Sophomore QB puts on show in romp over SWR

ASHEBORO — Cade McCallum said he was ready from the very start as Eastern Randolph High School opened the Piedmont Athletic Conference last week at Southwestern Randolph High School.

The Wildcats’ starting sophomore quarterback sure played like he was ready.

McCallum threw for five touchdowns and ran for another as the Wildcats remained undefeated on the season with a 49-0 victory in a game that saw a running clock midway through the fourth quarter. The victory gives ER a perfect 6-0 record, while the Cougars are 3-3.

Combined with a potent running attack, an offensive line that produced holes to run through and protection in the passing game, and a group of talented, experienced receivers, McCallum led the Wildcats on touchdown drives on ER’s first seven possessions. The only non-scoring drive came when ER ran out the final two minutes.

“As soon as we got off the bus, I was ready to play,” said McCallum, who saw some varsity snaps last year, but played mostly at the jayvee level. “I was locked in. My aim was feeling pretty good and I told Coach I was ready to throw the ball today. When we threw that first touchdown, I was excited and I just kept going.”

That he did as he finished 8 of 13 for 159 yards and five touchdowns, adding two rushes for 19 more yards and a touchdown.

“Cade started working in January,” said veteran ER coach Burton Cates, who is in year 48 as a high school coach. “He plays a lot of sports. He’s worked hard since January. In the summer, he plays so much baseball, his arm isn’t as strong as it should be. In August, he got his strength back and he just has the right attitude.”

McCallum said he remembers all the work he put in prior to the season, especially in the weight room.

“I had to work a lot harder because I was going to be the starting quarterback,” McCallum said. “It’s a big role. I knew I would have some adversity because I’m only a sophomore. I’m going to have some tough games, but the better games will be even better.”

Last Friday night was one of those better games. James Combs started the scoring barrage with a 1-yard run with 2:26 left in the first. On the next possession, McCallum galloped in from 11 yards out for a 14-0 lead. A 34-yard pass from McCallum to Rayden West made it 21-0 with 7:24 remaining in the first half, which was plenty of time for McCallum to find West again, this time from 30 yards out for a score with 3:42 left. Then McCallum rolled right and found DaSean Shamburger for a 27-yard score with just under two minutes to play in the first half.

“It takes a lot of pressure off me,” McCallum said of a running game that produced 185 yards in the first half and 258 in the game. “I know we have three great running backs (Combs, Lucas Smith and Kobe Walker) and they will score for me. That opens up the defense to make us more smooth when we throw the ball. I have to give credit to my OL and the receivers. They made me feel like I could throw the ball for days.”

The Wildcats have had some early-season tests, finding themselves tied with Asheboro with just three minutes to play before scoring twice more for a 33-21 win and then two weeks later against Central Davidson, when it took a late interception and a long scoring pass on the final play of the game to eek out a 27-21 win.

“The first couple of games, I knew it would be hard because I am a sophomore,” McCallum said. “As the season goes on, we’re going to get better, stronger.”

A nine-yard TD pass to Shamburger in the third quarter preceded a 24-yard scoring strike to Chance Holdaway in the fourth for the final points of the contest.

“Our receivers have great eyes for reading the defense and I feed off them,” McCallum said. “Whatever they tell me to do, I do.” 

“Everybody on this team wants Cade McCallum to succeed,” Cates said. “When the OL, running backs and receivers catch the ball the way they did tonight, it makes things a lot easier for him. He’s throwing the ball better, but his practice habits are the key to the whole thing. He studies film and Foster (QB Coach Foster Cates) has him where he’s starting to recognize coverages and fronts.”

Foster Cates said although McCallum is just a sophomore, he wasn’t going to hold back on the playbook.

“As a sophomore quarterback, we just wanted to make sure he was confident,” Foster Cates said. “The game is so much faster on Friday nights than on Thursday. There are going to be some growing pains. We are going to be patient. But as far as condensing the playbook and not running so much, I’m going to throw the kitchen sink at him because the faster he learns, the faster we can grow.”

There has been plenty of growth so far.