It's home game for Cutler

Return to Indiana evokes memories of state title victory

Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 29, 2007 at midnight

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"Ace of spades right, quarterback screen."

The play ended final preparations by Heritage Hills High School in Lincoln City, Ind., the day before the Class 3A state championship game in 2000, and had closed workouts the previous couple of weeks.

The call was designed to use a defense's aggressiveness to its detriment. The quarterback, working out of a spread formation with targets bunched to one side, tosses a lateral to the strong side of the formation, then enters into a pass pattern, hopefully uncovered on the opposite side of the field.

But being realistic back then, offensive lineman Adam Kress never envisioned getting much use out of what he essentially viewed as chicanery.

"I saw it as more of a trick play, where maybe we were up, to throw in and try to have fun with it," Kress recalled this week.

The foray deep into the playbook not only earned Heritage Hills its first title in any sport seven years ago in an overtime thriller to complete a 15-0 season, it won a measure of Southern Indiana respect.

It also served as a springboard to bigger things for a certain young high school star.

Jay Cutler didn't have his best day at quarterback on Nov. 25, 2000, against Zionsville, a team that, for the most part, had his school overmatched and even missed a last-second chip-shot field-goal attempt in regulation that would have snared the title. In fact, his school-record 19 tackles at free safety obscured his three-interception passing performance.

But it was Cutler getting his hands on the ball unconventionally that resonated with those that played and watched that night.

"Really, the only thing I remember is throwing the ball back to Jay," said Cole Seifrig, the running back who caught the lateral, then fired to Cutler alone behind a wall of blockers. "And as soon as he caught the ball, it was over, because there was nobody in sight."

The result: a touchdown reception from 12 yards out.

Cutler's in it for the long haul now.

On Sunday, he returns to the RCA Dome in Indianapolis for the first time since that magical high school moment, this time as the starting quarterback of the Broncos.

"Obviously, a lot's changed since then, but going back home will bring back fond memories, for sure," Cutler said.

One switch is that he now has multiple ticket requests with which to deal.

And if Zionsville was tough all those years, the NFL's Colts are two handfuls, with Indianapolis (3-0) seeking its 11th straight home victory against the Broncos (2-1).

"It's kind of a full-circle type of thing," Heritage Hills coach Bob Clayton said of Cutler's reappearance. "There's a lot of clichés you can use. But for one thing I'm glad to see him vindicate himself a little bit with some of the major universities around here. He was told by Purdue and Indiana and some places that he couldn't play for them. Of course, they were so damn good and winning so many games they could afford to turn down a guy like Jay.

"But I'm glad to see him back as a starting quarterback in the NFL. And for him to come back to the RCA Dome and Indiana in his second year in the NFL, it's pretty neat."

Small-town existence

Cutler grew up in rural Santa Claus, Ind., downstate from the RCA Dome.

His former school, Heritage Hills, absorbs students from about 10 surrounding towns but remains small, with a current enrollment of about 840. The building resides next to the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial and state parks. And it is not unusual for deer to gnaw on the grass of the adjoining football field.

The surrounding landscape is dotted by cornfields and bean fields. And big-box shopping excursions necessitate either a 45-minute drive to Evansville or an hour trip to Louisville, Ky.

That small-town atmosphere made it impossible for Cutler's athletic prowess to remain a secret, even when he was in middle school. That's when Clayton first found out about him. And by the time Cutler was a sophomore, he had beaten out a junior and senior for the starting quarterback job.

"He pretty much instantly took over the team and was looked up to lead that team, even as a sophomore," Kress said. "He had that demeanor about him. He was a leader and that's just what people expected from him."

Cutler eventually emerged as a player who could effortlessly fire rocket passes downfield but could just as easily take off after making his second or third read.

"He had a big arm but he was a very mobile quarterback back then," said former Colts tight end Ken Dilger, another Heritage Hills graduate who gave the pregame pep talk before the school's 2000 championship game. "The thing that probably college people didn't like about him was his throwing motion. I saw nothing wrong with his throwing motion. He was very accurate. He was a complete quarterback, even back in high school."

Cutler returned kicks and punts, in addition to his free safety and quarterback duties.

Clayton maintained that Cutler could have been successful in college as either a receiver or safety because of his size and speed. The coach did admit Cutler carried the ball too low as a passer, but that flaw was corrected when Cutler attended Vanderbilt.

Cutler's ability to make all the throws, with an accompanying quick release, came effortlessly.

"There's a few plays in my mind that stick out where he could be running backwards and throw off his back foot 40, 50 yards downfield for a touchdown or throw 40-yard out routes on a rope," Kress said. "You'd see other coaches or talk to other people who know something about football and they were just amazed. And you could hear the ball whistling past you when he was throwing it to a receiver."

Playing through pain

Heritage Hills averaged 51.4 points a game during Cutler's senior season. But it took a remarkable performance against Roncalli, a multiple state champion, in a semifinal state playoff game to send his school to the final. Cutler made three interceptions on defense and, despite playing with an ankle sprain, compensated on offense by playing out of the shotgun extensively.

"He literally picked them apart," Clayton said. "And we were like, 'Wow.' "

Cutler entered the final having thrown for 2,150 yards and 31 touchdowns. But he didn't wow anyone during regulation in the final. He completed only 9-of-16 passes for 102 yards with three interceptions as Zionsville controlled both lines of scrimmage.

"I know Jay had a lot of pressure on him to do well that day, so maybe he had a little bit of nerves or whatever," Seifrig said.

The offense's lack of success - Clayton isn't sure Heritage Hills had a second-half first down - prompted the bold, trick call on second down in overtime on a second-and-goal play after Zionsville kicked a field goal to take the lead.

"I'm in the huddle when he calls the play and I'm just like, 'Holy cow,' " Kress said. "We went up to the line, and it's all history from there."

Exceeding expectations

Cutler is the fifth Heritage Hills player to reach the pro level, following running back Bruce King (1985-87 with Kansas City and Buffalo); Chris

Sigler (Canadian Football League mid-1980s); Dilger (1995-2004, Indianapolis/Tampa Bay) and Jon Goldsberry (2005-07, Chicago).

It appears a sure bet Cutler will forge out the most lasting career.

"It's crazy," said Kress, who hung out with Cutler last summer when the quarterback returned to the Hoosier State for a local park fundraiser. "I still catch myself thinking sometimes I'm 24 years old and I can't really imagine myself being in the NFL. I'm jealous, just like anybody else. And it's kind of odd to think that a buddy that I grew up with and went to high school with and shared a locker room with is running the show for the Denver Broncos right now - and doing a pretty dang good job of it."

Dilger said Cutler has "surpassed everyone's expectations as far as how far he's gone," though it was hard to project his exact future in high school.

"I always thought he'd be a good quarterback," Seifrig added. "I didn't know he'd be doing as well as he is right now. But I think it's great he is."

rasizerl@RockyMountainNews.com

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