Cameron Wright dropped back deeper from the shotgun, stepped up toward the line of scrimmage and floated a pass over the middle to Kejuan Thomas for a 31-yard gain.
That play was how Merrillville’s sophomore quarterback introduced himself in Friday night’s scrimmage at Lowell.
Wright is succeeding D.J. Wilkins, a three-year starter for the Pirates who’s their career leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns and completions.
Second-year Merrillville coach Brad Seiss doesn’t want to put too much pressure on the 5-foot-9, 143-pound Wright, who has remained unavailable for interviews. But from the offseason into the preseason and into the scrimmage against the Red Devils, Seiss has liked what he has seen.
“He made the right reads,” Seiss said of Wright. “He was a little late on his throws. He needs to be a little more decisive. More than anything, we have to protect him by being able to run the football and our receivers have to get open for him. All in all, he did fine.”
Among his other highlights Friday, Wright connected with James Kirklen Jr. for a 6-yard touchdown. That score, a nifty fade to the deep-left corner of the end zone, came after the Pirates began their series from the Lowell 10.
Kirklen has noticed Wright’s steady improvement.
“We have good chemistry,” Kirklen said. “We’ve been practicing hard getting the ball right. It was a nice play (on the TD).”
Kirklen, a senior, has had numerous one-on-one conversations with Wright, who had been Merrillville’s JV quarterback. The emphasis consistently has been on the mental and emotional aspects of the game.
“We have to keep him motivated, never put him down,” Kirklen said. “Let him know he made a good pass. If he made a bad pass, just tell him to forget it and make a better one.
“I just tell him, ‘Stay positive and never double-guess yourself.’ He just has to keep his head right and stay positive. Keep moving forward. What’s in the past is in the past.”
In the recent past, Merrillville has had a proud lineage of quarterbacks that includes the three Raspopovich brothers, Evan Parker and Dolapo Macarthy.
Most recently, Wilkins, who headed to prep school at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas to improve his basketball prospects, was last season’s Post-Tribune Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 2,947 and 26 TDs as a senior.
Seiss isn’t asking, or even expecting, Wright to take on as much Wilkins.
“We help him by blocking well, by running the football well and by our receivers doing a good job,” Seiss said. “Our quarterbacks have been really, really good, but we’ve also had receivers who can make plays.
“We have a good group now that’s really unselfish. They know they can have a big night catching the ball, they know they can have a big night blocking. They do a good job of just playing hard.”
The scrimmage was cut short because of rain and lightning — with both teams hustling off the field — but not before Lowell scored four rushing TDs on its series from Merrillville’s 10.
More Top Picks Best Retractable Awnings For Decks
Jordan Jusevitch, a junior who was an All-State safety last season and participated in the Adidas Freshman All-American Bowl, and senior Trevor Espravnik each scored two TDs for the Red Devils, who graduated the tradition-laden program’s No. 2 all-time rusher in Isaac James.
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff