Blake Barnett, his swagger, his playmaking, have left Erie for Manhattan, Kansas.

Bekkem Kritza, meanwhile, has gone to Florida, with a place at Happy Valley still slated in his future after a brief reunion with Fairview.

It doesn’t mean there are no local standout quarterbacks left in the area for this fall.

Here are four QB storylines to follow.

Slinging Golden Eagle

Frederick’s Gavin Ishmael led the 3A classification in passing yards per game last season (250.5), totaling 2,756 yards and 29 touchdowns through the air (36 total) to just eight interceptions.

Ishmael has already picked up a few collegiate offers this summer, per his social media. One being from the Division II-power at the Colorado School of Mines.

Last fall, Ishmael threw more than 300 yards in a game four different times. His career high of 384 yards came in the Golden Eagles’ 66-37 loss to Lutheran in the opening round of the 3A playoffs, where he finished with five total TDs, three through the air.

While his arm and accuracy are his ticket to the next level, Ishmael is a sneaky-good runner, finishing 2023 with 803 yards and seven rushing scores.

Worley or Jackson, or both?

In 2023, Broomfield had a pair of talented quarterbacks in CT Worley and Darien Jackson. If both return, each may get their chances for a team looking to make another title run.

Worley led the Eagles with 896 yards through the air last fall. Though, it was Jackson who led the team with nine passing touchdowns.

Worley can do damage in a couple ways. He’s as comfortable running between the tackles as he is in standing the pocket. In 2023, he rushed for 659 yards and a team-best 15 scores on the ground.

Jackson added another layer to the offense, where his pinpoint accuracy (62-for-94 passing) and big-play throws (14 yards per completion) were pivotal in Eagles’ run to the 4A semifinals. Especially late in the season.

As the Eagles were trying to lock up a first-round bye in their last game of the regular season, Jackson relieved Worley and threw three touchdowns in the second half to beat Heritage. That postseason, he threw for 364 passing yards and two passing TDs.

Kolby!

In his second year as Longmont’s starter, Kolby Holmes led his offense to more than 33 points per game and the Trojans to a spot in the 4A playoffs.

If Longmont’s defense can improve (after giving up just under 33 points a contest), some new playmakers emerge (with back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher Cole Gaddis now at the Colorado School of Mines), Holmes could have the Trojans challenging atop a strong North 2 League (which features Broomfield and other 2023 postseason teams in Grand Junction Central and Riverdale Ridge).

Last year, Holmes made strides in his second year. He threw for 1,961 yards and 17 passing scores, and he rushed for 623 and another 13 TDs.

In Longmont’s 55-42 loss to Pueblo West in the opening round of the 4A playoffs, he put on a show, throwing for four scores while rushing for another two. That night, three of his passing TDs went to Joey Foot, who is also expected back after being Holmes’ favorite target last fall. Foot finished with the state’s fifth-most receiving yards with 1,156.

New era at Erie

Barnett rode into the high school football sunset, already a surefire pick to dominate attention at any one of the upcoming Class of 2024 reunions he chooses not to skip. In 2023, he set the state’s 11-man TD record en route to leading Erie to its first football state title. While replacing his production will be a near impossible task, Ronin Ward and Lincoln Hageman have shown flashes at QB in limited time.

Who will lead the defending champs in 2024?

Who likes questions with no confirmed answers?

While there has been a disassembling of the reigning 4A champs, which beat Palmer Ridge in last year’s final, there are familiar pieces back for the Tigers as well. Including at QB.

The only two players to log passing stats in relief of Barnett in 2023 — Ward and Hageman — are listed on the team’s current MaxPreps roster.

Ward, now a senior, completed half of his passes for 77 yards and a score. Whether he is the starter or not at quarterback, he should be a major contributor on both sides of the ball. Last fall, he rushed for 315 and five TDs, and he was third in team tackles with 68.

Hageman, a junior, and the younger brother of Longmont Times-Call defensive player of the year Carson Hageman, is coming off a season where he threw for 47 yards and a score. Defensively, he logged 19 tackles, four coming in the title game in Fort Collins.

It’s a similar situation at Fairview. While grad Rowan Risner and Kritza took the majority of snaps last season, senior Jett Howard went 17 for 24 with three touchdowns and no interceptions last season.