Hammons’ rare style works

Lake City High quarterback Garren Hammons doesn’t have a prototype throwing delivery.

“He’s got horrible mechanics,” Lake City coach Van Troxel said. “Mechanically, he’s the worst one we’ve had.”

Hammons, a senior and two-year starter, smiled sheepishly when told what Troxel said.

“I used to do this kind of wind up in middle school,” Hammons said. “I was proud that when I was little I could throw it farther than anybody else. It has improved since middle school.”

Hammons’ unorthodox motion can best be described as sidearm.

“My coaches have tried to break me of it,” the 6-foot, 195-pound Hammons said.

The last attempt was as recent as spring. He wore a wrist guard – a piece of equipment one would wear roller-blading – to try to keep his hand from forming a cupping-like grip on the ball. It worked for a while, but old habits rarely can be broken.

While Hammons’ delivery is unconventional, the results have been second to none.

The bottom line is: Whenever Hammons throws or runs, good things happen.

“He’s a playmaker,” Troxel said. “Playmakers want the ball in their hands. They have the instinct that they’re going to get the job done.”

As a junior, Hammons passed for 1,148 yards (75 of 114 attempts) and seven touchdowns while rushing for 955 yards and nine TDs to lead the state semifinalist Timberwolves to a 9-2 record.

Through top-ranked LC’s 8-0 start, Hammons has passed for 1,124 yards, completing 68 of 116 attempts with 11 TDs and just two interceptions. He’s rushed for 656 yards and eight TDs.

“He can beat you with his arm or his feet,” Troxel said.

Opponents have tried to take one or the other away from LC. When teams have tried to stack extra players near the line of scrimmage to stop the run, it opens up passing routes. When teams back away from the line of scrimmage, it opens up the running lanes.

Where he’s hurt opponents most this year is with deep passes.

“He throws the deep ball as well as anybody we’ve ever had,” Troxel said.

In LC’s 38-21 win at Moses Lake last week, Hammons threw a deep pass to Kyle Johnson, hitting his receiver in stride for a 46-yard TD connection. Counting the yards behind the line of scrimmage, the ball was thrown well more than 50 yards.

It wasn’t a high-arcing pass with punt-like hang time, either. It was thrown on a line like most of his deep passes.

“Our offense fits him perfectly,” LC assistant Kelly Reed said of the T-Wolves spread option attack. “He’s truly as big a threat with his legs as with his arm. It’s as if this offense was designed for him.”

Just when it appears Hammons is pinned in as defenders swarm him, he zigs or zags, frequently finding a way out whether he’s running or passing.

“There have been so many times when I’ve watched film the past two years and I catch myself saying, ‘Wow, how did he do that?’ ” Reed said. “I can name probably 20 plays over the last two years when that’s happened.”

Hammons has the freedom to call audibles.

“The best view of the game many times is from his eyes,” Troxel said.

“It feels really good to make the call and be the coach on the field,” Hammons said.

One audible Hammons would like back, though, came in LC’s semifinal against eventual state champion Meridian last year.

It was third-and-long on LC’s second possession when Hammons saw a cornerback creeping up to blitz. So he checked to an option run. As he stretched for a first down, a Meridian player landed on his ankle. Hammons suffered a severe high sprain.

He couldn’t run, but he refused to come out. He didn’t miss a play. LC had to abandon most of its running game and start throwing. Hammons completed 19 of 32 for 266 yards and two TDs.

It was three months before Hammons could run without pain.

“He’s very mentally tough,” Troxel said. “That’s one of the things that sets him apart from others. He plays through pain.”

Of his two options, Hammons prefers running over passing.

“For most other teams he’d be a tailback,” Troxel said. “You line him up in an ‘I’ formation offense and he’d have more yards than anybody around here.”

What has made Hammons more of a threat this season, in Troxel’s eyes, is how he has involved his offensive teammates.

“He’s realized that he’s got a good running back and good wide receivers,” Troxel said. “He doesn’t have to do it all himself. When he uses his guys we’re that much better.”