DUAL THREATS

by Anuj Khemka & Elliott Lee

DUAL

An out-of-thebox solution at quarterback propels Jefferson football to success

THREATS

Senior Sabareesh Sundarraj entered the

season as Jefferson’s undisputed starting quarterback. After three years as a backup, he would now take the field on every snap as the commander of the offense, respected and ready to guide the team to touchdowns.

That is, until practices for the season began.

ORIGINS

To offensive coordinator Michael Auerbach, it became clear that Jefferson had not just one starting-caliber quarterback — but two. Without a consistently wide range of athletes to work with at Jefferson, Auerbach approaches every season with a flexible offensive mindset, prepared to mold the scheme around the team’s strengths that year.

“Right away, in February we could see what our strengths were. We had a quarterback who was very fundamentally sound in the backfield, and when we have plays that really require a lot of precision timing, [he] was very good at that,” Auerbach said. “When we needed somebody who could sprint out of the pocket or throw the ball far downfield, we had a quarterback who was good at that. So it just became apparent that we needed to use them both.”

And so formed Jefferson’s unusual dual-quarterback system, starring Sundarraj and sophomore Gavin Hatalosky. The two rotate on and off the field depending on the play that Auerbach has in mind.

“A lot of times we call plays where the quarterback looks at the defense and determines the best route to take and the best person to take the ball. I trust [Sundarraj] to make those decisions because he’s very fundamentally sound with understanding and reading defenses,” Auerbach said. “[Hatalosky] is just a sophomore, so he hasn’t had that much experience doing those things, but he has a lot of speed and a very strong arm. So when we rely on more natural athleticism from the position, I go with [Hatalosky].”

TEAM PLAYER

In Auerbach’s 18 years as a part of Jefferson football, this season marked the first time that he’s used such a system. It thus came as a surprise to both players that they would be splitting playing time. For Sundarraj, especially, the shift to two quarterbacks meant that his time on the field would drop drastically. Still, the senior quarterback accepted the newfound role without reservation.

“I want to be able to run as fast, but I’m just not that fast, so having a second threat like [Hatalosky] makes our offense a lot better. And for me, it’s nice to have individual glory but it doesn’t really matter if you don’t win,” Sundarraj said. “We’ve been winning—we have two wins now—and I attribute those two wins to having [Hatalosky] come in and making some explosive plays and executing.”

Running sideways, Sundarraj launches the ball at his receiver. Having been a quarterback on Jefferson’s football team for three years, Sundarraj has a complex and thorough understanding of the offense. “[Sundarraj] has been in the program for four years, and he has a tremendously high football IQ. When he was the backup quarterback in 2019, [Sundarraj] had a better understanding of our offense than any backup quarterback I had ever worked with,” Auerbach said. PHOTOS // Ananya Bagai // Fiona Zheng // George Evanisko

Auerbach and Sundarraj first witnessed Hatalosky’s game-changing potential in the team’s second game against Park View. Afterward, the team decided to fully embrace the dual-quarterback system.

“The second game, we were moving the ball, but once we got into the red zone, things didn’t go as well for us. So Coach [Auerbach] decided to diversify the offense, which I agreed with,” Sundarraj said. “Gavin got in and he was able to change the game. With the threat of two quarterbacks, they didn’t know what they were getting when each of us was in. So that kept the defense on their heels and we were able to win that game.”

BRIGHT FUTURE

Despite the team’s success with the dual-quarterback system, Hatalosky’s developing skillset makes it unlikely that they will employ something similar in the near future.

“I don’t think we’re going to use a similar system, at least for the foreseeable future. Maybe if some freshmen comes and can throw like 70 yards, but I don’t know, I don’t see how that will happen.