Bristol Herald Courier | Tim Hayes | Photo Credit: Emily Ball
Peyton Musick is poised.
Characteristically calm amid the chaos of a football Friday night when those dangerous defensive linemen want to sack him, linebackers long to smash him and determined defensive backs intend to intercept him.
“As soon as the call is relayed my first thought is what the defense is in,” says Honaker High School’s senior quarterback. “From then on I look at matchups and how the play will develop based on the coverage of the opponents.”
Read and react.
Pass and catch.
Rinse and repeat.
Musick is as reliable as he is cerebral.
He has been imperturbable in dealing with the unforeseen obstacles that he’s faced in playing for four different head coaches in four seasons, including three in less than six months.
Through it all, he has continued playing at a high level and the 6-foot-4, 210-pound signal-caller has helped Honaker get a shot at some more hardware.
The Tigers (6-3) have won four straight games and host Rural Retreat (5-4) on Friday night with a chance to win the Hogoheegee District title outright.
The crowd will be loud, the sentimentality that comes with Senior Night will be present and playoff positioning will be at stake as well.
The tranquil Tiger is ready for the tough task at hand.
On to the next play. On to the next moment.
“I just want to say that I am very proud of our team and what we have become,” Musick said. “We have faced lots of adversity but we strap up and play our hardest every game.”
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The numbers are impressive.
In his three years as the trigger man in Honaker’s Air Raid offense, Musick has amassed 7,478 passing yards with 100 touchdown tosses compared to just 25 interceptions.
“He is one of the best QBs I’ve ever seen,” said teammate Jaxon Dye. “He really scans the field and always find the best throw and makes the best decisions. … Something that stands out for me is his ability to read the field. If no one is open, he can take off on a run and gain great yardage instead of taking a loss of yards or throwing an incomplete pass.”