WATERBORO — Pretty much every football coach in America will utter the words “it all starts up front” at some point throughout the season — and new Massabesic High School coach Eric Ouellette is no different.
Ouellette will be counting on junior quarterback Nick Roberge to lead the way this season, but the Massabesic coach knows that without a strong offensive line the Mustangs won’t find much success in 2018.
“I’m the offensive line coach and I tell the guys, ‘our success this year is going to be dictated by how our offensive line plays,’” said Ouellette, who is a former Biddeford High School and University of Maine standout.
Bobby Woods, who will be the lone senior on the Massabesic O-line, is happy to have coach Ouellette on the sidelines this year.
“It’s a lot of fun having him as a new coach. I really like him as a guy and he works with us … he was willing to work with us and help us get better instead of just expecting us to get better,” said Woods.
Nick Jones believes Ouellette is trying to create a better atmosphere around the Massabesic program.
“He seems to want to create more a team bond. He wants us to all know each other and have a friendship instead of it all being about football,” said Jones, who is a junior.
The Mustangs are confident heading into the season — especially after they won the final two games of the 2017 campaign.
“It turned our mentality around completely and we’re excited about games now. We can’t wait to go out and show teams that we’re competitive,” Woods said.
Junior Jacob Breton believes one thing that should help the Massabesic line this year is the fact that they have been working alongside each other for several years.
“We’ve all been playing together, pretty much all of us, since we were about yea high little kids. We’re all really close,” said Breton.
Hunter Monahan echoed that sentiment.
“We’ve been working on this same offensive line for a couple years now so this year we’ve really bonded together — not just as an offensive line but as a whole team to really come out here and fight,” said Monahan, who is also a junior.
The Massabesic linemen are thrilled to have a talented QB like Roberge leading the offense.
“Nick brings one hell of an arm to the table,” said Monahan.
“This year he already seems so much more comfortable in the pocket and making the throws he needs to make,” added Woods.
The entire line was quick to point out Roberge’s leadership qualities.
“He’s always there for you. If you ever fall or get hurt, he’s always there to help you up. If you ever do something wrong, he’s always there to help you get it right,” said sophomore Pierce Beaulieu.
“He’s a leader for our team. If we miss a block, he wouldn’t just yell at us. He’d pick us back up and help us get better,” added Monahan.
The Mustangs are looking to take it one game at a time, but they definitely see more wins in their future.
“I’d say we’re just going to try to keep going, keep on the grind. We won two last year and obviously the goal this year is to win more than that — three or maybe even four is very possible,” said Breton.
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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