Daniel Boone’s Carter Speyerer anxious for return to the field

Carter Speyerer didn’t expect to spend his senior season at Daniel Boone on the sidelines wearing a headset like one of the coaches.

He expected to be the guy Blazers head coach Rob Flowers and offensive coordinator Adam Burkhart were discussing on those headsets.

That plan ended just a few minutes into the season-opener against Wyomissing when Speyerer went down with a broken fibula and torn ligaments in his right leg. He was done for the season and had surgery the following week.

“It was very hard for me to hear that, that you’re not going to play again your senior year,” said Speyerer, who worked tirelessly throughout the offseason to transform his game.

He was expected to be one of the top dual threat quarterbacks in the region this season; now he’s doing his best to support his teammates as they battle to make the postseason for the first time since his freshman season.

The Blazers are 3-3 as they head to Muhlenberg Friday for a Berks Football League Section 1 game. They’re on the cusp of a District 3 Class 5A playoff spot but will need at least two wins, and perhaps three, in their final four games to make the field.

They got encouraging news this week, learning that offensive linemen Colin Leahy and Tony Rulli and tight end Draven Klick will return after missing last week’s 40-7 loss to Berks Catholic. The Blazers will be without tight end Jimmy Woodcock for the remainder of the season after he injured his knee.

“I’m just trying to lead the team, and be there for everyone, (lend) emotional support,” said Speyerer, who continues to go to Blazers practices and meetings unless he’s rehabbing his ankle. “I’m trying to keep the sideline upbeat.”

The Blazers designed their offense around Speyerer’s abilities to both throw and run. With him gone sophomore Dean Rotter was thrust into his first varsity action. Rotter has played well, completing 62 percent of his passes, with eight touchdowns and just one interception.

The Blazers won three in a row with Rotter behind center, beating Garden Spot, Conestoga Valley and Ephrata in Weeks 3, 4 and 5 to keep their hopes of a turnaround season alive.

“I was so proud of them to see that,” Speyerer said. “Whoever was out, it doesn’t matter, they came back and won a couple games. That’s really good for our program and for our players. It boosted their confidence a lot.

“They could’ve just quit, but they didn’t; that’s not what we do. We keep going. Our coaches, players, we all made a commitment to keep moving, no matter what. Climb the ladder at all times, no matter what happens.”

Speyerer is not about to quit. He still holds out feint hopes of returning this season, though none of the medical people involved in his rehab have told him that’s a possibility. He’s not prepared to close that door.

“I just want to come back,” he said. “I just want to play (again) my senior year. I don’t care what it is, if we’re down by 30 and I play, I just want to play.”

His return to the field will likely have to wait until next season, and will come at the next level. He has aspirations to play in college and has received three offers, the last two following his Aug. 27 injury. The offers are from Alvernia, Wilkes and Culver-Stockton, an NAIA school in Canton, Missouri.

Speyerer worked with Manheim trainer Darryl Daniel in the offseason to improve his speed and agility, and with Lebanon Valley offensive coordinator Chris Thompson to clean up his footwork in the pocket.

He went to camps or took part in 7-on-7 competitions at Penn State, Villanova, Temple, Sacred Heart, Kutztown, Bloomsburg and Lebanon Valley.

He attended more than half-a-dozen prospect camps and was named offensive MVP at several of them, including the Maryland/Delaware Elite Prospects Camp, where has named the top quarterback from Pennsylvania.

At the Elite11 camp in April he was ranked the No. 10 quarterback and joined Central York’s Beau Pribula (a Penn State recruit) and Central Dauphin’s Max Mosey as the only Pennsylvanians in the Top 10.

Speyerer initially struggled coming to grips with his injury. He didn’t believe it at first. In fact, he said he didn’t feel any pain immediately after the play that knocked him to the ground.

“(When) I got up and took a step or two toward the sideline (then) I knew, ‘This is bad,’ ” he said. “When everyone came over to me (on the sideline), I realized it was bigger than an injury, it was a whole season that was lost.”

The days after the injury were difficult for him but he has emerged with an upbeat attitude.

“Losing my senior year was a very tough pill to swallow, but you gotta see the good in every situation and believe everything happens for a reason,” he wrote on Twitter. “I believe that God truly has a plan for me and my future. I will be back better than ever.”