MHS Offensive Line Leads the Way

’s super back Will Quigley is now the all-time leading scorer in the storied history of Magician football, and he knows he didn’t get there by himself.

“The offensive line has been great, I can’t hit the holes if they don’t make them,” Quigley said before practice Wednesday afternoon. “I’m very proud of the record, but this team is more concerned about winning the NEC.”

Quigley now stands alone with 228 points, passing the previous record holder Jake Healey.

“We were pretty green when we started camp in the summer,” head coach Jim Rudloff said. “The line has improved each week, really started to gel as we’ve moved along this season.”

The company line for athletes is always “one game at a time,” but this week’s game is huge, for both the home team and the visiting Panthers.

“We’re kind of in a tough spot, on one hand, we’ve really been playing better heading into Friday night’s game, on the other hand, Swampscott really poked the beehive last weekend and we know Beverly’s going to come at us Friday night.”

The Magicians stands at 3-0 in league play, Beverly at 2-1 after last weekend’s home loss to the Big Blue.

“We’re all very proud of Will and the job he’s done,” lineman Jeffery Peras said. “I’ve only been here since my junior year, but I knew when I got there this was a good bunch of players when I got here and we’re really starting to play better at a crucial time of the season.”

Co-captain Oliver Gregory spends most of his time anchoring the defense, but has done time on the O-line this season.

“Quigs does what he does, we’re confident that he’s going to get the job done every time he takes the ball, if we do our job, he can do his,” Gregory said.  “We’ve gotten better every week and this week we’ve got Beverly, it’s a huge game for us if we want to make the playoffs.”

Marblehead quarterbacks Gus Percy and Ian Maag know they can’t succeed without a solid effort from the big boys up front.

“Those guys put in the work and I’m confident that I’ll have time to pass or they’ll make a hole for Will go hit,” Percy said.

The line’s front five features Kyle McCormack, Ty Bates, Joel Katz, Jake Morris and Jeffery Peras, with Oliver Gregory and others stepping in to lead the offensive surge when Marblehead has the ball.

“Those guys don’t get the headlines when we win, so it’s good that they’re getting some recognition,” quarterback Ian Maag said. “There’s great history attached to Marblehead football, so to be part of Will’s season has been great, but now we’ve gotta be ready for Beverly.”

“The best thing for us (the offensive line) is for us to win, that means the most to us,” co-captain Joel Katz said.

Marblehead (6-2 overall, 3-0 league) hosts Beverly at Piper Field Friday night at 7 p.m.

“People were a little concerned after the first few games when Will wasn’t running for 200 yards a game, it took a few weeks for everything to come together for the line and the team, and we hope to keep moving forward,” Rudloff said.