ACHS' Estes rewriting record book

By MARK WILSON / Staff Writer

John Estes IV may soon have another digit to write alongside his name - a big ol' No. 1.

The Abilene Christian High School senior quarterback has been making opponents dizzy with his effective passing while helping the 10-1 Panthers maintain their No. 1 ranking in the TAPPS Six-Man state poll.

Estes is moving in on several all-time national Six-Man football passing records that Billy Climer of Happy Hill Farm set in 1992.

The 6-3, 160-pound Estes needs seven touchdown passes to break Climer's mark of 72. His current total of 3,727 yards passing is just 266 yards short of Climer's mark for a single season, and he is about 700 yards shy of Climer's career standard of 8,756.

By strange coincidence, the following season - when Estes was still playing at defensive back his sophomore year - he intercepted a Climer pass when the two schools met in a TAPPS 1-A district contest.

Estes says that what he enjoys most is completing passes late in a game when the score is tight. But the Panthers haven't faced a situation like that in a while. They have won 10 in a row after losing to Sidney to start the season.

Estes threw six touchdown passes in their opening-round playoff win over Seven Points Christian Life last Friday night, but the Panthers breezed to a 56-6 win. Next, they will take on Dallas Academy at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Strawn in the state semifinals.

"It's all fun to me, watching my friends play," said Estes, who has completed 171 of his 293 passes (58.4 percent) with 66 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. "It's a blast being with all my friends when everybody is doing good and having fun."

Breaking records would be enjoyable for Estes, but he's more worried about helping the Panthers stay alive in the playoffs.

"Sure it would be nice to get the record, but as long as the team wins, I'll stay happy," said Estes, who broke the ACHS single-season mark for TD passes his sophomore year, which was his first season as a starter. "I guess it's kind of a personal motivator, but it's not as important as the team winning."

Estes gives credit first to the offensive scheme molded by ACHS head coach Steve Woods, utilizing Estes' passing skills to the maximum. In the final game of the regular season, a win over Fort Worth Temple Christian, the Panthers didn't call a single running play and Estes struck for nine aerial TDs.

"He makes all the calls. He makes the plays work," said Estes, who is president of the ACHS student council and a member of the National Honor Society. "And I wouldn't be anywhere close without my receivers. We've got a lot of good receivers. Everybody contributes to me doing that. I just get the credit for it."

Woods said, "He's a real good kid, and he's done a lot for our program. His numbers are pretty incredible. John has done a great job. He really learned the system well. John has really been able to keep everything in perspective really well. His work ethic has been really good.

"He's always put the team first, in my opinion. His arm strength is really good. He just has a natural talent for throwing the football. Physically, he was built to be a quarterback."

ACHS has had only 135 rushing plays all season - an average of 12.3 per game.

"A lot of the passing routes we run are short, which turn out to be more of a screen," said Woods, in his third season as head coach of the Panthers. "Because John has such a good arm, it's pretty safe - almost like a running play.

"We've got a lot of confidence in John. Six-Man football really emphasises the skill positions. I like the pass because it spreads the field out more. And it saves on the wear and tear on the players."

Estes was an honorable mention all-state selection and second-team all-district last season as a quarterback, and second-team all-state and first-team all-district as a place-kicker. He was also a first-team all-district pitcher for the Panthers' baseball team last season.

The winner of the ACHS-Dallas Academy game will advance to the state championship game next weekend against either Bryan Allen Academy or Waxahachie Cornerstone Christian.

"We realize there are only four teams still playing in TAPPS Six-Man. We feel pretty lucky to still be playing," said Estes, who plans to enroll in pre-med courses next fall at either Abilene Christian University or Texas A&M with an eye on possibly becoming a ear, nose and throat surgeon.

"We hope we go all the way. We've been playing good. We played a little sluggish Friday night, but I hope we got that out of our system toward the end of the game. It's not going to be easy. We're going to have to play flawless from here on out."