By Annie Hynesbr
Winning awards and receiving honors has become almost commonplace for Kent County High School quarterback Stevie Curran. Coming to the school in his sophomore year from St. Mark’s in Wilmington, Delaware, Stevie was the starting quarterback as soon as he got there. Though his final season was filled with tough, close losses (6-5 record), his talent on the field did not get overlooked. He was named 1st Team Best Quarterback of the Maryland All-State team for Small Schools. He was the all-time leading passer in the Bayside conference, completing 127 out of 221 attempts for 2,658 yards and 36 touchdowns in his senior year alone. Along with All-State, he was Bayside Offensive Player of the Year and he participated in the Crab Bowl (the Maryland All-Star game for seniors in high school). Culminating with play in the Big 33, which is an even bigger All-Star game between Maryland and Pennsylvania athletes.
With Stevie in the driver’s seat, KCHS was a team to fear. With an average of 42 points a game, his hard-driving ways and his level of play has won him a scholarship to play football at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Shepherd is a highly regarded NCAA Division II team. Just this year, Shepherd posted a 13-1 record and reached the Division II Football Championship. Shepherd also won the Lambert Cup, a prestigious award that is “symbolic of supremacy” given to the best team in the Eastern U.S. as voted by Metropolitan New York Football Writers. Stevie will be joining an elite group of athletes.
Before there were awards and college scholarships, there was Pop Warner. Stevie started playing in his local Pop Warner program at the age of 9. It was there that he grew to love the sport and his teammates whom he considers his others. “They have my back no matter what,” Stevie says. It is a bond built by being a team, practicing and playing nearly seven days a week. Stevie feels the same appreciation for his coaches. When asked about his present high school coaches, Stevie responds, “They are a big part of who I am today. They put a lot of overtime in me and I really appreciate all of their work.”
When not on the field, Stevie enjoys watching professional football. His hero of the game? Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. “He is one of the most competitive athletes to play the game. He also was a very low draft pick and an underdog, to sum it up. But he never gave up and put forth his best effort, as a result he will go down in history for his profession.” Stevie would one day like to be a professional football player like his idol, but he also has an interest in studying business, specifically finance because of his love of numbers.
For many young players, the number of awards and accolades could produce a level of cockiness. Not Stevie. When asked how his family would describe him, he hoped they would say that he was a caring and loving person.
