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O'Connell fulfills childhood dream, starring in long-awaited shot as North Andover QB

Sep. 24—Growing up, while his friends played off to the side, Jack O'Connell was glued to his seat in the Walsh Stadium stands, hanging on every play run by the North Andover High football team.

From those early years, O'Connell's dream was clear — to play quarterback for the Scarlet Knights.

Now, after years of waiting, that goal has finally become a reality for the North Andover senior.

"I've been waiting for this since I was a little kid in elementary school," said O'Connell. "This has been a long time coming. I've been patient, and now I'm ready to take advantage of the opportunity."

So far this fall, 6-foot-2, 185-pounder has certainly run with his shot as the Scarlet Knights' starting QB.

Through two games, O'Connell has completed 39 of 47 passes for an area-leading 530 yards and five touchdowns. Last Friday, he threw two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 34-0 win over Beverly.

Pretty impressive for a player who had thrown just one varsity pass going into this season.

"In all my years of coaching, I have never seen a player improve more from his freshman year to his senior year than Jack O'Connell," said North Andover coach John Dubzinski. "You can tell the kid loves football, with how much time he put in during the offseason. Now he's off to a terrific start."

BECOMING A QB

O'Connell fell in love with playing quarterback in flag football, and that passion only grew when he began playing tackle football in seventh grade. But he would have to wait for his chance at the varsity level.

"My high school career didn't go as smoothly as I wanted," he said. "I did get to be the quarterback of the freshman team, then on the JV team as a sophomore.

"Junior year, I was hoping to get the start (at QB), but I was competing against a senior (two-year starter Will Schimmoeller) with varsity experience. I was asked to play cornerback on varsity, which was a position I'd never had played, but I was willing to embrace the new role to get on the field."

With varsity experience at defensive back, O'Connell shifted her focus back to quarterback following Fall 2.

BREAKOUT SEASON

"It was kind of implied that when the Fall 2 season ended, I would be taking over as quarterback," he said. "Coach Dubzinski started talking to me throughout the summer about changing the offense to spread and really using our team skill to our advantage.

"Him showing trust in my passing skills really gave me a lot of confidence. I was thrilled to hear that coach Casey (Walsh) was coming back. We think alike and we have a good relationship. The whole team's been 'clicking' since summer workouts."

In his first varsity start at QB two weeks ago, O'Connell threw for 334 yards, three touchdowns and a two-point conversion.

"We have put a lot on Jack's plate in terms of learning a new offense, reading different defensive looks and making the right reads," said Dubzinski. "So far, he has looked like an All-Scholastic. He is a great captain who the kids all look up to."

With Marblehead this Friday (away, 7 p.m.), before kicking off their MVC schedule next week, O'Connell isn't content with a few good games.

"I want to continue working on my craft as a QB and playing football in college," he said "I also want to lead the team to a good record, make a run in the state tournament and make some memories with my senior buddies."

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