What makes a great quarterback?

Arm strength, accuracy and awareness come to mind, but often it’s the intangibles that separate the good from the great.

For Mesa Ridge senior quarterback Bryce Riehl, perseverance is key.

After his stats dipped in 2023 compared to a standout sophomore season, Riehl posted career highs in passing yards, completions and touchdowns and a career-low in interceptions in his swan song for Mesa Ridge football this past fall.

In 12 games, Riehl completed 171 passes on 256 attempts for 2,822 yards, 32 touchdowns and four interceptions. His passing yards were fifth-most in the state.

He also led the Grizzlies to their third straight 8-4 season and second consecutive appearance in the 4A state quarterfinals. He is the 5A-4A Football Peak Performer of the Year.

“Just trusting my abilities a lot more and trusting my eyes and what I see and what I know is going to happen and just doing it,” Riehl said of his play this year. “I would say I’m just super competitive. I love winning and I don’t take losses very well.”

Riehl showcased that competitive nature in 2024, demonstrating the ability to overcome adversity on several occasions.

Perhaps the biggest challenge was not having his older brother, Tevin, beside him. The brothers were teammates in football, basketball and baseball in previous years, and the duo played a pivotal role in the school’s recent athletic successes.

Tevin broke the Grizzlies’ interception record as a senior last season and the brothers were key members of a Mesa Ridge basketball team that captured consecutive state titles in 2023 and 2024.

“Me and my brother especially were able to put Mesa Ridge on the map and (it was) not really looked at as a school where athletes go. There’s no discipline involved with them and now we’re a school that people are wanting to go to if they have the choice to,” Riehl said.

Tevin’s spring graduation presented a new challenge for Riehl. In his brother’s absence, he strengthened his bond with his teammates, specifically his offensive line, receivers and fellow seniors Slater Warren and Zander Iwanski.

“For me, it was a little more difficult because I spent a lot of my time playing every sport together with Tevin,” Riehl said. “Not having him during tough times, I know I was in my head a little bit, but I think our bond (as a team) was really good, and it kind of overtook that as we got later into the season.”

Riehl said he and his team focused on being mentally tougher and being more optimistic through trying times. It should come as little surprise that his favorite moments were when Mesa Ridge exemplified that goal.

Against Palmer Ridge on Sept. 27, the Grizzlies rallied from a 28-12 deficit in the fourth quarter with 19 unanswered points. Riehl threw two touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score to Iwanski.

“I’m just definitely telling them to stay level-headed,” he said of his mindset during close games. “Obviously there are some doubts coming from people but being able to stay level-headed, like I was telling them, it’s just going to increase our chances of coming back and potentially winning a game like that.”

The Grizzlies repeated the feat in the playoffs on Nov. 15. Hosting Monarch in the second round, Mesa Ridge built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Mesa allowed 24 unanswered in the second and third quarters only to outscore Monarch 20-7 in the fourth for the win.

Riehl found junior wideout Kobe Dooley for a 72-yard, go-ahead touchdown in the final minute.

“Being able to come back and especially seeing that a lot of fans didn’t leave and they were just there to support. That there is probably the best thing and when we came back, the way that they were, definitely is a memory that I’ll remember forever,” he said.

Grizzlies coach Jerimi Calip knows that Riehl won’t just have the memories for a lifetime but the lessons as well. The resolve Riehl and the Grizzlies showed to earn victories will help them win in other aspects of life.

“Just because something’s bad, doesn’t mean it’s going to stay bad forever,” he said. “(The team) experienced the highs and lows that we experience in life itself, and all I’ll tell them is just embrace it like you’ve done this season and just say, ‘You know what, it’s not going to be bad forever.’ The longest that it ever rained was 40 days and 40 nights.”

With a semester remaining in his high school career, Riehl said he has opportunities to play football and basketball at the collegiate level. While the basketball ones are better currently, his heart is with football.

His preference comes down to the level of trust needed to play the game at a high level. The victories the Grizzlies celebrated this season don’t happen without a dedicated group of athletes of varying personalities coming together for a common goal.

“I just like that you need 22 players that are all on the same page and all want to go do what you want to go do,” he said. “It’s a different type of bond that you get with a lot of those different players that is different from basketball.”

Riehl hopes future members of the team will carry on that bond that’s made the Grizzlies a force to be reckoned with on the field.