Though Steelton-Highspire currently holds the distinction of producing the state’s all-time leading rusher in Jeremiah Young, the Rollers are a team that likes to air things out and spread the field. The blue and silver already have one career 4,000-yard passer (former head coach Rob Deibler), just missed another in the middle of last decade (Andre Campbell), and could have a second in potential Division-1 prospect Max Ward.
Ward, the 6’2, 195-pound field general for Steel-High, holds a verbal offer from Akron and has also received interest from a mixture of FBS and FCS programs like Bowling Green, Old Dominion, Pitt, Rutgers, Temple and Toledo according to national recruiting service Rivals.com.
The Steel-High senior to be burst onto the scene as a sophomore, throwing for 2,088 yards and 28 touchdowns and averaging 189 yards passing per game. He followed that up with a junior season in which he connected on 110-of-221 passes for 1,710 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 142.5 yards passing per game. Ward has posted a career varsity starting record of 15-8 (.652).
For his career, Ward has thrown for 3,798 yards and 38 touchdowns, and he will enter his senior season just 370 yards shy of Deibler’s career school passing yardage record of 4,168 yards. Of the returning seniors-to-be among District 3 quarterbacks in 2011, Ward has thrown for the second-most yards in his career, trailing only Lebanon’s Alex Trautman (4,048 yards).
Steelton-Highspire finished 7-5 overall and averaged 27.8 points per game in 2010, reaching the District 3 Class A semifinals before falling to eventual district champion Reading Holy Name, 42-7.
