Orangewood Christian School senior Ian Stone thrives as starting quarterback -- Observer Preps

They say that when one door closes, another one opens. That certainly rings true for Orangewood Christian School quarterback Ian Stone.

The senior has exceeded expectations for the Rams’ football squad, leading his team to a 5-2 record — clinching a playoff berth in the process.

In Monday’s game, Stone and the Rams crushed Central Florida Christian Academy 60-0 to secure second place in the standings. Stone rushed for three touchdowns, passed for two and even caught a touchdown pass.

The 17-year-old has picked up 20 rushing and throwing touchdowns in seven games.

“That’s definitely a school record,” head coach Bill Gierke said.

“If we didn’t have him, I don’t know where we’d be,” defensive coordinator and quarterback coach Jeff Gierke said. “We have some good players, but I don’t know if we’d be in this position. That’s all him. He put in the work to be that good.”

It’s been an unconventional journey for Stone to the starting quarterback position. For starters, he hadn’t played quarterback in a live game since he was in Pop Warner.

The Orangewood senior grew up playing both football and lacrosse, but despite playing football since the second grade, Stone’s first love was lacrosse. He started playing for the Apopka Lacrosse Club in fifth grade before playing at Apopka High School — his zoned public school — during his high-school years, earning the title of captain on the team and looking to get recruited.

A week before the first lacrosse game this year, a coach pulled him aside with some bad news.

“Some miscommunication between Apopka and Orangewood happened, and I couldn’t play at Apopka while attending here, so I dropped lacrosse completely,” Stone said. “After my junior year, I had no intention of playing football again. I was going to play lacrosse and commit that summer. It was a shot to the heart. Lacrosse was my thing and it got taken away from me.”

With lacrosse out of the picture for the foreseeable future, Stone leaned on football. He always wanted to play quarterback, but through most of high school, he was considered too small and lacking the arm strength. He held the position of backup quarterback his sophomore and junior year but hardly saw any playing time in the position. He was typically positioned as a free safety and wide receiver instead, as well as a running back in his freshman year.

Toward the end of his junior year, Stone learned he would become the new starting quarterback the following season.

“It’s like returning home,” Stone said. “That’s what I grew up being. I was always in the role somehow. Even when I was a receiver, they’d have a double pass, and I’d catch the ball and throw it down field.”

Stone went to work with his football coaches and hit the weight room in December. He put on 35 pounds of muscle before the season started and built up his throwing arm, increasing his max throwing distance from 30 yards to about 50 yards.

His hard work has paid off with a storybook season so far. One door had closed for Stone, but another one opened.

“God definitely had a plan for me there,” Stone said, adding that his coaches helped him every step of the way.

Regardless of how he found his way to the starting quarterback position, Stone hopes he can help his team move toward its ultimate goal: a state championship. He’s been a student at Orangewood since third grade and wants to leave a legacy in his final year.

“The football atmosphere here has completely changed,” Stone said. “We can make school history. That’s what I’m looking for.”