ARCOLA (WCIA) — Arcola freshman Brody Phillips didn’t have time to be shocked when he went into his first varsity game at quarterback earlier this season.

“I was like nervous at first and I thought about it as soon as I took my first snap, it was awesome,” Phillips said. “I was like, ‘Alright, here we go, we have to prove something here.'”

And after that first snap, the nerves went away for Phillips, who had never played quarterback before this year, let alone on varsity.

“Coach just knew I played baseball, so he knew I had kind of an arm,” Phillips said. “First day of summer camp, I showed up and he was like, ‘I want you to be JV quarterback.'”

“Playing varsity quarterback as a freshman is not an easy task just mentally, let alone physically, and he’s handled both really, really well,” first-year Arcola head coach Steve Snider said.

Little did Phillips know he would soon be cast under center for the Riders after Jayden Hensonstice went down with an injury in week three. QB 1 was a role Brody’s older brother Braden knew he had in him.

“I knew he was very athletic and had the capability of doing everything at the varsity level but I was just really glad to see him step up into the quarterback position,” Braden Phillips said, a junior receiver for the Riders.

And maybe it’s sibling intuition but three of Brody’s touchdowns have been to his brother so far this season.

“We’ve always thrown to each other in the backyard, so maybe that plays a part in it,” Braden Phillips said about his brother.

“He’s a stud and he’s hard on me all the time, but that’s part of being a brother and it’s awesome,” Brody said about Braden.

That Phillips connection will need to be on point if the Purple Riders want to play in the postseason. Arcola needs to win its final two regular season games to become playoff eligible.

“They’re getting fired up and we’re doing things right at the right time at the season and the back is against the wall,” Snider said.

First up undefeated Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond in the Friday Football Fever Spotlight Game of the Week.