Class 5A Blog: Houston County Bears don't skip a beat with QB Ryan Maxwell

Houston County has proven that they are just fine without star quarterback AJ Hill. The 5A rising power lost one of the best quarterbacks in the country to graduation last season, with the former four-star Hill heading to the college ranks after a high school career that saw him pass for over 10,000 yards and 123 touchdowns, both top seven in state history.

The Bears turned to sophomore Ryan Maxwell at the quarterback position. In his first career start, Maxwell completed 23 of 32 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Included in those two scores was the game-winning touchdown with only seven seconds remaining. He was extremely efficient and made great decisions.

Around Maxwell, the Bears have some high-end athletes that make his job easier. Colin Anderson is an explosive running back who has the ability to take any handoff to the house and is a good receiver out of the backfield. Receivers MJ Mathis, Jeffery Thomas, and Kavon Conciauro provide a trio of high-end options that give Maxwell at least one open target on nearly every play.

However, the Bears’ schedule only gets harder from here, with Perry and Warner Robins in the non-region slate and Northside-Warner Robins, Coffee, Lee County, and Thomas County Central waiting in region play. Four of those six schools have won a championship in the past five seasons, and all of them have won at least one since 2010.

Maxwell will need to grow even more for the team to compete for a region and state title. However, he has the upside to do so. As he grows both physically and mentally throughout the season, he should become an even more dangerous and impactful player.

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