Hayden Greenbauer can feel the difference. Since the season began, the Clark junior quarterback has been more comfortable in leading the offense and making sure everything is working correctly.

He did an impressive job of engineering the Cougars’ offense as a sophomore, but that year of experience has enabled him to produce bigger results this year.

The 9-1 record is a pretty good indication of how much Greenbauer has done this year. The most interesting part is how some of those victories were recorded. Four of the wins came with comebacks and Greenbauer was instrumental in each victory.

His most memorable came in a 32-31 District 28-5A overtime win over O’Connor. Not only did Greenbauer toss a 25-yard touchdown pass to Joe Vasquez with 25 seconds remaining to send the game into OT, he scored a two-point conversion on the bootleg to give Clark the win.

Now, Greenbauer is looking to deliver more positive results as Clark begins its Class 5A Division I playoff run with a bi-district match at Victoria Memorial Friday.

“I’m more confident and more focused,” Greenbauer said. “I know more of what to expect from defenses. I know more of how the plays will develop and how they will fizzle. We also have everyone helping out. That’s what makes the offense go.”

Greenbauer, who advanced to the Region IV track and field meet in the hurdles last spring, has the speed to make the big plays. One year ago he was known more as a running quarterback. That phase of the game hasn’t changed as he rushed for 911 yards and 15 touchdowns. However, the quarterback is no longer one-dimensional when it comes to guiding the offense. He has also developed a nice passing touch, which has accounted for 699 yards and 15 touchdowns.

“I think (throwing the ball better) goes back to confidence,” Greenbauer. “I’m stepping up and throwing the ball. I’m not thinking about what bad things can happen. I did that at the beginning of my sophomore year, but as the season went on I wasn’t as nervous about throwing the ball.”

Greenbauer is putting out the results Clark coach Lloyd Alexander expected to see when putting him in the quarterback role. He had the skills to make big plays, but the maturity has made it complete.

“The two things that have helped Hayden is a year of experience and he’s smart,” Alexander said. “The other thing is he matured physically. He’s stronger. He has improved tremendously from the beginning of the season until now. Our offensive coaches do a good job of planning things around him.”

Now, Greenbauer and the Cougars are ready to show how much they have matured as a team in the post-season. One year ago, Clark got off to a slow start, but caught fire late in the season to qualify for the playoffs. The experience was a little too brief as Southwest handed the Cougars a 39-36 overtime loss in a Division I bi-district contest.

This year, the Coogs are optimistic about a longer stay, especially after this season’s dramatic wins.

“We always go into a game thinking we’re going to win,” Greenbauer said. “Everyone has the same mindset. We know what we’re doing. We just have to execute. We don’t want the season to end anytime soon. We have a will to win.”