Dirigo quarterback Hudson Lufkin takes the snap against Oak Hill during a football game last week in Wales. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

DIXFIELD — Dirigo sophomore quarterback Hudson Lufkin’s football career has been a series of transitions.

He started his freshman year in 2023 as a running back, then moved to quarterback three games into the season.

Last year, the Cougars played 8-man football; now they’re back in 11-man football.

“I put in a lot of work last year,” Lufkin said. “Starting off, I was definitely — I was pretty low on the charts, but you know, I put in a lot of work and it paid off. I started out pretty good.”

Lufkin led Dirigo to a strong finish to the regular season and then a nice playoff run. Two games into their return to Class D South and the traditional 11-man game, he and the Cougars (1-1) are a two-point conversion away from being undefeated.

Next up is a matchup in Dixfield against rival and fellow 11-man returnee Mountain Valley (1-1), which is coming off a dominating 42-6 victory over Maranacook.

GREAT FIT

Coach Craig Collins said that, although relatively new to the position, Lufkin has the attributes to play quarterback.

“He’s an athlete, and I believe nowadays your quarterback is going to be an athlete, going to be able to throw and run, and that puts a lot of pressure on the defense, and he can do both,” Collins said. “So we brought him along slow. We knew he was going to be good. We just didn’t know when he was going to be ready.”

Further proof of Lukfin’s athleticism came last winter when he claimed the 157-pound Class B wrestling state championship.

Lufkin split time at quarterback with Caiden Skidgell (another wrestling state champion) in the third game of the 2023 season, when Dirigo defeated Sacopee Valley 42-14. Lufkin was efficient, completing 3 of 4 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 74 yards on seven carries.

Lufkin became the full-time starter and Dirigo scored at least 42 points three more times in the 2023 season. The victory over Sacopee Valley started a six-game win streak that lasted until the Cougars lost to Maranacook in the 8-man Small South semifinals.

Lufkin, while wearing jersey No. 41, finished his freshman season with 933 yards passing and seven touchdown passes while running for 719 yards and scoring 10 TDs.

Lufkin said he felt nervous about being the starting quarterback but gained confidence from the his teammates and coaches.

“The whole team got a lot of confidence in me, and I feed off that,” Lufkin said. “So it helps me out a lot, you know, to help me out at practice — coaches too, you know, really everybody.”

Senior wide receiver Nathaniel Wainwright said Lufkin, though young, quickly became a team leader.

“It’s awesome because as a freshman, he came right in, he’s just like the heart of our team,” Wainwright said, “and he’s only a sophomore. He’s a very good player. And just being with him, I feel super confident. He works super hard, and we’re glad to have him.”

11-MAN SWITCH

Lufkin, who played some quarterback in youth football, was glad he was able to learn the position last year while playing 8-man football.

“It was a big jump from middle school to high school and then 8-man to 11-man,” Lufkin said. “I think if I jumped right into 11-man, it would have been very hard, very hard.”

One of the challenges Lufkin has faced in the switch to 11-man football is that passing routes that were successful for the Cougars in 2023 are not always open this year.

“‘Probably the throwing lanes, you know, that’s definitely, you know, whole different read,” Lufkin said. “Stuff that I was looking for last year, I can’t look for this year.”

Defenses in 8-man football play more zone coverage, but man-to-man is used more in the 11-man game. The Dirigo coaching staff has been working to help Lufkin find open throwing lanes.

“We work every day with him to make sure he understands coverages,” Collins said. “Reading coverages has been, you know, it’s taken a little time. I think Saturday, against Oak Hill, he started feeling more comfortable reading coverages. So, hopefully, we’re going to take the next step.”

Dirigo quarterback Hudson Lufkin runs the ball against Oak Hill on Saturday in Wales. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Lufkin, whose jersey number is now No. 17,  completed 9 of 16 passes for 160 yards against the Raiders. In the fourth quarter, he connected with Trevor Crosby on a 71-yard touchdown pass for the go-ahead score in Dirigo’s 14-13 win.

Wainwright said the wide receivers try to make Lufkin’s job easier.

“Well, we all just try to work hard on our routes and all our progressions and our reads,” Wainwright said. “Like, where we want to find open space. So we just try to trust each other, trust we’re going to make the right play, trust we’re going to make the right route.”

Running the ball in 11-man football is not much different than 8-man — just a couple more big guys to open the running lanes.

“It’s a bigger line, you know, more holes to cover … it’s not like a big difference, though,” Lufkin said.

Collins said one of Lufkin’s biggest attributes is his composure and not giving up on broken plays. As he showed in the season opener, he’s able to make something out of nothing.

“You know, last week against Freeport, he dropped the snap and still made something happen,” Collins said. “Being a former running back has helped him.”

Lufkin has run for 271 yards and two TDs on 37 carries through two games this season.

The Cougars are 1-1 in their return to 11-man football and have played two one-point games, a 27-26 loss to Freeport in Week 1 — their attempt to win the game in the closing minutes foiled by an incomplete pass on the potential go-ahead two-point conversion — and the 14-13 win over Oak Hill.

“In close games like that, you know, you have to just really want to win,” Lufkin said. “You have to want to win the whole time and do whatever you can to win. And two close games, you know, last weekend, this week … both one-point games. I was in it the whole time. I was there to do whatever I could to get it done.”