The Ignite Showcase welcomed over a dozen student-athletes from Sebring High School in Highlands County in January, where a few really got to show their stuff in front of the rest of the rest of the Tampa Bay athletes. One even took home an MVP award. Sebring sent their starting quarterback, Brian Lane to Ignite, where he shined in front of his peers. Lane has started since his freshman year at Sebring and will finish out his career as a four-year starter.

BCP caught up with the Blue Streak to find out a little bit more about himself and his thoughts about going into his final year.

BCP: First off, you’ve been the starting quarterback at Sebring since your freshman year. What has that meant for you?

BL: “To be a starter, it really means a lot to me. It had a lot to do with me working really hard but I really have to thank my coaches for the belief in me to be able to lead their team over the past three years.”

BCP: Did the style of play surprise you at the Ignite Showcase seeming as you hadn’t seen a lot of those guys before?

BL: “Not really, I’ve talked to some people about it and they told me about what to expect there and what was going to go on so I was ready for it.”

BCP: What do you think is one of the main differences between playing in Highlands County compared to Hillsborough or Pinellas?

BL: “I think the biggest thing is the way that people look at you. Coming from Sebring, a lot of people don’t even know where it is, things like that, so I feel that from a big school, they’re going to know who you are at camps, but coming from a school like Sebring, they’re not really going to know you or know where you’re from so you have to really stand out.”

BCP: You guys brought out quite a bit of bodies to Ignite, one of them one an MVP award [RB Roger Yarde], what did you guys feel was so good about the camp to send such a large number of guys out there?

BL: “Our coaches told us that this camp was a good camp, it gets a lot of kids offers, gets us exposure, it gets us out there in front of people.”

BCP: Sebring basically had a perfect season last year except for the two district losses against Auburndale and Lake Gibson. What happened in those games?

BL: “I don’t really know, it’s just hard to say. We had a really great week of practice in both weeks, had a great week of game prep, I guess it just came down to execution of that game plan on game night.”

BCP: What are some of the thoughts in your head knowing that you’re eventually going to have to play the reigning Class 6A Runner-Up in Lake Gibson next season for district play?

BL: “We know that we’re going to have to play them again, we know they’re going to be a tough opponent, definitely. We’re just going to have to prepare for them, gotta be ready, physically and mentally and on all three sides of the ball.”

BCP: Talk to us about what goes on off the field, what are you involved in outside of football at Sebring?

BL: “At school, I’m in National Honor Society, a program for people with good grades and to be a leader in your school. You have to have 20 hours of community service, and I really like giving back to the community, so that’s really cool to be in it. I love it in NHS. We’ve got events like we’re going down to one of the elementary schools and helping out with like a petting zoo down there, which will be cool.”

BCP: Is there any recruiting interest coming for you?

BL: “I have one offer from Eastern Kentucky and that’s about it right now.”

BCP: What’s going to be the most important thing as a team to get you guys back to the playoffs for the first time since 2015?

BL: “There’s two things: leadership from seniors to freshman. It doesn’t matter what grade you’re in, I feel that everyone can be a leader from offense to defense to special team, to be a championship team, you’ve got to have great leaders. The other thing is the hard work, we’re working three days a week right now, about to be four days, you just have to put in the hard work – Lake Gibson put in the hard work, Auburndale put in the hard work, now we have to work harder too.”

BCP: What is the biggest thing that you need to work on individually to become a better quarterback?

BL: “A little bit of everything. There’s a lot of things I can work on, specifically in my running ability and making the right decisions in crunch time.”

BCP: 2017 is your senior season, the last time you’ll play high school football. What’s going on in your head, what are your thoughts going through the offseason into next one last time?

BL: “It’s definitely getting real now. Every year, we do a lock-in, where we’ll sleep at the field the day before the first day of practice and we have a senior talk, where all of the seniors talk about things on their mind. They always tell us to enjoy it while it lasts because it all comes quick. I would always sit there thinking ‘nah, it’s still a long time away, I’m fine,’ but now, I’m about to be a senior, and everything they said was correct. I was sitting in school watching guys sign for National Signing Day and I’m realizing that this time next year, it’s going to be me up there. It’s crazy that I’ve only got one year left, just the pressure and everything, it’s absolutely crazy.”