Monterey coach Jason Sims starting freshman QB. Has he done it before? - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Starting a first-year player under center is a gamble most high school coaches avoid if they can. For Sims, it's a call he's made before, just not recently, and not at a program with Monterey's expectations. The Plainsmen carry real weight in Lubbock football, and handing the keys to a freshman is the kind of decision that gets talked about from the parking lots at Lowrey Field to every dinner table on the south side.

For Dewbre, the pressure is immediate. There's no easing in, no redshirt year, no waiting your turn. He's the guy. That kind of responsibility at 14 or 15 years old is rare at any level, and it tells you something about what Sims saw in him during camp and fall practices.

For Monterey fans, the question isn't whether Sims can coach. It's whether a freshman can handle the speed and physicality of Texas high school football from week one, something most players spend years preparing for before they ever get the chance.

Sims has been down this road before, just on a much smaller stage at Quanah, roughly 90 miles northwest of Lubbock.