The leaps and bounds Dutchtown quarterback Owen Fletcher made during the 2025 season have carried over to his final year.
Fletcher, who took over the Griffins’ offense full time as a junior, has played a key role in his team’s 3-0 start going into the start of District 5-5A play at Walker this Friday.
“Last year he got better and better as the season went on,” Dutchtown football coach Guy Mistretta said of Fletcher’s passing. “He wasn’t a great thrower last year and has gotten better with his mechanics this year. He’s been putting in quite a bit of time, working on his own with a trainer as well all of our 7-on-7 stuff.”
Fletcher’s running ability was apparent in last Friday’s 48-14 road win over St. Michael the Archangel, a game in which he tallied all four of his rushing touchdowns in a 28-6 halftime lead.
He wound up with a total of 284 total yards – completing 11 of 22 passes for 188 yards, running 11 times for 96 yards – and was named this week’s LouisianaSports.net’s Player of the Week.
“He’s a true dual-threat guy,” Mistretta said. “He’s gotten a lot better throwing the ball this year and we have some weapons out there that we can spread it around to.”
In the team’s 35-7 road win a week ago over E.D. White, running back Hayden Becnel was the team’s top ball carrier, leading Dutchtown’s coaching staff to believe they would need someone other than Becnel to trigger the team’s offense.
Fletcher took on the addition responsibility. He scored on runs of 36, 10, 7 and 12 yards over the first 24 minutes for a 22-point lead at halftime.
“We figured they would be loading the box trying to stop him,” Mistretta said of Becnel. “Owen’s so smooth back there and can really make you pay when you try and key on one guy.”
It’s the decision-making process that’s endeared Fletcher, a 5-foot-10, 175-pounder, to his coach.
The zone-read has become one of Fletcher’s biggest weapons and has kept defenses off-balanced. Mistretta said all four of his quarterback’s touchdowns were designed runs – two zone-read keepers and two draw plays.
“They really put us in holes, they were extremely aggressive defensively,” Mistretta said of St. Michael, which lost for the first time this season. “There were third-and-long type situations, and he scored on quarterback draws a couple of times because they really shut down the running game the way they were playing and loading the box.”
Fletcher gained a foot in the door to Dutchtown’s varsity team as a kicker when he was a freshman. The soccer standout handled those duties before moving to a backup quarterback role in 2024 and actually started the team’s playoff game against Walker when the team’s starter was injured.
He averaged 196 offensive yards per game last season, completing 65% of his passes (82 of 127) for 1,367 yards with five interceptions and 14 touchdowns, to go along with 117 carries for 787 yards (8.2 per carry) and 10 touchdowns.
Fletcher’s still averaging more than 200 offensive yards a game, having completed 65.1% of his passes (28 of 43) for 463 yards with five TDs and no interceptions, and averaging 8.5 yards per carry with 161 yards and 6 TDs on 19 attempts.
“That’s where he really improved last year during the season,” Mistretta said of Fletcher’s ability to execute the zone-read play. “It’s the read game and he’s gotten better throwing the ball this offseason. It’s what they give us is what they’re adjusting to. He’s why we’re able to do that because he’s versatile.”
