For everything that was being thrown at Hunter Haley at the beginning of the season, it took a certain amount of mental toughness as well as physical strength.
Haley, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound senior, was being asked to take over at quarterback for the Lubbock Christian football team, a position he’d not played full time since junior high. And he was being asked to do so less than a year removed from surgery to repair a compound fracture of his lower leg.
So, his father and head coach, Hutch Haley, was understandably concerned about how his son would progress, even going so far as to make him off-limits from contact during the Eagles’ preseason scrimmages.

“We talked to the opposing coaches that because of the severity of the injury and our offensive line in front of him being untested, and Hunter agreed, that he just needed to get the feel for the game again,” Hutch Haley said. “I thought that was real important to me as a father and as a coach, and when we got to that first game against Smyer, I didn’t see any tentativeness and he was able to play full out.”
Hunter Haley’s been playing full out ever since, and he has helped lead LCHS to a perfect 5-0 start and a 1-0 mark in TAPPS Division III-I play after a 40-22 victory over Fort Worth Calvary Christian on Friday. Haley completed 7 of 13 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for another score to earn this week’s honor as Avalanche-Journal City Player of the Week.
“I didn’t know the amount of responsibility that was involved with (playing quarterback),” Haley said. “I’ve played receiver and some other positions, but I think the most responsibility is on the quarterback. I think with every game it’s getting more familiar for me and I’m getting more familiarity with the offense and the spread and how we do things.”
The passing yardage was a bit of a departure from the norm for Haley, who has done most of his damage running the football. On the year he has rushed for 273 yards, but six of his 46 carries have gone four touchdowns, which leads the team. He’s also been an effective passer, completing 26 of 46 passes (56.5 percent) for 474 yards and seven touchdowns to just two interceptions.
Those are the types of numbers Hutch Haley was looking for from the quarterback position, no matter who it was taking the snaps.
“We’ve been really pleased with what he’s done since the last time he was under center was seventh grade,” Hutch Haley said. “We felt like he was the guy we needed just because of his leadership, he’s an intelligent player and he has the playmaking ability we want in that position. We hoped he’d do a nice job for us, and I really don’t know where the passing game would be if not for him. If you can throw the ball well it puts tremendous pressure on the defense.”
Hunter Haley had the pressure of expectations from the position and uncertainty about his health going into the season, but he’s squelched those concerns both from the outside and within himself.
“It was quite different,” he said of the first of the season. “I had to get used to the flow of the game again and I was a little nervous at first, especially concerned about contact. But as it got better it got easier. At the beginning of the season I used to think about it before a game and would just say a little prayer to help me be safe. But I don’t even think about it anymore. It just comes natural.”

School: Quarterback
Position: Lubbock Christian
Height/weight: 6-3, 180
Classification: Senior
Last week: Haley helped lead the Eagles to their a 5-0 record and a 40-22 win over Fort Worth Calvary Christian in their TAPPS Division III-I opener by completing 7 of 13 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a touchdown. He entered the season at quarterback for the first time since seventh grade and is coming off a broken leg suffered last season that required surgery.

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