Dalton quarterback plays through injury

Posted 1:53PM on Wednesday 8th October 2003 ( 21 years ago )

DALTON - Talk about a gutsy performance. Dalton quarterback Logan Coffey suffered torn ligaments on the thumb of his throwing hand on the second play against Paulding County on Friday. Yet, Coffey played on. He rushed for 102 yards on 30 carries and completed 10 of 18 passes for 90 yards with an interception. ``I thought it was broke,'' Coffey said of the moment he was injured. ``I heard it pop, but no way was I coming out of the game.'' In the first half, Coffey, a junior, completed 4 of 6 passes for 37 yards. His interception resulted from an overthrow. ``It was pretty hard to throw a pass really,'' he said. ``I didn't have much feeling in my thumb.'' However, in the second half and three overtime periods, Coffey was 6 of 13 for 53 yards. On the Cats' final possession of regulation, Coffey completed three straight passes resulting in two first downs. In the third overtime, he scored the game-winning touchdown on a veer option keeper. ``We had been going to Scottie (Peeples) the whole overtime,'' Coffey said. ``The offensive line had been blocking great, Scottie was running great. Coach (offensive coordinator Adam) Winegarden decided to call a veer, and it's a read play. I can give it, run it or pitch it. Everybody jumped on Scottie and I broke one tackle and that was it.'' ``Logan is a tremendous competitor, as good as I've seen at the high school level,'' Dalton coach Ronnie McClurg said. ``He goes hard every play in practice and it carries over into the game.'' The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Coffey has led the No. 8 Catamounts to five straight victories. He's rushed for 611 yards on 85 carries and eight touchdowns. He has completed 25 of 41 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. He's only been intercepted twice. Coffey will miss this week's game against Murray County, but is hopeful of returning to action against Ridgeland in two weeks. ``Possibly,'' said Coffey, who under went surgery Tuesday. ``It just depends on how I'm doing with a cast on my hand.'' Despite the injury, Coffey directed two first-half scoring drives, including an 83-yard, 17-play monster that consumed most of the first quarter. In overtime, the Cats were 3-for-3 in scoring possessions. Peeples scored twice on runs of 6 and 5 yards. After Dalton's defense held Paulding County to a field goal, Coffey got the clincher from 2 yards out. ``I feel like I've gotten better this season because I've gotten more experience,'' Coffey said. ``But it's real easy to look good when I've got so many great offensive players surrounding me.'' Coffey will be missed in other roles as well. He's the team's punter averaging 35.2 yards per kick and holder on field goals and extra points for place-kicker Adrian Mora. ``He's certainly a valuable player to our team,'' McClurg said.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/10/171439