ENID, Okla. — Like most of his teammates, Enid Plainsmen senior quarterback Chance Pryor is motivated by a desire to see the team improve from last season’s 2-8 record. But his motivation may run a little deeper and is a little more personal.

Pryor has dedicated his season to the memory of his father, whose troubled life ended at age 57, just before the start of football season in July 2011.

“My dad died last summer and I made it a little thing to at least get to play in a couple of varsity games.”

Pryor is the front-runner to take over at quarterback for the Plainsmen, succeeding Connor Daugherty who started every game in 2011 and set a Plainsmen record with eight touchdown passes in one game in Enid’s 52-34 win over Ponca City. Daugherty also set the season record with 21 touchdown passes.

While Daugherty played nearly every down, Pryor didn’t see the field at quarterback. But that all is expected to change this year.

“I was just waiting for my chance,” Pryor said. “I really haven’t had that much of an opportunity and (offensive coordinator) Coach (James) Smith came in here and liked what he saw and said he was going to give me my opportunity.”

Pryor, who has played football since third grade and quarterback since 10th grade, said he and his mother, Connie Pryor, moved to Enid so she could be closer to her family after developing a seizure disorder — which now is under control — and so he could play football in an environment that takes football seriously.

“I was born in Colorado Springs (Colo.) and lived there until I was 16,” Pryor said. “My mom is from Enid and she moved to Colorado 21 years ago,” said Pryor, the youngest of five children.

“When I turned 16, I told my mom I wanted to move to Enid because of football,” Pryor said. “In Colorado they don’t take football as seriously as they do here. The hype is a lot different. Football here is a big deal.”

Pryor hoped his dad could make it for a few games, something that would not have been possible until just before last summer.

“My dad had been in and out of penitentiary most of his life,” Pryor said. “He actually got released and was still living in Colorado and I went down to visit him (before the start of the 2011 season). He was in the hospital because he got real sick.”

Pryor said the family initially was told his father, who had served time for various drug-related offenses, had pneumonia. It turned out to be much more serious.

“He actually had colon cancer,” Pryor said. “When I came back for football they told me he had a month to live. He never got to see me play varsity football.”

While such a family dynamic may appear on the surface to be difficult, it appears to have made Pryor stronger and his mother has played a large role in his development.

“She has been a single mom since I was in the third-grade,” Pryor said. “She got three jobs just so I could get all the stuff I need for football and things like that. She’s always been there for me.

“I’m playing for more than myself,” Pryor said. “I’m playing for my teammates of course, but also to help my mom out and for my dad.”

Pryor believes it has made him a stronger person and Enid head coach Steve Chard said Pryor is quickly developing leadership skills necessary to play quarterback at the 6A level.

“He exudes good confidence,” Chard said of the 5-foot-9, 165 pound senior. “He talks a lot and that is a good thing because he doesn’t talk in anybody’s face. He just expects himself to do well.

“He’s a leader already in many ways. He led throwing sessions on his own during the summer, but he knows as quarterback there is a lot of pressure. I told him his name is going to be in that (newspaper) article when we win, so he’s got to be ready for that and I believe he is ready. He’s a senior and he’s waited his turn.”

On the field, Chard acknowledges Pryor is not the biggest, but his arm strength is good and he throws an accurate pass.

“He’s very coachable,” Chard said.

Pryor, who was 19-of-20 passing in 7-on-7 camp against Woodward earlier in the summer, showed some of that arm strength in Tuesday’s first practice, connecting on a 40-yard touchdown strike to senior wide receiver Demetris Lofton in the corner of the end zone.

“I can throw it about 55 yards in the air,” Pryor said. He said his mobility will benefit the Plainsmen passing game this season.

“The strongest part of my game is I can throw on the run and don’t have to stay set up to throw.”

Pryor still is absorbing some of the new playbook. “We have a lot more plays and all of our plays aren’t necessarily set. It can be a little bit hard, a little more diverse, but I think it will give us a better chance to win.”

He also knows the team will be looking to him for the leadership the coaching staff expects out of its quarterback.

“I got a lot of the team’s respect,” he said. “We’ve got a team that likes to joke around, but for the most part they listen to me and respect me. I like to lead by example and let my playing do the talking, but every now and then I’ll get up and say something.”

He’s anxious to get on the field this season and work toward returning Enid to the playoffs after the Plainsmen have missed the postseason the past two years.

“That’s our goal, to make the playoffs and then move forward from there,” he said, adding the team is looking forward to scrimmages Aug. 17 at Southmoore and Aug. 23 at Yukon.

“We’re ready for the scrimmages and what they are going to throw at us,” he said. “We’ll just have to make some adjustments. I have faith in my coaches to get it done.”

And Pryor, who hopes to show enough this season to attract some collegiate attention, has a message for Enid fans about what to expect this season.

“Tell them to bring their popcorn, they’re going to get a show,” Pryor said.

Pryor then rolled up his left sleeve to show he carries his father’s memory with him, revealing a tattoo on the inside of his bicep, bearing his father’s name, Gary Adams.

“I hope he will be watching too.”