Hartz: AP 2B Player of the Year

Dylan Hartz is a student of sports. He plays basketball, baseball and football, but loves sports in general. From an early age the Lind-Ritzville High School junior has had a hunger for sports.

His interest in athletics reached a pinnacle this past week when the Associated Press named him the 2B All-State Player of the Year.

As quarterback and defensive back, Hartz posted impressive numbers and served as the field general for the Broncos as they marched to a 13-0 undefeated season and a WIAA 2B State Championship over Morton-White Pass.

Hartz got the news of his statewide recognition by the AP on Thursday of last week, during the team’s year-end banquet. Head coach Greg Whitmore had just finished handing out the team and league awards when he shifted gears and launched into an unexpected announcement. Whitmore had been given some early news — the AP 2B All-State Player list, which included a number of LRS players. He was told he could share the news as long as everyone kept it quiet until the official list was released Saturday morning.

After naming several of the Broncos, Whitmore announced that Hartz was first team quarterback and first team defensive back. Without a pause, he went on to state that Hartz was the state’s top player in the 2B ranks.

“It got pretty loud in that little gym. It definitely surprised me. It was heartwarming for sure,” Hartz said. “As I shook his hand, and everybody was cheering, I sat down and I didn’t know really what to do. At times, I’m not going to lie, I was sitting there and I thought about crying. But I held it back. It felt like everything I worked for throughout the season was worth it. At the same time it was definitely shocking.”

Hartz finished the season with impressive numbers. He threw for 1,664 yards, completing 130 of 213 pass attempts, 61 percent. He finished the year with 17 touchdown passes.

He was also mobile and rushed for 366 yards on 76 carries. He rushed for five touchdowns

On defense, he amassed 22 solo tackles, 23 first hits, 32 assists and one tackle for a loss. He also scored a touchdown on an interception.

Hartz is the type of sports fan that studies the game, the players, the rules and the technique,s and then uses the knowledge to improve his own game. While basketball is his first love, he enjoys playing all three high school sports.

Baseball was his first outing as a first grader, when he tried out and made the major league roster with his brother, Drew, who is two years older than him.

Both have been athletic and competitive growing up. At the high school level, they played together in basketball when Dylan started as point guard as a freshman.

“He even said he likes playing with me,” Dylan said. “He said I’m not selfish and we have grown together throughout high school sports more than we use to be. Arlt surprised me when he said he was going to start me at point guard for our first game. As the season went on and we (Dylan and Drew) started playing together, I think he really enjoyed it. I hoped he really enjoyed it at least. It was a lot of fun playing with him. We’d go home and talk about the game. He was one of the guys that always had his hands ready (for a pass).”

In addition to his brother, Dylan has a tight network of friends who join him on the field and the court. Connor O’Neill and Bridger Smith have been his best friends since they were young.

“We met in first grade and he invited me to his birthday party. I went and ever since then we’ve definitely grown up together,” Dylan said of Connor. “Bridger’s always been there too.”

For Hartz and the Broncos, winning the state title was a mountain they intended to climb. It was a goal one everyone else thought they could not achieve.

“No one really saw us coming,” he said. “But now we have a lot of returning players. That’s a big thing for football in general and we are returning a lot of the skilled players. When you see the names, Hartz, Whitmore, Ruzicka and others, you kind of have a target on your back. And I’m okay with that. People are starting to give us respect.”

The state championship victory was no easy task. Morton-White Pass was favored to win, buy 21 points in some circles. They were strong, fast and potent. They scored right away in the first quarter, and that’s when the Broncos proved their worth. Rather that quit or fold, they fought back and answered with a touchdown of their own a short time later.

In the fourth quarter, while trailing, they accomplished a huge feat, converting a fourth down and 19 play for a first down that led to the game winning touchdown with just a couple minutes left on the clock.

The most notable stat of the football game was the fact that Dylan and the Broncos were successful on four out of four fourth down conversion attempts.

“The entire game, even when they would score or they would make a great play, which they made a ton of them, I just told myself, keep confidence and keep moving and basically the pieces will fall where they may,” Dylan said. “We just wanted to put ourselves in an opportunity where we could win.

“The halftime speech was memorable,” he added. “Before our first game Whitmore drew a mountain on the board and he said ‘right now we are at boot camp.’ At halftime (championship game) he left it with ‘plant the flag.’ Now we are starting that tradition again for next year. We’re going to have a flag and work up that mountain and work to plant that flag again. We’re just working up step by step to try to get to the top.”

As the quarterback, throughout the season, Hartz worked to keep the offense charged and thinking positive, even when they struggled at times to score inside the red zone.

“I would try to take the message of the coaches and try to bring it to the field. We weren’t really finishing drives at times and we would get inside the red zone and just fall apart like we expected it to happen,” he said “They kept saying ‘you have got to smell it.’ We would do some drills at practice to flat out get in the red zone and get in the end zone. During games, if we were marching down field I’d say ‘It’s right there in front of us we just have to smell it.”

As a talented high school athlete, Dylan said his college plans aren’t certain. Playing sports at the next level may or may not be part of his future.

“Football, you just see guys getting concussions all the time, getting hurt like no other,” he said. “Baseball is fun but it just isn’t as exciting as basketball is for me. I really enjoy watching college basketball way more than NBA, it’s a little more exciting. At times I feel like I would go play no matter what just because of the love for the game. But I also have a backup plan. I want to have a normal life too.”

Hartz has been considering his options and talking to Whitmore about a future in sports medicine or coaching. He said Whitmore has suggested he consider becoming a teacher and a coach.

For now, nothing is off the table as Dylan focuses on basketball and then baseball in the spring. When summer arrives, his sports cycle will start over again as defending the team’s state football championship will be the first order of business when the fall 2013 season begins.

In the mean time, he said he is thankful for all the community support he and the team received this year.

He also noted that his parents have been dedicated to him and his brother over the years, and he appreciates all they have done to help him as he grows up. Especially the countless road trips for sporting events and camps.