Football is fun again for this Charlotte high school QB — now that he’s found his place

The youth football coach took a look at Gavin Adams and thought, “lineman.”

That’s how Adams’ football career started, as a lineman on a Charlotte Pop Warner football team.

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“I was miserable,” recalled Adams, who said he remembers having tears in his eyes. “I didn’t want to play on the line.”

After a few practices, he asked to be moved to quarterback.

“The coach asked me to try throwing the ball, and I threw it 40 yards,” Adams recalled. “Then I was the quarterback.”

And that’s how Adams got started on the track from Pop Warner’s South Charlotte Patriots to the backfield at Ardrey Kell High. Just like Josh Leclair before him, Adams played for the Patriots, Community House Middle, and then for the Knights.

He’s a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior now, and he’ll be in the starting lineup Friday night when the Knights (1-2) travel to Charlotte Christian (1-1) for a rare public school-vs.-private school game. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Adams is completing between 55 and 60 percent of his passes and has rushed for 101 yards in three games this season. He’s thrown for four touchdowns, and his two interceptions came in last week’s 42-28 loss to Marvin Ridge, when Adams was trying to lead a comeback against an opponent that knew he’d be throwing.

But he is more than that. Adams also is a team leader.

Following last Friday’s disappointing loss, Adams walked from one end of the Ardrey Kell field to the other, to talk to a teammate who was upset about the Knights blowing a 28-7 lead.

“That’s part of what I should be doing, being a leader,” Adams said later. “He was really upset, and I reminded him that we can learn from the loss, and that we can still accomplish our goals this season.”

Adams said a lot of the Ardrey Kell roster is made up of players who came up through the ranks together — Pop Warner football, then middle school at Community House, and now Ardrey Kell.

“We’re tight, and it goes well beyond the football field,” he said. “We try to build each other up, and to be there when we’re needed.”

Adams is proficient in both the short and long passing games, but if yardage is needed and everyone else is covered, he will take off with the football.

“Oh, I’m not afraid to run with it,” he said with a smile. “I’ve always done that. That’s a big part of who I am.”

He threw for 1,213 yards in seven games last year before being sidelined with an injury. He was on pace for a 2,000-yard season. But Adams said statistics take a back seat to winning.

“Our main goal is to win games,” he said. “We’ve gotten off to a bit of a slow start, but our nonconference schedule is pretty tough.”

In addition to Charlotte Christian and Marvin Ridge (2-1), the Knights also have lost to defending 4A state champion Weddington (3-0) and have beaten Providence (1-1).

The Knights figure to battle Myers Park and a revived Olympic team for the SoMeck 4A Conference championship.

“We know Myers Park and Olympic will be tough,” Adams said. “That’s what makes the tough nonconference schedule so important.”

He also said he enjoys the opportunity for Ardrey Kell to face a private school power. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials frown on such matchups, unless they have an outside company as sponsor. That is how Charlotte Christian was able to play Independence last week and now the Knights.

“It’s a chance to go up against a good team and see how we stack up,” Adams said. “That’s fun for us.”