SPRINGDALE – Ashton Glaser has never had a problem handling pressure.
In fact, the senior quarterback for Springdale High has always thrived on it, especially during his junior year when – despite his inexperience – he constantly put pressure on himself to become a better player.
Needing a big effort in the final event of competition Thursday night, Glaser got the result he wanted and won the Top Gun QB1 Quarterback Challenge in Champions Stadium.
Glaser needed at least 55 points to beat Pine Bluff’s Claude Johnson in the On-The-Move Accuracy competition, but blew past him with a 65-point effort, ending the two-day event with a total of 520 points, 15 more than Johnson.
Glaser and Johnson will now compete together in a national quarterback competition on July 25-26 in Jenks, Okla., where they’ll face 12 other quarterbacks from six different regions.
“I was a little nervous at some points, but I felt like I did OK,” said Glaser, who passed for 2,356 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior. “I want that pressure. I might have been nervous, but I thought I played well. I play better under pressure.”
Coming into Thursday night’s field events, Glaser wasn’t even in the top 5. However, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback finished third in the Speed and Mobility competition, first in the Coverage Call competition and tied for third in the On-The-Move Accuracy competition.
Glaser’s performance didn’t surprise Springdale High coach Kevin Johnson, who thought his quarterback had an opportunity to win all along.
“I felt like he had a real good chance of winning,” Johnson said. “He handles pressure pretty well. Last year, he was under a lot of pressure. We had to throw him into varsity action (as a junior).
“But Ashton handles it very well, he’s had a great summer and we’re expecting him to have a great senior year.”
Springdale Har-Ber’s Zach Faust, who was in third before Thursday night, won the Mental Test, the Throwing Accuracy and the Long Throw competition, finishing fourth overall.
Faust won the Long Throw with a heave of 68 yards, two yards longer than Johnson’s.
Pea Ridge junior Kip Kelly won the Physical Endurance Test and Shiloh Christian’s Kiehl Frazier finished third in the Mental Test.
Former Arkansas quarterback Jason Allen, who created the quarterback challenge five years ago, said Glaser’s consistency in every competition was the key to him being the overall champion.
“We had a lot of great quarterbacks this year, but Ashton proved to be the top guy,” Allen said. “He did really well and impressed a lot of people. He’s going to be a great player for Springdale this season.”
At A Glance
TOP GUN QB1 CHALLENGE
OVERALL RESULTS
1. Ashton Glaser, Springdale High 520
2. Claude Johnson, Pine Bluff 505
3. Spencer Keith, Pulaski Academy 500
4. Zach Faust, Springdale Har-Ber 480
5. Hayden Smith, Warren 455COMPETITION RESULTS
Physical Endurance Test
1. Kip Kelly, Pea Ridge
2. Zac Cole, Cen. Arkansas Christian
3. Kendall Pinkney, Dardanelle
Mental Test
1. Faust
2. Griffin Kuhn, LR Christian
3. Kiehl Frazier, Shiloh ChristianSpeed And Mobility
1. Hayden Stokes, Harrison 17.84
2. Keith 17.95
3. Glaser 17.98Coverage Call
1. Glaser
2. Keith
3. Michael Thomas, MountainburgThrowing Accuracy
1. Faust 55
2. Smith 50
3. Ethan McKinzie, Gravette 45Long Throw
1. Faust 68
2. Johnson 66
3. Pinkney 63On-The-Move Accuracy
1. Kuhn 80
1. Johnson 80
3. Pinkney 65
3. Frazier 65
3. Smith 65
3. Glaser 65
