It was only a year ago I saw this tall, blonde-haired kid in street clothes chucking footballs 65 yards down the sidelines.

I didn’t know who he was or where he came from.

I soon found out the kid’s name was Josh Fullington and he was a sophomore at South Kitsap.

The next obvious question was why he wasn’t suited up in an SK uniform.

Fullington was a transfer from North Mason High School after his freshman year and couldn’t play any varsity sports during his sophomore year because of WIAA transfer rules.

Also an accomplished pitcher, Fullington would have been fixture on the varsity baseball team, but instead was relegated to junior varsity.

Now a junior, Fullington quickly introduced himself to a packed crowd of SK fans in the season opener against Snohomish last week.

Making his varsity and starting debut, Fullington shined, completing five of eight passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns.

The one play that may epitomize how special Fullington may become is the touchdown pass he threw to senior wide receiver Cody McCulley early in the third quarter.

McCulley ran a fly route down the left sideline.

Though McCulley’s defender, Ross Fay, was right behind him, Fullington zipped a dart into McCulley’s hands about 25 yards down field.

McCulley finished off the pass play with a 30 yard run into the endzone.

I’m no lip reader, but when I looked over at the SK sideline, the word “wow” was mouthed by SK coach D.J. Sigurdson.

Fullington proved it was no fluke, either.

He hooked up earlier with junior Richard Fein for touchdown passes of 53 and 25 yards.

What may impress SK fans the most is the unassuming nature of Fullington.

When asked about his SK debut, Fullington responded in a way that didn’t sound programed like some SK players have sounded in the past.

The culture of SK football has been imbedded in his head, yet his personality molds perfectly into the “perfect SK quarterback.”

“I came into this game and I knew I had a job to do,” Fullington said. “It’s not about the big plays and it’s not about how good of passes you throw. It’s how well you run the offense, what decisions you make, and how you run the team an remain calm at the same time. That’s what I was trying to do.”

Though admittedly nervous at first, Fullington said he always felt in control of the offense, and he attributed that to the brotherhood of his teammates.

“This is the best bunch of guys I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “There’s no bad feelings. No one will just start chewing on you.”

One of Fullington’s biggest fans is McCully.

“He seriously performed amazingly,” McCully said. “He stepped up and took the bull by the horns. He was on the money today.”

McCully understands SK’s preference is still on the running game, but he said there’s going to be more balance this year.

“We have the line,” he said. “We know we can run it down (opponents’) throats but we’ve got a great group of receivers and a great quarterback who can throw where we need it.”

It’s only one game into the season, but it is the time Fullington has spent practicing with his teammates after last season that has already revealed a chemistry.

Sigurdson also gave praise to Fullington’s effort, but also noted the team effort that contributed to his success.

“It took a whole bunch of guys doing their job to get that ball out of his hands,” Sigurdson said. “Josh did his job and the receivers caught it and ran with it. It was real nice for them to make plays.”

Fullington said he’s not one to make predictions, but it is through hard work he thinks the team can go far this season.

“I think we’re going to be a very good team as long as we can progress every single game,” Fullington said. “We learn from our mistakes in the previous game and continue to build.”

Fullington is the architect to build this team into a winner, but he’ll tell you he’s just one of the guys wearing the hard hats.

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