Published: August 29, 2007 02:05 pm            

For Loftin, it is all about having fun

ALEDO — Whether at quarterback, receiver or safety, Aledo Bearcats’ Cole Loftin sees football through the eyes of a child.

When you talk with him about football, he gets excited. Like a child at Christmas, each play for him is like opening the next gift, not knowing what to expect.

And for Loftin, that is especially true, because one doesn’t know which way he is going to affect the game. Is he going to throw? Can five or six defenders bottle him up behind the line of scrimmage for a sack? Is he just going to take the snap and run it? Is he going to hand it off?

Who knows, and that is just for offense. All those choices might make one nervous. It is a lot for one player to do and be concerned with. Not for Loftin.

“I enjoy making the defense mad,” Loftin said. “It is really neat on third-and-12 and have a pass play called, then roll out and run for 15 yards and they thought they had them covered, and we still get a first down.

“Then on defense, Coach [Tim] Buchanan usually doesn’t let me play, but that is the icing on the cake when I get to do that because it is fun and all emotion, getting after the football.”

Loftin’s versatility is obvious. Last year, he gained 1,292 yards on 113 carries and scored 16 touchdowns on the ground and added 323 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-41 passing attempts. He also helped Aledo at the receiver position, catching 11 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns.

“It has been pretty darn nice,” Buchanan said about having a player like Loftin on the field. “It sure makes it easier to call plays when he is out there.”

But that versatility is not something that is done automatically. It requires Loftin to change gears several times throughout a game.

“My mindset changes a little bit,” Loftin said about going from quarterback to receiver. “I go from what do I have to do to get this person the ball or what do I have to do to communicate to our linemen what they are doing? I go from that to, how do I get home or how do I get a block to get my running back free? It is just a different mindset.”

Despite all of the decisions Loftin has to make on the football field, one decision about what he does off the field has already been made, as he has orally committed to the University of Utah, a decision Loftin is grateful has been made.

“Especially during the season, you don’t want to have to worry about it,” Loftin said. “I have got a lot of it sorted out so far. During the season, you want to be focused on enjoying playing high school football and everything that goes along with high school.”

With Loftin, it is easy to see he enjoys what he does, but there is a part of football that every player enjoys — winning. At Aledo, Loftin has gotten a large dose of it and that success continues to fuel him. Last year, the Bearcats finished the season as one of the final eight teams in all of Class 4A.

But after Aledo’s lone loss in the regular season to Stephenville, the Bearcats became one of the most dominant teams in the Metroplex area, both offensively and defensively. Through it all, Loftin doesn’t remember one specific moment, but remembers believing great things were on the horizon for the Bearcats. Loftin said after the Fossil Ridge victory in the area round of the playoffs, one of Aledo’s toughest opponents last year, the team felt it had accomplished something great and could be proud of it.

With Loftin and a number of other players coming back from last year’s crew, great things may be on the horizon again for the Bearcats and their versatile quarterback.

Loftin and the Bearcats open the season Friday at the new Bearcat Stadium against the Brewer Bears at 7:30 p.m.

        

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