When you play tailback in Lewiston’s FLY program, you grow up wanting to be, well, a tailback for the Lewiston Blue Devils.

Jared Turcotte, Wesley Myers and Jeff Turcotte saw to that. One after another, they were the featured backs Quintarian Brown emulated throughout his young life.

Imagine his surprise the summer entering senior year, then, when Brown heard an out-of-the-blue, are-you-crazy suggestion from coach Bill County.

Son, how would you feel about playing quarterback?

Just because his initials are Q.B. doesn’t mean Brown was quick to bond with the idea.

“He is warming up to it,” County said with a laugh.

That sounds about right. “It’s different,” Brown said, “but it’s alright.”

It’s a calculated gamble with somebody who assuredly would have been among the best in the state at his position.

Brown burst onto the scene as a sophomore in 2012, combining with classmate Sheon James for seven special-teams touchdowns.

Even after sitting out most of a Week 1 game against Oxford Hills with severe cramps and being taken away from a Week 2 loss at Cheverus in an ambulance after suffering whiplash, Brown still amassed more than 1,000 rushing and receiving yards (at more than eight per pop) to go with eight touchdowns.

But with the graduation of two-year starter Eddie Emerson, the return of bruising fullback Stone Colby and the emergence of junior Stefan Porter as Brown’s heir apparent, County had a revelation about his most gifted athlete.

“He’s got a great arm. I think that there are some things we can do that will keep people honest,” County said. “When you have a kid playing quarterback who can run as well as he can, I just think there’s an awful lot of tools there.”

Brown, who has thrown halfback option passes more than 50 yards on a dime in previous years, recognizes his added value in starting under center.

“Having the ball every play, there’s always something to think about,” Brown said. “You’ve got to think when you drop back, do you pass? Do you roll out? Do you pull up and throw one? Stuff like that. It’s a dual threat.”

Summer 7-on-7 league gave Brown a chance to get any rookie mistakes out of his system.

The unspoken pressure was magnified by the fact that the Devils had another senior with years of signal-calling experience, James Flynn, waiting in the wings.

“At first it was like, I don’t know if I can do this,” Brown said. “But I got some encouragement from everybody, my coaches and my teammates.”

County called the change an “experiment,” allowing that there is still an outside chance Lewiston could employ a quarterback rotation.

Also, while it’s natural to assess Brown’s skill set an immediately think of a spread option attack, the Devils are unlikely to go there. Not with Colby, who rushed for 510 yards and 8 TDs as a junior out of a conventional backfield.

“We don’t want to just abandon that altogether,” County said. “We’re going to try to go multiple sets. We’re going to get under center for ‘x’ amount of plays and in shotgun for ‘x’ amount, and I think it’s going to give defensive coordinators a tough week to get ready for us.”

Lewiston struggled early in the restructured Class A East, losing games to Oxford Hills and Biddeford it felt were in its grasp during an 0-4 start. The Devils rallied to win three of four before a loss to Bangor in the regional quarterfinals.

With a veteran line, speed to burn and perhaps the most talented player in the league taking snaps, Lewiston’s hopes are sky-high.

“I thought we could have done way better. We all thought we could have. It’s part of growing, and hopefully we come back this year angry and ready to win,” Brown said. “This year we finally have more experience, and our linemen have put in a lot of work this summer. That’s going to be an exciting thing to run behind. This is our year. We’re just aiming for that Gold Ball.”

Copy the Story Link