HomeSportsCabot’s His Own Man

Cabot’s His Own Man

Following In the Footsteps of the Most Prolific Quarterback In San Marino High School History, Blake Cabot Has Learned Much from Carson Glazier, But Will Blaze His Own Trail

Following In the Footsteps of the Most Prolific Quarterback In San Marino High School History, Blake Cabot Has Learned Much from Carson Glazier, But Will Blaze His Own Trail

With starting quarterback Carson Glazier injured, Cabot – then a sophomore – led San Marino to 22 unanswered points and a berth in the State championship game.  Daryl Chan Photo
With starting quarterback Carson Glazier injured, Cabot – then a sophomore – led San Marino to 22 unanswered points and a berth in the State championship game. Daryl Chan Photo

A statement intended to be a benign compliment for San Marino High School junior Blake Cabot elicited a different response than expected.

“Those passes are looking very Glazier-like,” I said, as the Titans were walking off the field following last Saturday’s first scrimmage of the season.

“Oh no they’re not,” Cabot said, whirling around to make eye contact. “I’m not trying to be the next Carson Glazier. That will never happen.”

A heady response for a young man who just turned 16. Which means Blake received the keys to the family car just days before head football Coach Mike Hobbie tossed the lefthander the keys to the Titans’ offense.

“Carson was such a great inspiration, whether it was him giving me advice at the position or his demonstration of how the quarterback position should be played,” Cabot said later. “He excelled in every aspect of a pocket passing quarterback and the numbers don’t lie.”

They may not lie, but those numbers to which Blake refers are sometimes difficult to believe. Last season, Glazier passed for 4,119 yards and 47 touchdowns while leading the Titans to a 15-0 record and the CIF State championship game, in which he was unable to participate due to injury as the Titans suffered their only defeat of the season.

Now trying to earn a spot on the roster at Stetson University, Glazier was knocked out of the state regional contest last fall and had to stand on the sidelines as San Marino staged a historic 22-point comeback in the 4th quarter to defeat Sierra Canyon and earn the trip to Sacramento.

Late in that contest, Cabot was thrust into action with little hope remaining and many Titan fans heading for the exits. Undaunted, he threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to J.P. Shohfi and launched another alley-oop late in the contest that led to the game-winning touchdown and two point conversion. Cabot finished the night completing 7 of 11 passes for 126 yards and the touchdown – all in the game’s final 10 minutes – to spark the comeback.

Cabot had led San Marino’s junior varsity team to a 7-1 record and Rio Hondo League championship last fall but saved his best work for the biggest stage.

“He did a great job,” Hobbie said after that game. “For a sophomore to go in there and not get shaken up? Tremendous.”

The 2016 roster and offensive play sheet will little resemble those of a year ago. Expect Cabot to either hand off the ball or carry it himself much more than he throws it. No matter what the game plan, Cabot will be focused on what he can do to get this team the most wins possible.

“Carson had an amazing skill set that was unique and special,” said Cabot. “But I have my own set of skills, and I need to focus on me because I don’t doubt myself and what I can do. I don’t doubt that I can make solid passes or long runs, but I can’t focus on someone else’s abilities, because they aren’t mine.”

In sporadic varsity duty last year, Cabot threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns while running for 235 yards and five more scores. A double-duty athlete, Cabot was 3-0 with a 0.79 ERA this past spring as a pitcher for the Titan varsity baseball team. In 2015, the southpaw tossed a perfect game to blank La Cañada in junior varsity action.

Glazier – also left-handed – was also a very successful pitcher for the Titans, adding to possible comparisons.

“As a young quarterback, I was always in Carson’s ear trying to pry as much knowledge from him as possible,” said Cabot. “But I never had a thought process of being like him, and I continue that thought pattern today. To expect to be like someone else has no benefits. I want to come out of practices knowing that I got better. Whether it be drop backs or timing or leadership, that is the positive mindset I want to bring to the field every day because it doesn’t help me or my team when I am trying to be someone else and not being focused on being the best ‘me’ I can be.”

Cabot also praised Hobbie and his son, Matt – a former Division I signal-caller at Kentucky, who coaches San Marino’s quarterbacks – for their tutelage.

“Something that has really been important this summer,” Cabot explained, “never once has Coach Hobbie said something like ‘Carson would have made that pass,’ and that also gives me reassurance that he thinks the same way I do and that gives me confidence whenever I take the field.”

Hobbie praised Cabot for his improved accuracy and decision-making skills.

“Blake is playing well and getting better,” said Hobbie. “Things won’t look near the same as last year but that has nothing to do with Blake’s performance. We are just an entirely different team and have to do other things to be successful.”

The son of Cheryl and Chris Cabot and big brother to Avery, Blake seems intent on following that script, though nobody knows how – or when – the show will end.

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