After watching Steubenville Big Red's Dwight Macon lead an offense for 48 minutes of football, the options for words to describe his performance are numerous.

Just don't call him a running quarterback. Simply, quarterback will suffice.

True, Macon can and will tuck the ball and go and Coach Reno Saccoccia isn't hesitant about sending in plays designed to keep the ball in his young playmaker's hands.

He runs with speed and elusiveness and can make even the best defenders miss.

But running with the ball isn't what defines Macon's ability as a quarterback. There's much more to the Big Red second-year starter's game than sprint outs, options and designed runs.

Take Thursday's season opener against Indian Creek for example.

Macon was directly involved in four of Steubenville's five touchdowns in a 34-0 victory, but only one of those four came as a result of a quarterback run.

The team's leading rusher as a sophomore after totaling more than 1,200 yards, Macon was credited with five rushing attempts against the Redskins. The result was 24 yards, including the 7-yard, first-half touchdown.

Then there's his passing stats.

Macon threw for 154 yards and three touchdowns on 10 of 15 passing. Statistically speaking, that's a completion percentage of nearly 67 percent and a QB rating of 218.9.

Effective, accurate, poised in the pocket. Those aren't terms that describe a typical ''running'' quarterback. But those words do describe Macon's performance.

To his teammates' credit, Macon is surrounded by a wealth of talent.

Joining him in the backfield is a Division I linebacker recruit in Branko Busick. No slouch there. He has a bevy of skilled receivers to throw to and Big Red annually boasts one of the top offensive lines around.

That being said, it's Macon that makes this well-oiled machine go.

He made that perfectly clear by averaging nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns per game during the postseason.

An Emphatic Yes

That was the answer to the question of could Union Local's Jordan Barbina duplicate his success of 2007, without the services of go-to-guy Zach Gust.

All Barbina did was throw for 372 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 51 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries in a rout of Meadowbrook.

Gust's apparent heir on the perimeter, Brandon Nicholes, burst onto the scene with a six-catch, 220-yard performance, capped by a pair of touchdown grabs.

Ground Assault

• Mickey Bednar, Steubenville Catholic: Crusaders back rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Air Raid

• Adam Shanks, St. Clairsville: Red Devil was an efficient 15 of 25 for 133 yards and two touchdowns against Edison.

• Derek-London Dierkes, Monroe Central: Seminoles QB threw for 138 yards and a touchdown while completing 12 of 14 passes. He also rushed for 41 yards and a TD.

• David Bonar, Shadyside: Tigers QB threw for 176 yards and two TDs on 11 of 31 passing.

Sure Handed

• Wes Rataiczak, Shenandoah: The Zeps' big-play threat, Rataiczak hauled in nine passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

• Daniel Star, River: Senior caught five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

• Trey Wiggins, Steubenville: Big Red receiver three passes for 69 yards and two scores against Indian Creek.

• Kyle Jorris, Monroe Central: Seminoles receiver nabbed eight passes for 96 yards and a touchdown.

• Jon Nagel, Martins Ferry: Purple Rider caught five passes for 85 yards and a touchdown against Buckeye Local.

• Nathan Butts, Shadyside: Tigers wideout caught five passes for 90 yards and a score.

Mr. Everything

• Eric Lucas, Beallsville: Blue Devil wasted little time in making an impact since his first game back following a season-ending injury in 2007. He rushed for 52 yards and two touchdowns, caught three passes for 24 yards and posted 13 tackles on defense, including five sacks in limited action.

• Cody Johnson, Shenandoah: Senior threw for 228 yards and four touchdowns in a shootout with Frontier. Johnson also rushed for 80 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown.

• Brody Call, St. Clairsville: Red Devil rushed for 113 yards and a score on 19 carries, caught three passes for 24 yards and intercepted a pass on defense.

• Dylan Potts, River: Junior signalcaller rushed for 109 yards and two scores while throwing for 106 yards and two other touchdowns in the Pilots' victory against Fort Frye.

Wrecking Crew

• Timmy Jones, Luke Lucas, Beallsville: Duo backed Eric Lucas with Jones and Luke Lucas each posting 12 stops. Jones had an interception and Lucas had a sack.

• Joe Honeywell, Bellaire: Big Red totaled nine stops to lead Bellaire's defense in a tough road loss to Thornville Sheridan.

• Sean West, Bridgeport: Bulldogs defensive lineman totaled four stops behind the line and recovered a fumble against St. John Central.

• Zane Butler, Ryan Jarvie, St. Clairsville: Butler led the Red Devils with 14 stops and a sack, while Jarvie totaled 11 tackles.

• Clay Francis, Steve Woodford, Martins Ferry: Linebackers Francis and Woodford each posted 10 tackles for the Purple Riders in a tough loss to Buckeye Local.

• Tyler Arigoni, Tyler Grant, Union Local: The Tylers combined for 21 stops, with Arigoni charting 13 and Grant adding eight, including one for a loss while causing a fumble.

• Michael Wayt, Cullen DeSantis, Indian Creek: Wayt finished with five solos and two assists against Big Red, while DeSantis had four solo tackles and seven assists.

• D.J. Duke, Tyler Jeffers, River: Duke amassed 11 solo tackles, including six for a loss and three assists while Jeffers posted eight solos and five assists with four tackles behind the line.

• Branko Busick, Steubenville: Big Red linebacker had nine tackles, including four for a loss, two sacks and a forced fumble in the shutout of Indian Creek.

• Tyler Kinchen, Mikey Habig, Monroe Central: Kinchen had 12 tackles, Habig had 11 and they each had a sack against Crestview. Habig added an interception.

• Zac Costlow, Steubenville Catholic: Crusaders senior made 12 stops while forcing a fumble.

• Johnny Merryman, Sam Falbo, Shadyside: Merryman recorded 12 solo tackles, six assists and forced a fumble while Falbo had 10 solos, six assists, recovered an onside kick and also forced a fumble.