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George Lerch is about to join them.

That's not to say the Seneca Valley senior is about to rank as one of the county's all-time greats, or that he'll put up numbers like two of its most statistically dominant signal-callers in history. But this year, Lerch is about to draw some significant parallels between himself and those two former All-Gazette first-team quarterbacks.

Like Twyman and Kelley once were, he's about to become a three-year starter behind center, complete with multiple games of playoff experience. More importantly, he's about to take play calls from Terry Changuris.

Near the top of Changuris' impressive resume in 30 years of coaching football in the county is the boast that he is the man who tutored the former Sherwood and Seneca wunderkinds. Now, the former Screaming Eagles head coach is returning to the Seneca Valley sidelines as offensive coordinator — and tutor for Lerch.

"I'm really excited with Coach Changuris coming in; he's coming in with a new offense," said Lerch. "I believe I'm going to have an even bigger role this year, and I think this is the year we pull it together. I would like nothing more than to go undefeated."

His expectations are lofty, but he has reason to be optimistic. Lerch hasn't yet been the focal point of the Eagle offense, what with former All-Gazette first-team running backs Shawn Perry and Jamaal Martin each rushing for over 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2006 and '07, respectively.

But last year, he quietly had a fantastic season, finishing second in the county with 1,746 yards passing and tossing 18 touchdowns, against just seven interceptions.

It won't be easy to duplicate such efficiency, but Changuris' influence figures to give Lerch a wide-open passing attack. Under Seneca head coach Fred Kim, who switched over to defensive coordinator after hiring his one-time mentor, Lerch was primarily a pocket passer, a role in which he thrived.

But Changuris — who considers himself "like [Washington Redskins head coach] Jim Zorn, I like everything in rhythm" — likes his quarterbacks mobile, like Kelley and Twyman both were, with the ability to throw on the move.

"If he can put up those numbers sitting in the pocket, we can really open it up for him outside the pocket," said Changuris, who coached the Eagles to seven state championships from 1988-2003. "I know he's very smart, and he throws a real nice pass. I'd like to think this system is based around the quarterback, and we've got some real good receivers in Mark Henderson, King Yassara and Xavier Hughes. I would assume his numbers could be even better."

Changuris did warn that the transition to an efficient, outside-the-tackles passer can take time, but Lerch has proven a quick learner in his time at Seneca.

Kim said that as a sophomore, Lerch was supposed to actually play for the junior varsity squad, but projected starter Antonio Jones broke the elbow of his throwing arm. At the time, he was cause for major concern, a new face in a playoff-caliber starting lineup.

Since then, he's turned question mark into exclamation point, leading the Eagles to 17 wins since taking over the reins. Kim marvels at Lerch's toughness, even if he's occasionally too tough for his own good.

"He wants to run through people like he's a big guy; we always say ‘Slide, dang it, you're not a running back,'" said Kim. "But he obviously was outstanding for us last year and, I thought, one of the best quarterbacks in the county. He's very disciplined, very hard-working and very coachable. As far as expectations, we just need George to lead the charge and hopefully get us to that state championship."

It would be a place the Eagles haven't been since 2002, when Changuris was still at the helm. But with Lerch, Seneca has an experienced quarterback they haven't had in a long time; at the time he took over, he was the team's seventh opening-day starter in seven years.

With two years of experience, terrific returning weapons to throw to (Henderson led the Eagles with 420 yards receiving a year ago) and the county's foremost offensive mind as his mentor, Lerch has the potential for a huge senior season.

And, who knows, maybe he'll cap it off like Twyman and Kelley did, leading his team to a state-championship appearance.

"That's what I'm thinking about," Lerch said. "I used to play football in little league and my parents used to take me to games, and of course I remember them winning. That's all I'm focusing on, just winning a state championship."