Sam Houston: a hoss with a cannon

Sam Houston: a hoss with a cannon

By Rawls Jennet
The Orchard
July 6, 2012

Applejack State quarterback Sam Houston is a man with a cannon of an arm. During a pass skeleton drill, head coach Big MacIntosh challenged the quarterbacks to throw an apple as far as they could from the north end zone.

Turns out, Houston was able to not only throw the Red Delicious the farthest, but it also landed lightly on the south endzone without a blemish or mark.

"Hmmm, the boy's got quite a cannon of an arm," said MacIntosh. "This is why he is our starting quarterback: he's got the strongest arm among all the others gunslingers we got.

"That's the thing about the pistol: you need someone who can throw the baby mamma 60, maybe even 80 yards so that you can get six. Sammy's got a quick release that could cream anyone's pants. Or panties.

"Off the field, the boy's a class act. He came to our program as a valedictorian and nearly came to Twilie to play football. My sister had to lure him over here.

"I ain't gonna say how she did it, but it worked, and now Sammy's with us."

Will Ochiltree is the Appleknockers' No. 1 receiver and he was impressed by the throwing mechanics of Houston.

"Boy oh boy, Sam can throw that apple very far," Ochiltree said. "It don't matter what he throws: baseballs, footballs, apples...Sam's a boss at throwing objects, period.

"Then it's all a matter of getting the timing down. We were doing pass skeletons yesterday with [tight end] Jose [Navarro], [tailback] Eddie [Burleson] and those guys, and he was hitting our receivers with such accuracy and timing.

"Every one of us got a touch on the ball. Every one of us connected. It's amazing how Sam can become an instant field general when he has the ball.

"We're confident we can ride on his arm for some big victories this season. He is a true hoss."