PREP FOOTBALL ’93 / FREEWAY LEAGUE : Logan Wants to Lead Troy Down Fast Lane

Troy quarterback Brian Logan probably dreams about throwing the game-winning touchdown, tossing a perfect spiral 50 yards to his favorite receiver as the final gun sounds, right?

“Actually, my favorite play is to hand off on a sweep play and watch the running back go 85 yards,” Logan said.

Say again?

“When the line makes a perfect hole, it’s a beautiful sight. I love it,” he said.

Recruiters will be watching to see if Logan, who has the fourth-highest rating among returning quarterbacks in the county, can lead Troy to a league championship. Nevada Las Vegas, Illinois and Oregon State are some of the schools interested in him.

At 6 feet 2, 190 pounds, Logan, who also plays for Troy’s baseball and soccer teams, has the physique of a potential Division I quarterback. He passed for more than 1,000 yards last season in Troy’s wing-T offense.

According to Troy Coach John Turek, Logan is the best quarterback he has had since Mike Pawlawski, who went on to play for California and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Pawlawski was a fiery competitor who passed for 1,496 yards and 14 touchdowns while earning all-county and league player of the year honors in 1986. He helped the Warriors finish third in the league.

“Right now, I’d say Brian is ahead of where Mike was heading into his senior season,” Turek said. “Brian has a lot of the same qualities. Whether he’s as good remains to be seen.”

Logan showed he could play well against the best last season, leading Troy to a 21-21 tie with Sunny Hills, the Southern Section Division VII champion and league champion.

Although Logan had one of his better games statistically against the Lancers, completing 11 of 17 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown, Turek said Logan turned the corner in a nonleague game against Costa Mesa.

Logan completed three of five passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66-yard scoring pass to Nick Ruzzi, in a 42-35 victory over Costa Mesa.

It was reminiscent of Logan’s freshman days.

“My freshman year, everything was hand off right, hand off left,” Logan said. “But that was OK because it was my first season playing football.

“In the Costa Mesa game last year, I think what Coach was talking about was that my leadership came out in that game,” Logan said.

After Troy had built a 34-13 lead, Turek removed Logan, but the offense sputtered and the Mustangs rallied to cut the deficit to 34-27 after three quarters.

“I came back in and we picked it back up,” Logan said, returning to take the Warriors on a scoring drive that sealed the victory.

That same leadership ability attracted former Cal Coach Bruce Snyder and his staff to Pawlawski. It’s something Logan knows he will have to demonstrate this season if he is to play in college.

“At some of the scouting combines, they really stressed that leadership is the biggest thing,” he said.

Logan would like to lead his team to a league championship, but he knows it won’t be an easy task for the Warriors to get past bigger teams in the league, such as Sunny Hills and Buena Park.

“We may not have the biggest people in the world, but I know on every single play they’re gonna give me their best,” Logan said.

“I’d rather have these guys, who work their butts off, than some big and slow guys who don’t.”

Said Turek: “I think Brian’s up there with the best quarterbacks in the county. We don’t have a lot of stars on this team, and Brian will be the only kid who will get a look from recruiters.

“He may not have the big stats, but we’re a different team. We don’t throw 40 times a game. He makes good decisions, has shown good leadership ability, and he is bigger and stronger this season.”