Londonderry’s four-headed QB rotation ready for football playoffs

Heading into the 2023 football season, Jimmy Lauzon felt his peers would think he is crazy.

Why? The Londonderry High School football coach was planning his offense around a quarterback rotation ... of four.

Since that August decision was made, the quartet of Conor Williams, Cam Brutus, Sam Ogden and Alex Villa have made some beautiful music together, combining for 1,329 yards and 17 touchdowns - more than half of the Lancers’ total yards and touchdowns on the ground - and 839 yards and 13 touchdowns through the air.

The result is a 7-1 record in the division and No. 4 seed in the Division I tournament, as Londonderry is set to host No. 13 Windham at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“I really thought everyone was going to think that I’m crazy,” Lauzon said of his choice to utilize all four QBs for the entire season. “Well, I feel like it’s worked out for the most part, and all four guys are producing at a high level. We’re not missing a beat no matter who is in the game. The results speak for themselves.”

Londonderry’s only loss came on Mack Plaque Weekend against Central Conference champion and rival Pinkerton Academy (8-0), which locked up the top seed and first-round bye, along with East Conference champion Portsmouth-Oyster River (No. 2, 8-0) and West Conference champion Bedford (No. 3, 8-0).

That 24-20 win was Pinkerton’s tightest victory in its undefeated season. It was the first time in his  legendary coaching career that Astros coach Brian O’Reilly has ever faced a four-QB rotation.

“I saw it at the beginning of the year and just assumed that Jim hadn’t made his final evaluation yet,” said O’Reilly, who's Astros would face the Lancers again if both reach the semifinals. “Then they all played again the next game and I said ‘OK, I guess he’s really doing this.’

“It’s unique, I’ll say that. And it has worked for them. I think it helps in a few ways since they aren’t limited to one guy at that position and there’s no worries of if that guy goes down playing defense, they don’t have a strong replacement. They obviously have four solid guys that can handle the position, and there isn’t one that is focused only on one aspect of the game. I think if these guys all had their own focus, and opponents knew what package was coming if a particular guy was in, then that would be a detriment. It isn’t that way though.”

O’Reilly is correct. All four QBs play in all three facets of the game - offense, defense and special teams. And they thrive in every role.

Conor Williams (senior)

Williams, a 5-foot-9, 165 pounder starts at free safety and returns kickoffs, along with his quarterbacking duties.

At QB, Williams - who Lauzon calls his “opener” - has thrown for 115 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 269 yards and four scores.

“I think we’ve all exceeded expectations,” Williams said of the QB quartet. “I think we all exceeded expectations from the get-go and that’s what led to coach making the decision he did.”

Williams does admit that Lauzon’s decision was initially tough on him. Heading into his senior year he felt he had the edge atop the depth chart.

So hearing coach say a rotation was coming was one thing, but then to be told it wasn’t just a two-way position share caught him off guard.

“I’ll be honest,” Williams said. “At first it was a little of a shocker. I was a little hurt, because I really thought I was coming in as that No. 1 quarterback. But I realized it was more of an ego thing. I saw how hard all four of us were working throughout the summer - watching film, throwing, lifting, working out - together. I took all that in and changed my outlook to doing what is best for the team.”

Cam Brutus (senior)

Brutus, a 5-foot-11, 170 pounder, also plays safety on defense and is the teams long snapper for kicks and punts when not at quarterback.

Offensively, Brutus has rushed for 387 yards and four touchdowns, while passing for another 66 yards and one score.

From his “Rover” safety position, Brutus is third on the team with 24 solo tackles.

“I love being able to play both ways,” Brutus said. “I think having all of us capable of running the offense allows us all to get out on the field in other ways.”

As for the decision to go with four QBs for the season?

“I was happy with that choice,” he said. “We were talking about it before hand and thought coach might go with some sort of rotation. We just weren’t sure which two it would be. Then he told us it’s all four. I mean yeah, we were all taken aback at first, but I was happy with the decision because we had all put in the work and earned our shot.”

Sam Ogden (junior)

Ogden, a 5-foot-10, 170 pounder, jumps on the field outside the QB position as a nickelback defensively and the holder for field goals and PATs.

Prior to being informed of the decision to rotate all four, Ogden expected one of the seniors to get the starting nod.

“I really was surprised,” Ogden said. “Yeah, I could see how hard we’d all been working and the effort we’d all been putting in on and off the field, but I honestly just figured one of the seniors - maybe even both - would be who coach would go with. That’s how it normally is everywhere. If you have that senior that can do the job, then that’s just the usual way it goes.”

Behind center, Ogden has made the most of his opportunities.

His first varsity play at QB resulted in a 60-yard touchdown run.

First guy to celebrate with him as he reached the sidelines? Williams.

“Conor met me on the field and chest bumped me,” Ogden said. “We are a competitive group, but we are also pushing each other and celebrating each others individual success for the team’s success.”

Ogden has reached paydirt five times on the ground while rushing for 490 yards. Through the air, he’s been just as prolific, throwing for 475 yards and seven scores.

Alex Villa (junior)

The bruising runner of the three, Villa stands in at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds. When not under center, he’s starting at outside linebacker and on the line to block for both the kick and punt units.

While Villa is more than capable of running every aspect of the offensive game plan, he takes most pride in having his number called in short-yardage situations.

“I feel like that’s my niche,” said Villa, who could just as easily be a full-time fullback in an I-formation or Wishbone set. “I love getting the ball in those short-yardage situations. Being able to ram into and through the line.”

However, it’s not his only skill as a QB.

Villa has amassed 183 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while also tossing a pair of scores and throwing for another 183 yards.

He’s been comfortable with the rotation from Day 1.

“I’ve always felt that any of us were fit to play right from the start,” Villa said. “I think we are all comfortable splitting reps and we really play off each other well competitively and support wise.

“I think we’re the tightest position group on the team and I’m not sure a setup like this would work if we weren’t so close.”

Nobody's laughing

Windham coach Jack Byrne knows what all four Londonderry QBs bring to the table heading into Saturday’s first round of tournament action. His Jaguars have already squared off with the quartet and their Lancers teammates.

That regular-season meeting back on Sept. 29 finished with Londonderry pulling out a 21-14 win in wet conditions. Ogden ran for a pair of scores (28, 6 yards) and Williams added one of his own (11).

“It’s uncomfortable and tough preparing for them,” Byrne said. “You’re not just dealing with one style of quarterback. They can all run that offense, but I think they do each add their own wrinkles here and there. So we just need to focus on sticking to our game plan and execute it to the best of our ability.”

Despite Lauzon’s early season thoughts that his peers would laugh and think he’s crazy, Byrne has nothing but praise for his coaching counterpart.

“Jimmy is such a good QB coach,” Byrne said. “He’s always turning out great players at that position, and right now he has four great ones at the same time.

“If Jimmy was a pro coach, he’d be building them non-stop for trade capital.”

Competitive collaboration

Wondering what his peers would think was always in the back of his mind, but Lauzon admits he was more uneasy with how the decision to go with a four-man rotation would sit in his own locker room.

“It’s been a blessing for us overall as a team,” Lauzon said, “but at the time, I was a bit nervous. I was unsure how the guys would receive the idea and how it would play out over the course of the season. Those nerves were gone after I told them and they accepted it right away.”

Lauzon stressed the hard work put in all summer. That they’d all show up six days per week to work run and pass reads together, and watch film.

Although a competitive group, Williams, Brutus, Ogden and Villa are also friends. It shows in how they work together in practice, cheer for each other in games, and celebrate individual and team goals as a unit.

These are all topics they discuss daily in their private QB group chat.

“One thing coach made clear was that if we make a mistake, we’re not getting pulled,” Williams said. “We would all get the chance to bounce back and keep pushing forward. We all lean on each other. Sure there’s competition between us, but our main objective is winning as a team. Whatever that takes and whoever is in the game at that time.”

Villa agrees, but also stresses that their friendship helps keep things loose.

“We’re the tightest group on the team,” Villa said. “We do compete with each other, but we joke around a lot as well. We are having fun with this situation. It makes things easier and more comfortable. We’re all confident in our own abilities, and our teammates as well.”

Saturday in Londonderry, the quartet hopes to string together another sweet song on their way to victory and a spot in the quarterfinals.