Prep Charter speedster makes clean getaways

WHEN PREP CHARTER junior running back Quadir Strothers gets to churnin' - look out.

It doesn't matter if it's returning kicks and punts, taking a handoff or chasing down a deep pass; the 5-8, 160-pound speedster glides effortlessly with something very specific in mind.

"The only reason I think I'm so fast is that I don't like going down," Strothers said with a smile. "When we play in the dirt, I don't like getting dirty. So I just say, 'Don't go down, just keep running.' "

Luckily for Strothers and his Prep Charter teammates, yesterday's rain clouds were drip-free. However, unfortunately for KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy, Strothers stayed dirt-free most of the night.

The Huskies (4-0-1, 2-0) zipped past the Lions, 41-8, yesterday at the South Philadelphia Supersite. Strothers finished with a pair of rushing scores and added another in the air. He also added an interception and 130 yards in returns (47 kick, 83 punt).

Truth be told, only the tiny rubber bits on the turf field could have soiled Strothers in this Public League AA contest. But he wouldn't have liked that, either.

"I don't like getting dirty at all, no matter what," he joked. "I just like to be clean."

It's been that way since he was younger. Apparently, his "quicks" haven't changed either. He said he was 12 when he first realized he was faster than most.

"Played with the Cecil B. Moore Chiefs and I had a kick return and just went straight to the outside and nobody could touch me!" Strothers said. "Off to the races. And out here, I just know I'm too fast because of the line we have. Our line is just untouchable. They make good blocks, I cut off of them and it's just off to the races after that."

The big-'uns: Marcus Bryant (junior, 275 pounds), Macquel Hardy (senior, 295), Mike Brown (senior, 260), Karamo Dioubate (junior, 260) and Heston Jenkins (junior, 305).

Senior quarterback Vian Dolo also took advantage of huge, gaping holes. He finished with 85 yards passing, 86 yards rushing and two each of passing and rushing touchdowns.

The Lions (2-3, 1-1) earned points from a late, 26-yard TD pass from Domair Harris to Kyree Ruffin.

As for Strothers, who lives on 16th Street and Lehigh Avenue in North Philadeplhia, his speed was on full display on a 42-yard, third-quarter burst. His other scores were from 19 (run) and 10 (shovel pass) yards out. Perhaps his most memorable play came on a second-quarter punt return.

With coaches and teammates screaming "poison" - the universal term for get away from the ball during a punt - Strothers had other plans.

"I saw it, I saw it," he said of his 36-yard return deep into Lions territory, "but I saw some clear lanes so I just had to take off and try to get some yards."

Strothers said his coaches didn't mind.

Richard Watson, a former coach of his, didn't mind, either. In fact, he was in attendance and came down for a closer look during Strothers' postgame interview.

"I've been playing football almost all my life," Strothers said. "It's just fun. I like to do it and it keeps me out of trouble and keeps me on the right track. And I couldn't do it without that guy right there [Watson]. That's my middle-school coach and that's like my pop right there."

"I went to KIPP middle school," Strothers said. "That's why this game was kinda fun. I know half the kids over there, so there were just memories."

Strothers has been at Prep Charter since his freshman year and has made memories of his own.

"I like the way the team comes together and becomes a family," he said. "I just like having friends, brothers and having fun on the field doing what we love."