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LETTS, Iowa – When the pocket collapses and Louisa-Muscatine quarterback Lucas Kemp takes off with the football, head coach Guy Dierikx gets thrills and chills.

“You can tell him one thing, but he’s always looking for that home run,” Dierikx said. “About the time you tell him not to run one way, he pops off a 20-yard run and makes four or five guys miss. It’s hard to tell him no.

“He always wants to be special with the ball in his hands, and that’s what makes him a difference-maker.”

Kemp, a junior, has given L-M’s offense life after taking over as the starting quarterback in the second week of the season.

For a program that was 0-9 last season, Kemp has directed the Falcons to a pair of wins in four starts, including a thrilling 36-35 triumph over Columbus Community last Friday.

Kemp threw for just 57 yards, but he had two touchdown passes. The last came with 55 seconds remaining to pull the Falcons within a point. Defensively, the linebacker had seven tackles, including a pivotal tackle for loss to halt a Columbus drive in the fourth quarter.

In addition to that, Kemp blocked a punt and had a 55-yard kickoff return on special teams.

“He always makes big plays happen when we need them,” senior Madison Chandler said of Kemp. “He’s gotten a lot better since last year. He’s been a big help for our team.”

Kemp, the starting quarterback on the junior varsity last season, started fall camp as a tight end/wide receiver while Tug McCleery was the quarterback. After dropping the season opener at Wapello, the coaching staff decided to flip-flop Kemp and McCleery.

In his first start, Kemp completed all four of his passes for 122 yards and ran for 55 yards and a score as the Falcons dumped New London, 26-7.

“At first, the game was moving really fast for him,” Dierikx said, “so that’s why we decided to go with Tug. We wanted to give Lucas that time to transition into it. “Once he got up to speed, he’s really thrived.”

Kemp relies on his athleticism to get himself out of sticky situations.

“I like to scramble,” he said. “I’m not going to run it if the pass is there, but I’m not going to take a chance of throwing it and making a bad decision if I can run with it.”

The 6-foot-2 and 155-pounder has emerged as a leader for the Falcons. Besides making the offensive calls, Kemp is L-M’s team leader in tackles.

“He was a great captain last week,” tailback Brode Hills said. “He plays hard every single play. When we’re running sprints, he’s always at the front.

“He’s just been waiting for his time to shine. Now that he’s in, he’s showing people what he’s made of.”

Dierikx said Kemp’s elusiveness makes him fun to watch.

“When you look at him run, it looks like he’s stumbling around because he’s so tall and lanky, but for whatever reason, he makes people miss,” Dierikx said. “When the ball is in his hands, he makes things happen whether it’s throwing or running.

“He’s just a natural-born athlete. Anything he does, he’s going to thrive in as long as he makes up his mind and keeps working hard.”

That could be Kemp’s biggest challenge.

Currently, he plays four sports – football, basketball, golf and baseball. Even during football season, he’s competing in open gym workouts for basketball and playing in a fall baseball league on Sundays.

“I just enjoy them all,” Kemp said. “It’s tough to do them all, but I like them all too much to give one of them up. It’s a lot of late nights.”

Besides sports, he’s also an avid hunter. After Monday’s practice concluded, Kemp, dressed in a camouflage coat, was headed to the field to do some duck and goose hunting before sunset.

“I love being out there, taking the weekends and just sitting back and relaxing,” Kemp said.

Kemp’s opponents aren’t relaxing, particularly after they watch him on film.

“He’s dangerous with the ball,” Columbus coach Jeff Martin said. “His athleticism and ability to escape and throw on the run is impressive.

“We’d like to have him.”

Preps to watch

Here are some of the other noteworthy high school performers this past week in the Journal circulation area:

- Mason Garcia, West Liberty, football: The quarterback completed 13 of 19 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns in the Comets’ 35-27 victory over Camanche last week. Garcia’s touchdown throws covered 54 and 80 yards, respectively.

- Nick Garretson, Muscatine, football: The senior, making his first varsity start at quarterback, completed 14 of 21 passes for 179 yards and no interceptions in Muscatine’s 32-0 homecoming win over Davenport North. Garretson also had 81 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns.

- Sarah Martin, Muscatine, swimming: In last week’s dual win over Davenport Central, Martin won the diving competition, the 50 freestyle and was apart of the winning 200 medley relay. She was also Muscatine’s top individual finisher at the Burlington Invitational on Saturday with a sixth-place finish in diving.

- Deane Wichelt, Durant, cross country: The junior won an individual title last Thursday at the PCM (Monroe) Invitational as the Wildcats finished second in the field. Wichelt completed the 3.1-mile course in 17 minutes, 4 seconds.