Living for the moment....

Being a quarterback isn't easy. In fact, it's one of the most difficult positions to play in sports. Yet, Dane Warp has often made it look simple.

Maybe it's because he's built like a prototypical quarterback, standing 6-4 and weighing close to 200 pounds, or maybe it's his athleticism. Warp isn't a speed demon, but he runs a 4.8 in the 40-yard-dash, is athletic and can do anything that's asked of him. He's also extremely accurate as a passer with great velocity to boot.

Yet, the senior signal caller is not just a great athlete, he gets it done in the classroom too as evidenced by his 4.0 GPA.

In short, Warp has everything a coach could want in a quarterback, which is why he has been able to put together one of the most storied passing careers in the history of Montana high school football.

"I think the most important thing for a quarterback is great leadership," Warp said. "I think successful teams have quarterbacks that are efficient and are good at managing the game. I just try to take what the defense gives me and when the chances arise to make big plays, I try to take advantage of them. But, I have had a chance to play with some great teammates, some great receivers and running backs and offensive linemen. Having good teammates has been the biggest key for me."

Warp started right away as a freshman for Havre, but he didn't play like one, and from the day he became the starting quarterback for the Ponies, he has been breaking records left and right. And if you look inside the MHSA record book, particularly when it comes to the passing section, you can't go through a single category without seeing Warp's name.

"I owe a lot of that to my teammates," Warp said. "I have had a chance to play with some great teammates and under some great coaches. I got a chance to play as a freshman, the coaches trusted me to run their system and that experience really gave me a lot of confidence."

The three-time All-State selection already owns every major passing record as far as Havre is concerned, with career completion percentage being the lone exception as Gary Wagner (68.4 percent) holds a slight edge on him (65.2 percent), and soon he will hold the most important passing records in MHSA history as well.

Thanks to three record-breaking seasons already in the books, Warp is set to surpass former Billings Senior great Mark Desin as Montana's all-time leading passer this season, possibly as soon as Friday's game against Hardin. And not long after that, Warp should also exceed Brady McChesney of Glacier to be the state's all-time leader in touchdown passes as well. "You know when I was a freshman and sophomore and was told I was on pace to break those records, I thought that it was really important for me to do that," Warp said. "But now, I just want to win. Having those records is a great honor, especially because of the great players that held them before, but the people that win conference championships and state championships, they are the ones that get cemented in history. That's what I need to do, so if we have to run the ball 200 times to win a football game, that's what I want to do. I just want to win."

Warp, who currently has 8,625 passing yards for his career, following a 218-yard performance against Whitefish last Saturday, now trails Desin by just 282 yards. He also has 80 career touchdown passes now, thanks to tossing a pair in the Whitefish game, which puts him two short of the 82 McChesney had.

With the Ponies set to face the Hardin Bulldogs Friday night at Blue Pony Stadium, those records could certainly fall then and if not, with Warp, it's just a matter of time. After all, in addition to those records, the four-year starter is also fourth all-time in passing yards per game for a season as well as fourth in completions per game for a season, second in career completion percentage and ninth for completions during a season.

Yet, Warp also ranks highly in state annals in terms of single game achievements as well, ranking fifth all-time in the MHSA with most passing yards in a game thanks to a 438-yard performance against Lewistown in 2012. Along those same lines, he is also one of just eight quarterbacks in MHSA history to throw at least six touchdown passes in a game, which he did last season on the road at Livingston.

With his eye-popping skills and jaw-dropping statistics, it's no wonder why college coaches have been interested in Warp since he came on the scene in 2012. And while he has yet to commit to a school, there is no shortage of interested parties. But for now, at least, Warp is trying to keep that from his mind.

"I am just trying to play my butt off and work hard," Warp said. "I am obviously still going to talk to a coach if they call, but I am really just trying to focus on winning games."

When looking back on his illustrious career though, there is one thing that is missing and, according to Warp, that's championships. Despite all of his records, Warp and his Blue Pony teams have not won a state or conference championship, which at this point, is the only thing that he cares about and is something he would trade his records for in a heartbeat.

"Winning is the only thing that matters to me," Warp said. "I think to be remembered as one of the great players, you need to win championships. I remember back in middle school when our coaches told us we would be the next class to win a state championship in Havre. Mr. (Jeremiah) Nitz always told us that, and I still think about that when I go on the field for practice or a game. That's what I need to do, I haven't won a conference title or a state title, so I need to win a conference title before I can talk about winning a state title, but that's my goal."

With new head coach Mark Samson and a talented group of players around him, this season may present Warp with his best chance yet of achieving that goal. And if he can lead HHS to the promise land this season, or even close to it, it will be one more achievement on a list that is already amazingly long. It will also cement his status as not only one of the great quarterbacks in the annals of Havre High, but the state of Montana as well.

"I have always wanted to win championships," Warp said. "Winning a state championship has always been my dream, and I am going to do the best I can to try and make that happen."