POCATELLO — From the west sideline of Raymond Park, it was easy to see Zach Park’s feet already moving as he caught the snap. His legs churned like helicopter propellers revving up as he darted left on a designed quarterback run.

He made it about a yard before the Pocatello High defense tripped up its signal-caller at the line of scrimmage, Park diving forward for a short gain. But instead of popping right up, Park laid on his stomach for a second before deciding a workout was in order. He plopped the ball to the side and cranked out a few pushups, the routine lasting just long enough for a teammate to holler “try-hard” with a chuckle.

And perhaps that’s the quasi-superlative Pocatello coach Dave Spillett has been seeking from his junior quarterback, who transitioned from slot receiver in the offseason.

A little less than a month ago, while the Indians were gearing up for their season opener against Madison, Spillett walked over to Park as he warmed up. It was no grand scene, but the sixth-year head coach subtly reminded his quarterback that, in fact, the coaches can see how much each player is watching film, and that Park’s contribution was lacking.

“We addressed it instantly and we haven’t had any problems since,” Spillett said. “He realizes now that the game slows down the more prepared he is, and you’ve seen that thus far through three weeks. He’s put together quite the three-game stretch.”

That might be downplaying it. In helping Poky to its first 3-0 start in nearly a decade, Park has connected on 70 percent of his passes (47 of 67) for 659 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions, while adding more than 100 yards on the ground.

“I look back on that,” Park said, “like if I would have studied film more, who knows?”

It’s tough to know how much of an effect Park’s weekly film time bump from “probably about an hour a week” to “two to three” has made. The reason? A lot of what makes Park so spectacular is what happens when his reads are dead, the hope of salvaging positive yards is slim and it’s on him to make magic.

Poky largely operates a complex spread offense that includes different looks and a number of option plays, putting myriad responsibilities on the quarterback.

Film is the cheat sheet that turns reading defenses from Jeopardy to Chutes and Ladders. Suddenly, football becomes an easier game. Where it doesn’t do much good is where Park thrives, scrambling out of danger, breaking tackles and outrunning helpless defenders with his 4.7-second 40-yard dash speed.

“I’ve always been pretty fast … If there’s nothing, I’ll just take off,” Park said. “But if it’s a pass play, I’m still looking downfield on those things and if I can get the ball to a receiver, I’ll try and do that.”

That last part is why his rushing yards aren’t tripled. Regardless, when the 5-foot-9 scrambler needs to use his feet, he seems to make good things happen for Pocatello.

“You’re not going to take a 6-6 quarterback and tell him to be Zach Park,” Spillett said. “And you’re not going to tell Zach Park to be like the 6-6 quarterback who stands in the pocket.

“He’s just a dangerous, dangerous weapon. … He’s a nightmare for defenses to keep track of.”

Standing in the U.S. Open rough that lines the field at Raymond Park, where Poky practices, Park tries to demonstrate the secret to his elusiveness.

“Hard plants is a big part,” he says. With his white-and-gold cleats laced up over teal socks, Park plants his right foot in the tall grass. He shakes his head right just enough so that his curly blonde locks flop before cutting right.

“Coach Spillett was talking about that a lot with us and the running backs before this year,” Park added. “That we’re not dancing this year, that we’re really going to plant hard and get up field.”

Against Madison, Twin Falls and Jackson Hole, Park’s on-the-fly artistry has been enough. But neither of those three schools present quite the challenge that Highland (3-1) will during Friday’s Black and Blue Bowl. The Rams front is led by 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive tackle Luke Togiai and 6-4, 225-pound end Logan George, both Division-I talents.

“They have some size, and they always do have some size,” Spillett said. “So their defensive line is going to be bigger than our offensive line — and that’s not a surprise to us.”

It shouldn’t be. Highland is going for its 10th-straight Black and Blue Bowl victory Friday night, facing what Spillett believes is his most talented team since he took over at his alma mater in 2015. But it’s also a team that might have another year to reach its ceiling.

Park, who will be making his first Black and Blue Bowl start under center, is a junior. So is Matt Christensen, one of Park’s top targets, and linebacker Hunter Killian, who was a first-team all-conference selection last year. Numerous others make up a stacked Poky junior class, one that hopes to break Highland’s streak in the rivalry on Friday but, regardless, will have more favorable odds in 2021.

“A lot of us have been playing varsity since our sophomore year, so it’s our second year already and most of us are juniors,” Park said. “I think about how much we can grow. I mean, senior year will be different, but we’ll see what happens.”