ARLINGTON – Arlington Bowie junior Christian Matthews doesn't have to seek attention. As the quarterback of a 9-0 football team, he's going to receive plenty of it.

Matthews' statistics serve notice. He has completed 146 of 236 (62 percent) of his passes and has 20 touchdowns against five interceptions.

Yet Matthews said his focus is not on his statistics but on making his teammates better.

"I have leadership and I can bring it on the field, but I want to become more vocal," Matthews said. "It'll make them more focused if they know that I'm serious."

The spotlight grows with each Bowie triumph, and Matthews has risen to the occasion each time.

In a showdown with then-unbeaten Arlington Martin, Matthews threw four touchdown passes in Bowie's 49-21 victory. In a 42-14 win against Duncanville last Friday, Matthews rushed six times for 51 yards and a touchdown and completed 14 of 24 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown.

"We do a lot of things, and we've got a lot riding on our quarterback," Bowie coach Kenny Perry said. "He's been able to handle it, and he's smart enough. He says he's not vocal, but he does a lot of things on the field."

From the time Matthews stepped on the field as a 6-year-old playing flag football, those who watched him closely say he had a natural feel for the game.

But his father, Robert Matthews, had to prod him into taking up the quarterback position.

"He always wanted to be a running back," Robert Matthews said. "I told him he'd get hurt a lot more, and it's not a long-lasting thing.

STEVE HAMM/Special Contributor

Christian Matthews has Arlington Bowie headed back to the playoffs for the second time since 1982.

"He grew to like it, and about two weeks ago I asked him how did he like being a quarterback now and he said he loved it. Anything you love, you can be the best at it you can be."

Matthews fell into his role at Bowie by being at the right place at the right time, then letting his skill and intelligence take over.

He was scrimmaging with Arlington Bowie's junior varsity team last season, when on the opposite field Bowie's senior quarterback went down with an injury.

The coaches called him over to join the varsity for the rest of the scrimmage, and he made an instant impression with three touchdown passes.

"He soaked up everything like a sponge," offensive coordinator Trent Fuller said. "Before the senior got hurt, he hadn't taken any snaps with the varsity, he didn't know our signals, he didn't know how to do the no-huddle system.

"We just threw him out there, and he picked it up very quick."

Matthews stuck with the varsity and started seven of 10 games as a sophomore, guiding Bowie to its first playoff berth and its first winning season since 1982. Bowie fell short of the playoffs in its first 22 seasons of competition.

His stature grew as Bowie reached the 7-on-7 state semifinals last summer. That, coupled with his success this season, has set the stage for Matthews becoming a Division I prospect for 2009.

"It just shows this kid is a winner," said Jeremy Crabtree, national recruiting director for Rivals.com. "Colleges coaches are looking for someone who's going to be the leader of your program. You want to have someone with success on the high school level. He's definitely put himself to be in position to be one of the top players in the state for next year."

While the bandwagon grows, Matthews would prefer to simply enjoy his surroundings. Bowie is on a historic run and could finish out the season 10-0 with a victory Friday over DeSoto.

"I've been going to Bowie games since I was a little kid," Matthews said, "and they always seemed to lose. There really wasn't anything to watch.

"I'm having a real good time on the field and off the field – and I'm having one of my best years in school."

CHRISTIAN MATTHEWS

School, class: Arlington Bowie, Jr.

Height, weight: 6-4, 180

Position: Quarterback

Career path: High school football coach, "or anything that has to do with sports."

Did you know? Matthews is part of Bowie's "Avid" program in which 100 select students in each class are given specific preparation for college life. He has a 3.1 GPA and takes AP courses.

Quotable: "In my mind, he's a senior this year. It's like we get two years of him as a senior." – offensive coordinator Trent Fuller on Matthews' poise.

Arlington Bowie (9-0, 6-0 8-5A) at DeSoto (7-2, 5-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday