Steven Thompson's rapid rise at quarterback keyed Carl Albert's unlikely run to Class 5A title

He was backing up starter Caleb Toney there a year ago, hoping for a break.

When he finally got the chance, becoming the full-time quarterback after a season-opening loss to Southmoore, Thompson certainly took advantage.

He earned the starting quarterback job, kept improving throughout the year and Dec. 1 hoisted the gold ball after leading the Titans to their 11th — and most unlikely — state title.

Thompson earned Oklahoman Big All-City Offensive Player of the Year honors.

“Steve developed very fast,” Carl Albert coach Gary Rose said. “Really fast. He's very coachable. He's a great athlete. He has a great balance and great vision.”

Rose expected Thompson to be a very good quarterback for Carl Albert someday. He even thought Thompson might be a very good one by the time the season ended.

But he didn't expect to have that kind of a player leading his offense by midway through the season.

After a 1-5 start, though, Rose started seeing things fall in place for Thompson.

“All of that stuff we thought would develop by the end of the season and he'd have it next year,” Rose said. “But then he's there by the middle of the year and when it gets to where he was in the playoffs, it's phenomenal how he developed.”

It was that sixth game — a 21-17 loss to Guthrie that put the Titans on the brink of being eliminated from playoff contention — that gave Thompson the boost to become the player he was for the remainder of the year.

“When we lost that game but had a chance to win I just decided then that I had to be a leader on this team and had to do whatever it took to help this team win,” Thompson said.