You don’t have those expectations for anyone,” Ratkevich said. “You don’t expect a 14-year-old to go out and do the things that he did.”
The COVID-19 pandemic limited Hurst to just four games in his sophomore season, but he still threw for 940 yards and six touchdowns.
And this year? Hurst already has more than 3,000 passing yards and 34 touchdowns against just two interceptions.
“He’s matured tremendously,” Ratkevich said. “We’ll go as far as he takes us.”
A dominant start to the playoffs
His playmaking ability was on display again Friday night.
Western, the No. 1 seed in Region 4-8A, was the heavy favorite for its first-round matchup with No. 8 seed Stoneman Douglas but briefly fell behind 7-6 in the second quarter.
How briefly? The deficit lasted one play from scrimmage.
Hurst dropped back and fired a pass over the middle to receiver Jullian Lewis, who slipped behind the defensive back covering him and ran uncontested for a 64-yard touchdown.
Western (9-2) never trailed after that.
It was the first of three touchdowns Lewis hauled in from Hurst. The other two were both 7-yard fades in the right corner of the end zone with a defensive back draped over him. Lewis finished with 124 yards on five catches, the final catch a one-handed grab while the defender covering him held his arm.
“It’s just chemistry between me and my quarterback,” Lewis said. ”We work on this every day. We master it in practice. If we’re not doing it in practice, you’re not going to do it in the game.”
Hurst also had a 17-yard touchdown pass to Tyreik Thorpe in the first quarter and a 21-yard hookup with tight end Nicholas Watson in the third quarter that started the running clock. Nelson Walker added a rushing touchdown.
“It’s a great confidence boost,” Hurst said.
Defensively, Western held Stoneman Douglas (6-4) to just the one touchdown, a 25-yard run from Matthew Wilson. Western has held each of its last seven opponents to nine points or fewer.
“Our brand really, when we took over, was Davie Strong, which we built in the weight room and we built it on defense with that Black Shirt Defense,” Ratkevich said. “It really was the brand for a long time. Everybody in South Florida really identified us with that, and I think they still should. It’s to your peril not to pay attention to them.”
‘Unfinished business’
The win on Friday sets Western up with a big regional semifinal contest against Columbus next week.
It’s a chance, the Wildcats hope, for payback.
Columbus ended Western’s season in the regional finals two years ago, the last time both teams competed in the state series. Most South Florida teams did not participate in the playoffs in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“There’s unfinished business until you put a ring on your finger, right?” Ratkevich said. “You’re still chasing it. They got theirs and hopefully — God willing — we get a chance at ours, but one game at a time.”
Hurst still remembers the sting of that 36-21 loss, one in which they fell behind by almost 20 points and couldn’t complete a fourth-quarter comeback.
He’s hoping for a different result the second time around.
“I’ve been looking forward to this matchup since the loss my freshman year,” Hurst said. “I was a baby going into that game, but now I feel like I’m so much more experienced and prepared.”
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