Quarterback Asher Link Leads Metro Christian

By Mike Moguin
GTR Sports Writer

Metro Christian quarterback Asher Link is considered one of the top players in the area at his position. He is a pass-first guy, but he has proven he can run the ball as well and the numbers back it up.
Last season, he threw for 33 touchdowns and 3,477 yards on 236-of-364 attempts and ran for 12 TDs and 605 yards on 107 carries. In the season opener back on Aug. 30, Link passed for 346 yards and four TDs in a 35-9 win over Broken Bow at home.  
But, the senior standout with a 6-1, 197-pound frame who has been offered by Air Force, gives credit to those who do their part as well. 
“I think that the maturity from the linemen that I’ve had and the experience I have up front, definitely helps me passing, but I also think that my receivers do a really great job of going up and making plays for me and making me look good,” Link said. “I owe a lot to my line up front. They do a really great job of executing the game plan that we’ve been practicing all week and going in on Friday night focused and ready to go.”
Link has been in the MCA school system since seventh grade. His experience as a Patriot has been fun, he said. 
“We’re a very competitive team every season and football has always been my favorite sport,” he said. “When I transferred over, I wanted to come here and enjoy it, have a great time playing high school football. I really wanted to come here and participate in the tradition that they have here. Obviously, they have really high expectations, especially on the quarterback. But, I feel like as a team, we’ve done that pretty well the past few years. I’m looking forward to the rest of this year and hopefully making it to the state championship game.”
What Link likes about playing behind center is that it is a position where you are leading your team.
“Obviously that can be a pretty big weight to carry sometimes,” Link said. “But, I really enjoy leading my offense out on the field. I feel like there are a lot of guys that look up to me in what I do and so I want to lead the team the best way I can.”
When it comes to favorite role model quarterbacks, Link likes former OU stars Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield, as well Super Bowl winning quarterbacks Drew Brees and Russell Wilson, “because I’m not super tall and I really enjoy watching them compete at a high level even though they were told they were too small,” he said. 
The Dallas Cowboys are his favorite NFL team.
Metro had a bye week following the opener, then picked up wins against Oklahoma Christian (54-14) and Holland Hall (35-13). The Patriots were preparing to play at Adair (Sept. 27) as of submission of this story. 
“I think we have a lot of potential,” Link said. “We made a lot of mistakes on Friday night (Aug. 30 vs. Broken Bow). I think we still have a lot of room for improvement, which is really exciting for this season because Broken Bow is a great football team and we came out and took care of business. I think we have a lot of potential through the rest of this season, so we should make the playoffs again this year.”
The remainder of Metro’s schedule consists of meetings against Chouteau-Mazie (Oct. 4), at Wyandotte (Oct. 11), Chelsea (Oct. 17), at Nowata (Oct. 25), Kansas (Nov. 1) and at Salina (Nov. 8).