LEWISTON – The clock is ticking down in the first half and Ronnie Turner is jogging to the sideline to get the next play in Lewiston’s two-minute offense from coach Bill County.

With an eye on the clock, County is wondering why his junior quarterback, who is always lobbying him to let him sling the football, isn’t acting a little more eager to get the green light in a passing situation.

“I’m smiling, saying, ‘Hey look, the clock’s running. There’s 1:30 left. You might want to hustle over.’ And then he goes back on the field and throws a touchdown,” County said. “He’s confident and a pretty together kid for a junior only playing his first year of varsity football.”

Turner’s steady hand has guided the Blue Devils back to the Pine Tree Conference semifinals against rival Edward Little (3 p.m., Saturday, Walton Field in Auburn). In an offense known for featuring talented running backs such as Wesley Myers, some might mistake Turner’s calm, quiet demeanor for a willingness to play a supporting role.

But as the season has unfolded, Turner has asked for, and earned, a more prominent role in the offense.

“He’s not beyond harassing me about how much I throw the football. He’s let me know that a few times,” County said. “Now, it’s a big part of our offense. Almost a third of what we’re doing offensively is throwing the ball.”

“I understand when you have Wesley Myers, it’s kind of hard to throw the ball 50 times a game. Wesley’s a great player,” Turner said. “But I did ask to throw the ball more, and we’ve done that.”

Turner is quick to point out that he put in the hard work to not only earn his coaches’ trust, but to earn the starting QB job in the first place.

Turner missed half of last year recovering from pre-season surgery to replace some screws in his right knee that were the result of an injury he suffered when he was hit by a car nine years ago. When he returned, he played wide receiver on the varsity and saw only limited time playing quarterback on the junior varsity.

Facing a battle for the starting varsity QB position this year with Tyler Lussier, Turner threw the ball 1,000 to 2,000 times during the off-season, according to County, and developed a chemistry with his receivers that showed in seven-on-seven sessions over the summer.

“I was just basically thinking (Lussier) is a senior, so I’ve got to work 10 times as hard as he was working,” Turner said. “I was in the weight room every morning with (senior receiver) Chuck Faletra and (junior receiver) Pete Blais and then seven-on-seven came and I had a feel for all of them since we’d been practicing all summer.”

“That really helped him developmentally to come into this year ready to play,” County said. “As the year has gone on, I’ve gotten a little more confidence in him throwing the ball a little more.”

County’s confidence in his quarterback starts with the fact that he has one of the strongest arms in the Pine Tree Conference.

“He has a cannon,” County said. “As a matter of fact, he’s learned how to take a little bit off the short stuff because, quite honestly, he can throw it through your hands.”

Turner has combined that cannon with some sound decision-making. He ranked second in the PTC this year in TD passes with eight, trailing only EL’s Cody Goddard, and he has yet to throw an interception this year.

To be a complete quarterback in Lewiston’s system, though, he had to be able to run the option. Though not blessed with blinding speed, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Turner can be tough to bring down in the open field, as he showed last week with a 22-yard touchdown run in the quarterfinal against Bangor.

“He got to the corner in pretty good shape. He really had good speed, then he kind of throttled down. He claims he shook a couple of guys off before he scored,” County said with a laugh. “But he got in the end zone. It was a great play. That particular play we always tell him is run first, and he likes to throw the ball so often that I don’t think he believes it. But I think when you score and make a big play like that, he’ll be better this week with it.”

“In the beginning of the season, I was kind of slow, and coach was a little worried about how we’re going to run the option with a slow QB,” Turner said. “I don’t run full speed in the games. I’m a really cautious runner. I don’t know what it is. I have to have a burst to do something. They always make fun of me ‘Oh, you’re slow,’ but I do what I can, and obviously it’s been successful.”

Only more success awaits Turner, according to County.

“He’s a really confident kid. He feels like he has that ability, and we’re just kind of nurturing it and taking our time. I think he’s going to be a great one next year,” he said.