Ouellette focused on making himself, and Nashua North football, best they can be

Austin Ouellette had a feeling what was going to happen even before the Nashua High School North football team lined up for the play.

After stopping Nashua South at the 1-yard line, the Titans had their backs against the goalposts in a regular-season game that was still up for grabs.

And in just a few moments, Ouellette would be making one of this biggest grabs of the season.

"We called it up and had to handle signal in," the junior said. "I forget who was guarding me, but when I saw the corner out there, I knew right away that I was just going to get by him and that we were scoring on that play. It ended up being a great throw (from quarterback Mike Loveless). I got the catch and I knew they weren’t going to catch me."

The play turned into a 99-yard touchdown reception for the Titans in what turned out to be a loss to the Panthers. North (5-4) will have an chance at redemption at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Stellos Stadium, as the Titans take on South (7-3) in the annual Turkey Bowl.

For North coach Dante Laurendi, that play was a perfect example of what type of player Ouellette has become, and can be.

"He started as a sophomore and he played well, but there were times last year where he was in great position and didn’t finish the play," the coach said. "I think this year, he’s gotten better at making those big plays. He’s run the ball more for us, so he’s kind of been a jack of all trades. I think that’s to his confidence, which improved as the season progressed. He’s not done. He wants to continue to get better."

Getting better is one thing that's helped Ouellette stay focused during the final weeks of practice, as North has prepared for Wednesday's game. Not many non-playoff teams have been practicing since the end of the regular season, and he realizes that's an opportunity to build momentum going into the offseason.

"The practices are huge because we have a really young team," Ouellette said. "We lose a few people. It’s a huge preparation for next year. The juniors had to take on a leadership role earlier than we thought we would. It’s just a huge learning experience for the people who hadn’t played varsity before."

Ouellette was able to get his shot at playing on the varsity a year ago, thanks in part to a position change. Ever since starting football in third grade, he had been a quarterback, but entering high school, when Loveless, who is also a junior, moved to the area, the pair started sharing time under center.

"It almost happened by chance when he was a freshman," Laurendi said. "We were rotating him and Mike (Loveless). He got moved out there because of his speed. It wasn’t that he wasn't doing good things at quarterback, it was that he had speed that no one else on the field had. He was more effective out there."

With that move, Laurendi added another player on the field who understood not just what he was supposed to be doing, but what everyone else was, too.

"Whenever you have a guy who learns the offense from a quarterback’s perspective, it makes going to a different position that much easier," the coach said. "You kind of see the big picture, where if you are a receiver or a running back, people only tend to know that position. When you have a quarterback’s perspective and you need to know what everyone is doing, that certainly helps things."

Ouellette has used that knowledge to try to give himself an edge on the field.

"Timing is huge, but reading coverage and not just what the corner is going to do, but what the safety is doing," he said. "It helps with knowing where to go, where the open spots are going to be. You want to win that one-on-one competition with the corner. I’ve got to get every edge I can."

Given the number of juniors and sophomores on this year's roster, North should have a lot of players returning for next season, and Ouellette is hoping he and some of the other starters can get many of them into the weight room during the offseason.

"For most of us, it started last year after we got back from (Thanksgiving)," he said. "We’d been lifting every day and we had pretty good numbers in the summer. It could have been better, though, so hopefully that changes."