Springdale senior Beau Citrone didn't throw a football in the heat of competition until his sophomore year.

That was the year he became the starting quarterback for the then-reigning WPIAL Class A champion Dynamos.

How did a guy with absolutely no quarterback experience instantly assume this vital role for a high-profile varsity program?

"He keeps his poise well and he can throw the heck out of the football," said Dynamos coach Chuck Wagner, who has been around quarterbacks for a half-century, or long enough to know when a player has the knack for the position.

Until his sophomore year, Citrone had never taken a snap from center, not even at the junior high level, where he only had experience at running back, linebacker and safety.

"He's a smart kid with a good arm who learns quickly," said Wagner about this 5-foot-10, 175 senior.

Citrone has led Springdale to an 18-6 record as a starter, including a 4-2 playoff mark. Statistically speaking, he had an excellent junior season. He completed 60 of 110 passing attempts for 1,137 yards and 19 touchdowns with only five interceptions.

"Over the years, they really haven't kept football records. But what he's done over these past two years are probably [school] records," said Wagner, in his 13th season at Springdale and his 42nd overall as a varsity head coach.

Citrone has one of the quickest releases and strongest arms among quarterbacks in the WPIAL. However, he stands significantly below 6 feet tall, about five or six inches shorter than the prototypical college quarterback.

"Beau is not the tallest guy and I understand that's supposed to be a detriment [for college recruiters].

"But he sets up in the pocket with a lot of authority and confidence," Wagner said. "He puts the ball where it's supposed to be."

Because of his relatively short stature, major-college programs are not clamoring for Citrone's services. But Wagner believes Citrone could excel in Division 1-AA or Division II.

"Certainly, it's going to be difficult for him to get anybody from D-I to look at him, but he's a very good student and we feel he could be a very productive player for a school in the Patriot League or Ivy League," Wagner said. "He reads defenses very, very well. He'll recognize the coverages and then, 'Boom,' he'll find the open man. Not being over six-foot has not really hurt him setting up and throwing in the pocket. He has an uncanny sense of picking the open receiver."

Wagner credits offensive coordinator Matt Noll for discovering Citrone's signal-calling talents.

"Matt is the guy who has made Beau the outstanding quarterback that he is," Wagner said.

"He's the guy who felt he could be a quarterback. Matt challenges our kids and if they hang in there, then they make progress. Beau has been super in listening to him and believing in him."

Citrone credits Noll for "keeping things simple." "I owe a lot to our offensive coordinator because he simplifies things. The way our patterns are set up, I'm looking at one guy, so whatever he does pretty much decides on where I'm throwing the ball," said Citrone, who earned a varsity letter for the 2003 WPIAL title team as a freshman special teams player.

"My freshman year, I started to work as a quarterback with our practice squad," Citrone said. "I played quarterback a little at the end of that year and [Noll] thought I had potential to play, so in the off-season before 10th grade, I started to focus on quarterback.

"I learned the playbook and went to quarterback camps."

Citrone is realistic about his opportunity for playing quarterback in college. He believes he may have a better shot at playing Division I or Division II baseball as an outfielder. He earned All-Section 4-A honors last spring and excelled for the Springdale Palomino team in the summer.

"I feel it could be hard to play quarterback in college at my height, so if I play sports in college, I'll probably play baseball because of my size," Citrone said. "But I would definitely pursue [a college football career] if I got some kind of offer."

Citrone is really intent of getting Springdale into the WPIAL title game at Heinz Field. He remembers what it was like to play there as a freshman.

"It was awesome. It was like a magical experience of being there at the big stadium after all those years of [the program] not being that good," said Citrone, disappointed from coming up one game short of Heinz Field due to semifinal losses to Clairton in 2004 and Rochester in 2005.

"It's all about the team this year," Citrone said. "We just want to get back to Heinz and win another WPIAL."

First Published: August 24, 2006, 4:00 a.m.