Every high school coach would love to have an experienced quarterback. “It’s great to have someone with a year’s experience as a starter,’’ Arcadia coach Jim Ellison said.“It’s really great to have someone with two.”

Senior Colby Kirkegaard will enter his third season as the Titans’ starting signal caller this fall. Kirkegaard averaged better than 160 yards a game passing last season and has garnered attention from college recruiters.

As a sophomore, he helped the team to the first round of the playoffs. The Titans went 7-5 in 2008 and made it to the second round of the playoffs before bowing out to Coronado.

He will anchor an offense that carries high expectations into the season. Two of the quarterback’s top targets return from last season: Jake Hirschi and Joey Artigue. Kirkegaard and Artigue have history.

“They’ve been playing together since seventh grade in Pop Warner,’’ said Tom Kirkegaard, Colby’s father.

Arcadia did well in summer passing-league competition, going 6-0 at the Arizona State University tournament and making the semifinals of the University of Arizona. The Titans finished the passing-league season Saturday at the Surprise tournament, going unbeaten in pool play before losing in the quarterfinals.

Passing league is seven-on-seven touch football played on a shortened field. There are no interior linemen. Points are scored for touchdowns and interceptions. Passes have to be thrown within four seconds of the snap.

Ellison said the Arcadia offense should be strong.

“We will definitely be able to move the ball,’’ he said.

Ellison expects the line to be better this year in part because the Titans in the trenches better know the blocking schemes. Ellison, a former Chaparral assistant, installed a winged-T offense when he came to Arcadia last season. The offense is versatile, but it requires different technique and has a language all its own.

“We spent a lot of time learning the terminology,’’ Ellison said.

The defensive side is inexperienced, Ellison said after the Surprise tournament.

“This gave us a chance to play some of our younger kids who are going to help us on defense and let them gain experience,’’ he said.