QB leads Scarlets to title with flourish

He plays for the Scarlets, but Mankato West quarterback Ray Teachout went for the gold. No red mohawk for him, not when the platinum blond(ish) dye job is so much more Ray Ray.

Sure, he was going to get some grief, but more importantly, even more attention than usual. A wallflower Teachout is not.

"He plays the game with a little flavor," Mankato West coach Mark Esch said after watching Teachout lead the Scarlets to the Class 4A championship with a 33-14 victory over Northfield.

And lead them he did, Teachout's teammates said, combining an infectious spirit for the game with impressive ability. "He's everything a leader should be," said Mankato West running back Paul Berndt, who rushed for four touchdowns.

Teachout completed 14 of 18 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown. He didn't try to hide the fact -- on the field or off -- that it was good to be him on Saturday.

Teachout couldn't stand still on the sidelines while the Mankato West defense did its thing, slapping teammates on the shoulder pads and exchanging pleasantries with the nearby Scarlets student section.

When the Mankato West defense made a goal-line stand in the second quarter, Teachout was the first player off the sideline to offer congratulations. Ninety-nine yards later, he had the offense in the end zone for a 20-0 Scarlets lead.

"The coaches just told us to have fun, and that's what I did," Teachout said. "I like to keep my teammates loose out there. Sometimes they can get too uptight and I do what I can to loosen them up."

Asked if he was chatting with anyone in particular in the stands, Teachout said, "Just some of my friends. They talk to me every game. I don't know if my coach really knows, but I guess he doesn't mind because we are state champs."

Listed generously at 5-11, 170, Teachout looks as though he would do his most damage as a running QB, but the young man can throw it. Esch said he moved Teachout from wide receiver to quarterback after seeing him throw a pass when he was playing on the scout team. "I said, 'Whoa, look at that arm,'" Esch said. "So we put him at quarterback."

Typically, Teachout was unfazed by the move. "I just have a natural arm," he said. "I have great receivers, so I don't have to be that good to hit them."

His favorite receiver, senior Mike Richter, loves Teachout's personality as much as his accuracy. "He's always up, always going," Richter said. "When we see how into it he is, we can't help but try to match it."

That won't stop now that the football season is over. Teachout also plays basketball and baseball. Berndt doesn't play basketball, but he's not about to let his best buddy out of his sight.

"Everybody loves Ray," Berndt said, before adding with a smile, "Ray is definitely a ladies' man."

Dean Spiros • dspiros@startribune.com