AUGUSTA — At larger schools such as these, it’s usually a position reserved for a senior — but as B.L. Lippert looks around the Pine Tree Conference, something different is going on in 2023.

There’s a youth movement at the quarterback position with the PTC’s top teams all having underclassmen under center this season. Instead of last-year signal-callers, it’s sophomores and juniors who are leading the passing attacks in Class B North.

“It’s a good group of quarterbacks here in central Maine,” said Lippert, now in his eighth season as Cony’s head coach. “It’s pretty rare. Usually teams have a hierarchy, but there’s been a gap in some quarterback rooms, and some younger guys have emerged and played pretty well.”

Two sophomores, Cony’s Parker Morin and Messalonskee’s Tatum Doucette, will be fixtures on Friday nights for years to come. Add in junior Michael Hamlin at Lawrence and the tandem of Chase Burgess and Asher Nagy at Gardiner, and you have a bright future at the position among central Maine’s Class B programs.

If there’s a front-runner to be the All-Pine Tree Conference first-team selection and possibly the Player of the Year, it’s Doucette. The sophomore standout has thrown for 1,026 yards, 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions for Messalonskee, which is 6-0 for the first time in 23 years.

“I’ve put in a lot of time studying this year,” said Doucette, who also has 288 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. “I (started at the end of the season) last year, so I didn’t have the full year of experience. I think the meetings with coaches and studying the game have really helped me grow a lot.”

Right there with Doucette is Cony’s Morin. Taking over for Dom Napolitano at the position, there were big shoes to fill for the sophomore who, prior to 2023, had never played quarterback; Morin played running back and receiver in middle school before an injury forced him to miss his freshman season last year.

Seeing Morin have success at the position, though, hasn’t surprised Lippert. The sophomore has an athletic intelligence, he said, that makes him successful regardless of the sport he’s playing, and his competitive nature has only served to further that success on the football field.

“Parker is just so athletically intelligent,” Lippert said. “You see it in the way he thinks, the way he moves and the way he understands spacing in basketball. He’s only played a few games at quarterback, but you’re already seeing him break out. His growth curve is pretty steep, and he’s getting better and better every week.”

Although Morin had solid games in a win over Skowhegan and in losses to Messalonskee and Lawrence, that true breakout game came last week against Bangor. He completed 29 of 35 passes for five touchdowns and a state-record 480 yards as Cony rolled its way to a 55-20 victory.

“It felt really good to know that, once we’re clicking on all cylinders, we’re looking nice,” said Morin, who racked up the yardage without even attempting a pass in the fourth quarter. “My line blocked for me, my receivers got open, and we all got a break and got to sit on the sidelines at the end.”

Cony’s rival, Gardiner, also has a newcomer to the quarterback position in Burgess. A threat as a runner and as a passer, the junior has sparked the Tigers (4-2), who are a win away from posting their first winning season since 2012.

Entering August camp, Gardiner head coach Pat Munzing was looking for a natural athlete to replace Wyatt Chadwick at quarterback. Burgess fit that bill well and beat out Evan Michaud for the starting job, and his leadership, Munzing added, has only made him a better leader for the Gardiner offense.

“We looked at last year, and outside of Skowhegan, everyone else that had success that year had their best athlete on the team at quarterback,” Munzing said. “There was one point in practice where Evan said to Chase, ‘We’re going to need you,’ and from that point on, Chase has taken the reins and done his thing.”

Although Burgess is set to graduate next year, Gardiner’s future at quarterback is by no means in doubt in 2025. Nagy, a sophomore, has also taken significant snaps for the Tigers this year after spending his freshman year playing hockey at North Yarmouth Academy and should keep the train of success going once Burgess departs.

“Having those two quarterbacks that we can kind of intertwine has helped expand some things,” Munzing said. “The second half against Nokomis, we turned the ball over to Asher to go out and get after it, and that’s what he did. We tried another wrinkle against Cheverus trying to let him run it and get the ball out to the perimeter a little bit.”

Of all the underclassmen signal-callers this year, Lawrence’s Hamlin is the most experienced. The junior started a few games as a freshman two years ago and has slowly emerged into a potent threat, one for whom PTC opponents are accustomed to preparing on a weekly basis.

A dual-threat quarterback, Hamlin frequently nears the 100-yard mark in the air and on the ground. His ability to throw on the run, Munzing said, is remarkable, and the way he can run the Bulldogs’ iconic waggle keep, Lippert added, is part of what makes Lawrence’s offense dangerous.

“I think that playing experience has been the biggest difference,” Hamlin said. “Last year, once the playoffs started and I had a full season under my belt, I think that’s when things started clicking for me. I wouldn’t say it was easier, but I had a better time processing it, and it’s felt that way this year, too.”

In all, six of the seven PTC teams are starting underclassmen at quarterback. There are four sophomore starters in Doucette, Morin, Skowhegan’s Jason Aubin and Falmouth’s Tre Walker and two juniors in Burgess and Hamlin. Mt. Blue’s Klay Dunning is the lone senior starter.

Some recent developments in Maine high school football, Munzing said, have helped bring about that new generation of quarterbacks. Kids are more accustomed to spread offenses, and seven-on-seven camps further polish the skills of returning quarterbacks and bring new ones up to speed.

“Some of the younger guys have grown up in that era, and you’re even seeing these spread offenses become part of the youth football scene,” Munzing said. “A lot of kids these days are taking advantage of that, and you’re seeing them growing into good quarterbacks.”

The next few years will require opposing defenses to adapt to that young generation of quarterbacks as they continue to mature and improve. That competition, Doucette said, will only make Class B North football better in the years to come.

“I think it’s awesome because it shows you how much young talent there is in this area,” Doucette said. “It’s great to have competition from the other quarterbacks in the league because it makes you want to get better, too.”

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