Just 13 years old, Atlantis Charter/Westport's new varsity QB impresses in debut

FALL RIVER — The bright lights of opening night did not faze Anthony LeRoux .

The 13-year-old Atlantis Charter/Westport quarterback took his first varsity snap under center in Thursday's home opener against St. John Paul II. Athough it wasn't the result LeRoux wanted, it was a strong start to his high school career.

"It was good and I thought my team played well," said LeRoux after the Lions came away with a 40-6 victory at Atlantis Charter High School. It just wasn't the outcome we wanted."

In a contest filled with mistakes by the Tritons in Week 1, LeRoux was one of the lone bright spots.

His first varsity pass was completed to junior wide receiver Collyn Viveiros for 26 yards. Two plays later, LeRoux played Houdini in the pocket before firing a strike to Marvin Antoine, who dodged a couple of defenders before diving into the end zone for LeRoux's first varsity touchdown pass.

"After the first pass I completed, I felt comfortable," LeRoux said. "For my first high school (game), it was exciting."

The Westport native finished the game, completing 10-of-15 passes for 132 yards and no interceptions.

"I'm proud of my young guys and our QB stood right in there," ACS head coach Kazeem Adediran said. "His first action with grown men out there and he stood tall. He has arm strength, he has poise and stepped up in the pocket. The bright lights weren't bright for him at all."

LeRoux started playing quarterback at the age of 5. He later joined the Fall River Falcons and has been under the watchful eyes of Tritons assistant coach and offensive coordinator Trevellis Oliver for the last two years.

"He makes plays when there are not plays," Oliver said. "That's where we can really shine. I threw the whole (playbook) at him. He's half man, half amazing. It will get greater later. His decision making was great and can lead the team anytime."

LeRoux said it's onto the next game.

"We need to work as a team better," LeRoux said. "But we got it. It was our first game together. So we have to practice harder and we got this."

Takeaways

The Tritons were victimized of a costly turnover and safety that quickly turned from an 8-6 game to a 26-6 halftime deficit.

"This game is truly on me," Adediran said. "This [loss] is a representation of the head coach and nobody else. I'm not here saying out of our 22 starters, 12 of them never played football before. My son is long gone and I've made a lot of mistakes. I have to wear this one my shoulders and take full responsibility."

Lions senior quarterback Jack Kalkus enjoyed a heck of a night. He scored a pair of touchdowns, threw for another and tallied a 2-point conversion. Teammate Oscar Johnson caught a touchdown and rushed for another score.

"With the numbers being where it is at, we had guys playing both sides of the ball all game," said first-year head coach Doug Borsari, who collected his first high school win. "They played their butts off and that's all you want as a coach. Jack is a great leader."

Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Chezsports.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Just 13 years old, Atlantis Charter/Westport's new varsity QB impresses in debut