North Surry’s Joston Phipps was in pain before he even got into the Greyhounds’ game against Forbush Friday night.

No, it wasn’t a football-related injury. Phipps missed a practice during the week because of a trip to the beach, so North Surry coach Brian Hampton had the 5-foot-9, 155-pound junior quarterback sit out the first quarter. After months of preparing to play under the Friday night lights, all Phipps could do for those first 12 minutes was cheer his team on, knowing that he was helpless to go out and provide the offensive skills he would display throughout the rest of the game.

“It was real hard,” Phipps said. “I was just ready to get in the game, just ready to play.

“It’s like a feeling where you want to be out there, but you can’t. You just have to cheer your team on and encourage them from the sideline.”

Once Phipps was unleashed on the Falcons, he made up for the loss of action. The dual threat rung up 230 yards of offense, including 152 rushing yards in a losing effort.

“He makes our run offense a lot more potent,” Hampton said. “Now they’ve got to worry about two backs back there. Joston is a tailback playing quarterback in this offense.

“One thing about Joston is when he gets the ball, he’s a threat to take it the distance every time.”

When camp began, Phipps held down the backup quarterback spot behind incumbent Tanner Hiatt. When Hiatt went down with a leg injury during a scrimmage, Phipps was thrust into the starter’s position. Hampton said the transition was smooth.

“He’s been running some quarterback all year long in case something happens,” Hampton said. “It’s not like he had to learn it in a week.”

When Phipps is behind center, the Greyhounds’ spread attack gets another element added by the speedy runner. Rolling out of the pocket with receivers running down the field is a delight for Phipps and a nightmare for opposing defenses.

“It gives me more room to operate,” Phipps said of the spread offense, “and look who I have (downfield) because we have some pretty good receivers.”

So what happens when Hiatt comes back? Anyone expecting a controversy can forget it because the soft-spoken and ultra-polite Phipps has only one thing on his mind, and that’s winning football games.

“I’m just playing for the team,” he said. “To contribute to the team, to help the team. Whatever coach puts me at I’ll play.”

The reason Phipps has such an easy time learning and switching between positions is his intelligence, which extends into the classroom. In the summer, the 3.2 student would learn first-year coach Hampton’s plays in no time.

Phipps is hoping all of that parlays in a college scholarship. While he has yet to garner the attention of any programs, the junior has plenty of time — and talent — to get their attention.

Contact Ed Phillipps at ephillipps@mtairynews.com or 719-1921.