Pressure. Prestige. Blame. Credit. Scorn. Adulation.

All are familiar to the quarterback.

No position in sports offers a more intense blend of physical and emotional circumstances, whether in the National Football League or on Friday nights in Northern Virginia.

Movies are made about the best ones and from the time kids begin playing football on the playground, quarterbacks that thrive set themselves apart.

In high school football, where games under the lights often serve as a town's social epicenter and success breeds confidence in those who will never touch the field, the quarterback takes center stage. Win dramatically and become a folk hero. Lose in the same fashion and suffer the opposite fate.

This season, Northern Virginia boasts an array of experienced and talented signal callers intent on launching their respective teams into the postseason.

Here is a list of five area quarterbacks to watch in 2002:

TRAVIS JOHNSON

Annandale, (6-foot-1, 195 pounds, Sr.)

Johnson burst upon the Northern Virginia scene in Week 2 of last season. A transfer from North Florida Christian High in Tallahassee, Fla., Johnson passed for 260 yards and four touchdowns in the Atoms' 68-67, five-overtime win over Westfield.

``That was my favorite game last year," Johnson said. ``I love the spotlight. When the game's down to it, I want the ball in my hands. That's why I play quarterback."

The Atoms nearly missed out on having Johnson. He looked at a number of other schools in the area prior to his junior year but was told they already had quarterbacks in their system. Johnson ultimately chose Annandale because his uncle, Matt Caudle, is the Atoms' baseball coach, and perhaps more importantly, Annandale football coach Dick Adams told Johnson he would get a shot at quarterback.

Adams' intuition paid off. Johnson passed for a region-high 1,508 yards last season and was the region's fifth-rated passer (81.8). Despite being new to the team, Johnson's play injected life into a team coming off a disappointing season and his understanding of the responsibility inherent with being the starting quarterback eased his transition.

``As much as I like the glory, I'll take the blame, too," Johnson said. ``If a running back fumbles, it's the quarterback's fault. Miss an assignment and get sacked, it's the quarterback's fault. The offensive linemen are blocking the whole game and nobody really says anything about that. As much as I get blamed for, I get the credit for. The offensive linemen don't really get that much credit and they deserve as much as anybody."

Though Johnson's impact helped Annandale last season, the Atoms finished 4-5, 2-4 in the ultra-competitive Patriot District. This season's schedule is no easier. For Annandale to better last year's mark and reached its goal - an 8-2 record and a playoff berth, according to Johnson - improvement starts with the quarterback.

``We lost a lot of close games last year, probably because of me. I was inexperienced and made mistakes," Johnson said. ``This year, we have a lot of older guys in the right positions. But if you go through our schedule, [The Journal] ranked the Top 10 teams - we play six of them. Now we have experience in the Patriot District. But in our district, you never know what's going to happen."

To Johnson's credit, his offseason dedication included attending football camps at Michigan, Purdue, Pittsburgh and Virginia. Those camps accelerated his learning curve. Johnson's comfort reading defenses, even before the snap, was evident in Annandale's preseason scrimmages against E.C. Glass (Lynchburg) and Stonewall Jackson.

``You can pick up the defenses a lot better and know where you're going to go right away with the ball," Johnson said. ``When I was playing in the seven-on-seven drills at Michigan against some of the top recruits in the country all day, that's good practice and you had to know where you were going to go with the ball."

Johnson also has his sights set on a college career. While aware he doesn't possess trademark size, Johnson hopes his arm strength and mobility earn him a Division I opportunity.

``You never know what you're going to get in a quarterback," Johnson said. ``But I think I can play with the best of them."

KYLE MORGAN

Hayfield (6-foot, 195, Sr.)

Morgan never put on pads prior to his sophomore season, when he led the Hawks' JV to a 6-1 record. Last year, Morgan was the region's second-rated passer (102.8) and had the second-most passing yards (1,210) and touchdown passes (14) in helping Hayfield (6-4) to a playoff berth.

Not bad for a baseball player.

``Since I was little, I've been playing baseball and when I came out for football, quarterback seemed like the right fit because I was never that fast but I could always throw," Morgan said. ``It was tough at first because I had never thrown a football with pads on. But I enjoyed the leadership and pressure that came with playing quarterback. I actually consider myself a football player now because I focus on it year-round."

And while the numbers Morgan put up in his first season as the varsity starter were impressive, the chemistry developed with his teammates is the accomplishment he cites first. Many of the Hawks from last season are back and Morgan is confident their familiarity with each other will lead to an inspired performance in 2002.

``My main goal last year was getting the guys to come together," Morgan said. ``We knew a lot of us would be around this year so it was important for us to mesh. Our team is so close now, everybody on the team hangs out together. I feel so good about the fact that everybody wants to win and expects to win."

Last season, the Hawks' offense centered around All-Journal wide receiver Robert Malone and running backs Tramaine Hodge and Tyrone Simpson. Simpson is only returnee from that trio, but Morgan listed Greg Lynah, Adam Bush and Carlo Sandiego as other weapons in Hayfield's expanded arsenal.

``It's going to be impossible for teams to stop us," Morgan said. ``Instead of having one or two guys to pass to, it's better now that we have four or five."

This summer, Morgan attended football camps at Maryland and Virginia and trained at Pro Speed in Herndon. His focus was on getting faster and improving his arm strength.

Spending every day in the weight room helped him add 15 pounds of needed muscle. Last year, the pounding taken over a long season took its toll on Morgan. He spent the night at Inova Fairfax Hospital with a concussion and bruised ribs following Hayfield's season-ending, 52-9 loss to Centreville in the region semifinals.

But while his size was once in question, Morgan's toughness has never been an issue.

``He's a competitor," Hayfield coach Billy Pugh said of his quarterback. ``He doesn't shy away from getting a lick put on him. A lot of kids get happy feet in the pocket when the pressure is on. He doesn't."

SEAN GLENNON

Westfield (6-3, 180, Jr.)

At one point, it didn't look like Glennon would be the Bulldogs' quarterback last season. But the projected starter decided not to re-join the team, so Glennon entered a battle for the job with classmate Greg Lannes.

When Lannes went down with an injury early in the season, Glennon took over and responded like it was his job all along.

``Basically, all of the playing time fell on Sean," Bulldogs coach Tom Verbanic said. ``He was the one who was going to get the reps and he stepped up and had an outstanding year."

Superlatives are needed when discussing Glennon's sophomore season. He led the region in passer rating (104.0) and touchdown passes (20) while being intercepted just three times.

Both Glennon and Verbanic point to the Annandale game in Week 2 as a key point in the season. Glennon completed 13 of 17 passes for 137 yards and four touchdowns, three of which came in overtime. While the Bulldogs lost the game, Glennon won over his teammates.

``Sean has a lot of confidence and after the Annandale game, a lot of the players had confidence in him," Verbanic said. ``When the players believe in the quarterback, it's a lot easier for him to show leadership."

The Bulldogs finished last season 4-5, but many involved in the local football scene have pegged Westfield this season as a team capable of challenging Centreville and Robinson for region supremacy.

``I'm extremely happy everybody is picking us to make a name for ourselves this season," Glennon said. ``We can't go out and starting talking a lot because we haven't done anything yet. But I do feel we have the talent to go far in the Concorde District."

The expectations coming from exterior sources pale in comparison to those stemming from within Westfield's school walls and the surrounding community.

``It's a little more pressure because we're trying to become one of the first Westfield teams to put up a district banner and football is big around here," Glennon said. ``I try not to think about that stuff. It's nice having an area that really follows football like this one does and it's a lot of fun playing here." If the pressure does get to be too much for Glennon, he can harken back to when he went through something really difficult: 4 a.m. wake-up calls followed by 7-mile runs.

Glennon, Lannes and Bulldogs senior wide receiver Paris Jackson spent six weeks this summer at the Ron Burton Training Village in Framingham, Mass. It's an intense leadership camp focused on improving strength, speed and conditioning. No T.V. and little free time combined with plenty of hard work.

``It was definitely tough," Glennon said. ``But I'm in a lot better condition, I'm stronger and I even got a little faster so it was worth it."

If Glennon leads the Bulldogs to new heights, the Westfield faithful will likely agree.

JUSTIN COTTER

McLean (6-foot, 185, Sr.)

Cotter trusts his legs and why shouldn't he? As a junior, he engineered McLean's triple-option attack like a seasoned veteran, rushing for 1,116 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was the third-leading scorer in the region and the two players who scored more have since graduated.

But this season, Cotter's arm will be tested.

After putting the Highlanders' 2001 offense under the microscope, McLean coach Joe Muskett decided his team was too reliant upon the run. With the help of former Maryland coach Joe Krivak, Muskett tweaked the triple-option and installed a more balanced approach.

Much of that change falls on Cotter's ability to pass with the same precision he used to slice through defenses the last two seasons as McLean's starting quarterback.

That's fine with Cotter, who started playing football his freshman year and went out for quarterback when his older brother suggested ``you might as well be the boss if you're going to play football."

While Cotter is clearly McLean's boss on the field, his leadership style isn't an overbearing one.

``I'm not much of a talker," Cotter said. ``I'm not really good with speeches or anything like that. I try to do it on the field."

That goes for games and practices. This past Monday, the Highlanders finished off their Labor Day practice with 10 100-yard sprints. Cotter finished first among the skill players nine of 10 times.

``That's just Justin," said Muskett, who also ran all 10 sprints Monday, albeit with the linemen. ``He is going to finish first in all the sprints. That's just his makeup."

Cotter admits he loves the publicity and focus awarded quarterbacks. But his easy demeanor and obvious work ethic has kept him on good terms with those Highlanders not used to seeing their names in headlines.

``He's just one of the guys," McLean senior left tackle Andy Kelly said of Cotter. ``We give him a hard time for getting in the paper and stuff but he's not a showboat or anything."

When Muskett informed Cotter the Highlanders were adding more passing plays to the offense, he decided to attend passing camps this past summer at Princeton and Harvard. Extensive time was spent refining his drop backs into the pocket and getting the ball off as quickly as possible.

If early results are any indication, the adjustment will be smooth. In McLean's two scrimmages, Cotter threw four touchdown passes.

Last season, Cotter had one touchdown pass in nine regular season games.

``Whether you want to face it or not, with the varsity starting quarterback, the leadership role is thrust upon him," Muskett said. ``The perception is there that if you're the varsity starting quarterback, you're all those things; you're the best athlete and you're the playmaker.

``We're just fortunate because Justin is a tremendous athlete and a big-time playmaker."

DARREN BAKER

West Potomac (5-9, 160, Sr.)

If one word had to be used to describe Baker, the best choice is explosive.

Though the Wolverines' option attack makes it hard to view Baker as a true quarterback, this much is clear: Every opposing defense must account for Baker at all times.

His ability to stop on a dime and burst toward daylight led West Potomac coach John Howerton to call Baker the Wolverines' quickest open field runner to ever play at the school. That's a strong statement at West Potomac, which has featured an elite running back nearly every season and advanced to the playoffs 14 times in the last 17 years.

Last season, Baker's second as the starting quarterback, he rushed for 1,198 yards and 13 touchdowns and is the region's leading returning rusher.

As a 135-pound sophomore, Baker helped the Wolverines to a Division 5 Northern Region title. He has since added 25 pounds to his frame, every bit of which will be needed this season. Howerton said the Wolverines plan to get over 20 carries per game out of the region's most feared big-play threat.

If Baker is able to carry the increased load, it would be good for West Potomac. And it would be bad for the defensive coordinators of opponents on the Wolverines' schedule.