STERLING – Heading into their Week 5 game in the spring, Sterling had a duo of quarterbacks in a platoon in Drew Kested and Kael Ryan and the knowledge that both had put in solid play through the first four games of the season and both would be back in the fall, Kested as a senior and Ryan as a junior.

But then Ryan suffered an ACL injury in the game against Moline and won’t play this fall. That left Warriors coach Jon Schlemmer with a quarterback platoon of Kested and sophomore Garrett Polson for the fall – that is, until Kested was injured late in Sterling’s Week 2 loss to Montini.

While Sterling is still hopeful to have Kested back by the end of the season, the quarterback platoon gets reinvented again, with Polson teaming up with senior Colt Adams when the Warriors host Galesburg on Friday.

“I just have to work harder and relax out there when I do get my opportunity,” Polson said. “I’m feeling pretty prepared, just have to stay relaxed.”

Adams took the spring season off, but took some reps at quarterback as a sophomore.

“Colt’s a good player,” Schlemmer said. “He stepped in a linebacker a lot for us, and he’s played some running back. He’s a really physical kid, and he’s got the capability to throw the ball. At the same time, he’s not afraid to tuck it and get those extra yards.”

Like Kested, Polson is a mobile quarterback, but uses his mobility differently. While Kested was used in read-option plays, Polson uses his mobility to move around in the pocket to avoid the pass rush and buy time.

“I have a pretty good arm and I try to look downfield,” he said. “I’m just trying to extend the play, waiting for people to get open.”

Through two games, Polson is 4-for-10 passing for seven yards. Adams has lined up at running back, getting two carries for nine yards.

Sterling comes off a loss this week, something the Golden Warriors haven’t dealt with much. Sterling’s only loss of the spring came in the final game of the regular season. The Warriors’ only loss of 2019 came in the Class 5A quarterfinals against St. Rita. The last time Sterling lost a game and then took the field a week later came in the first round of the 2018 playoffs, when Sterling shut out Chicago Phoenix a week after dropping the regular-season finale to Sycamore. In fact, Sterling’s last eight losses prior to Friday’s loss to Montini came in either the final game of the regular season or in the postseason. The last time the Golden Warriors lost a game prior to the final game of the regular season was Week 4 in 2015, a NIB-12 crossover loss at Morris.

“You’ve just got to learn from it,” Schlemmer said. “The kids, I think they know it. I’m not going to say we didn’t play good; we played pretty well at times against a good team, we just didn’t do enough to win a football game.”

The Silver Streaks come in having lost their first two games, but both were competitive. Galesburg opened the season with a 7-6 loss to Dunlap before falling 34-21 to Morton Week 2, a game the Silver Streaks led 14-13 at halftime.

Galesburg quarterback Tristan Legate has completed 25 of 40 passes for 318 yards this season, with Dre Egipciaco accounting for 11 of those receptions and 196 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown catch late in the Morton game.

Alex Egipciaco is Galesburg’s leading rusher with 20 carries for 106 yards.

“They’ve got big, physical tight ends,” Schlemmer said. “Their skill athletes, the quarterbacks do a good job. I know they’re going to be really hungry, especially dropping two really close ones. They have good athletes, and our kids know it. They saw it last week. They also saw that one or two plays can beat you, so we know we’re going to have to be really good against their kids on the perimeter.”