They Call Him 'Q'

It's just an example. It's not meant to be serious.

football coach Bill McNamara is impressed by his 5-foot-11, 185 pound defensive end named Quintin Lorenzo. Or "Q," as he is called.

"You could chop off Q's arm, and he will still show up, practice or play,'' McNamara said. "And do it so well you wouldn't even know he was hurt."

In better news, Q still has the use of both arms.

"I've had a few injuries,'' Lorenzo said. "I had a big club on my hand before."

They followed tearing some ligaments in his thumb.

"My hands are my weapon,'' Lorenzo said.

This is one player who swears by the youth football league in town. He's a product of the .

"I started with them in second grade,'' he said. "They taught me everything I know. And then, in the second grade, I knew I would love the sport forever."

Bills football is one thing. Playing for the Stevenson football team is another. How would this small player fit in on this big team?

"I was a little bit nervous coming in,'' he said. "It was overwhelming. It was a huge school with 4,000 students."

McNamara didn't discriminate against Lorenzo. He found out he had quite the athlete in this player.

"The main reason for Q's success is his incredible strength and speed," McNamara said. "He worked extremely hard in the offseason to become the player he is today. He has the ability to beat an offensive lineman with his speed, and then he will get leverage on an offensive lineman and push him around because of his strength. Q's motor is always running, and one of the great things about him is that he rises to the occasion during big games. He plays big in big games."

Stevenson had its way with Zion-Benton Sept. 16 and posted a 31-7 victory. Lorenzo was happy to see his team's offense put up some points.

"We still have some new players on our offense,'' Lorenzo said. "But they are getting better and better."

Lorenzo's statistics from a year ago tell a good story for Patriots fans.

He notched 53 tackles, 7 sacks and 6 tackles-for-loss. He's off to a good start this year as well. He had 20 tackles in the first three games. Add to that 2.5 sacks and 7 tackles-for-loss.

"Quentin gives our offense fits during our practices," McNamara said. "And we are glad we do not have to block him in a game."