Playing quarterback at Wells is a Moody family tradition

Wells junior quarterback Cal Moody has led the Warriors to a 7-0 record. He isn’t the first Moody to play quarterback at Wells. His father, Jon, left and helped the Warriors win a state championship in 1997, and two uncles and a grandfather also played the position at Wells. Steve Craig photo

WELLS – It is not an exaggeration to suggest that Cal Moody was destined to play quarterback for the Wells High football team.

After all, he is the third generation of his family to play the position for the Warriors.

“We’ve always had Moodys. All quarterbacks,” Wells coach Tim Roche said.

Cal Moody, a first-year starter as a junior, is having a blast controlling an offense that averages just over 40 points per game.

After last week’s 21-20 come-from-behind victory at Class C South leader Fryeburg Academy, Wells is 7-0. The defending Class D state champions close the regular season Friday at home against Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale, another high-scoring 7-0 team. The winner will be the top seed in the Class D South playoffs.

“I’m doing pretty well, a lot of guys have helped me,” Moody said. “A lot of the seniors are leaders that are helping me get through it, this being my first year. The chemistry within the team has definitely improved and we have only gotten better.”

The stocky 6-foot-1, 190-pound Moody isn’t the focal point of the offense. Wells quarterbacks never are. In the Warriors’ wing-T offense, the running backs get the ball and the big stats. Dom Buxton (827 yards, 14 TDs) and fullback Eli Potter (747 yards, 13 TDs) are both averaging over 100 rushing yards per game.

Moody has eight carries (for 55 yards) all season and is throwing the ball fewer than six times per game, having completed 20 of 38 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns.

“I think that’s fine. If something works in the game, I’m ready for it,” said Moody. ‘I don’t care what we do. We just have to win.”

Moody operates behind a quality offensive line (“They’re fantastic this year,” Moody said) and has shown the ability to make big plays. In his first varsity start, he threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Cody Haynes just before halftime in a 40-0 win against Cape Elizabeth. Two weeks later, Moody, Riley Murphy and Buxton combined for a hook-and-lateral touchdown two seconds before halftime.

Against Fryeburg, Moody connected with Murphy on a fly pattern down the left sideline for a 41-yard gain that set up the Warriors’ winning touchdown.

“He seems to hit us wherever we go,” said Murphy, a senior. “Of course he has made mistakes, but I see fewer and fewer mistakes from him during the matches.”

One way teams win is by limiting turnovers. Moody has thrown one interception. As a team, Wells has four turnovers.

Wells center Will Martinez said Moody “is very smart. He always knows what everyone needs to do. He guides us. He is a very good leader. His father coached us growing up and I remember seeing those traits being passed on to him.

Jon Moody said he never forced his son to play the position. Rather, Cal, gifted with a strong arm that he also displayed as a catcher in baseball and who naturally gravitated toward quarterback.

Cal says he wanted to play quarterback, “one hundred percent. I mean, I have a good arm. I enjoy showing it.”

Cal is well aware of the family history. His grandfather, Rick, was the Warriors’ QB in the early 1970s. Then came Josh, Cal’s uncle, and the eldest of three brothers. Josh Moody’s senior season was in 1996. The next year, Jon Moody, then a junior, took over and Wells won the Class B championship – the school’s first state title. Roche became head coach the following season and Jon Moody was his starting quarterback. Jason Moody, Cal’s other uncle, followed a few years later.

Not every Moody is a quarterback. Cal’s brother, Colin, a freshman, is a halfback.

“He’s a little faster, so he switched,” Cal said.

But Moody’s quarterback pipeline is still flowing.

“I am the eldest of all my cousins. More will follow. Yes. There’s a couple in high school and one in elementary school, so there’s definitely more to come,” Cal said.

So, which Moody is the best quarterback? Well, for now, Jon Moody, 43, is the only starter on a state championship team. Last year, Cal was a reserve at several positions and did some kicking.

When the discussion comes up at a family gathering, Jon Moody said, “I definitely give him some highlights, like winning states and the things we did as a team. We don’t compare statistics, and if we did it wouldn’t bode well for me.”

Like his son, Jon Moody played in a run-oriented wing-T offense. He later played defensive line at Holy Cross, then three seasons at Bates College.

Cal Moody says, “I always joke with him that I’m a better quarterback than him, but he says he was. Don’t really know though. I don’t think they had film when he played, so I’m not sure. No way to know.”

Starting with Friday’s game against Winthrop, Cal Moody will likely have more opportunities to make his case against quality opponents.

“We’ve been airing it a little bit more the last few games,” Cal Moody said. “That comes from stronger opponents, but also trying to get that in and get that stuff ready for the playoffs, just in case it comes our way.”

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