Wells junior quarterback Cal Moody has directed the Warriors to a 7-0 record. He’s not the first Moody to play quarterback at Wells. His father, Jon, left, helped the Warriors win a state championship in 1997, and two uncles and a grandfather also played the position at Wells. Steve Craig photo

WELLS — It’s not a stretch to suggest Cal Moody was destined to play quarterback for Wells High’s football team.

After all, he is the third generation of his family to play the position for the Warriors.

“We’ve had Moodys forever. All of them quarterbacks,” said Wells Coach Tim Roche.

Cal Moody, a first-year starter as a junior, is having a good time controlling an offense that averages just over 40 points per game.

After last week’s come-from-behind 21-20 win at Class C South leader Fryeburg Academy, Wells is 7-0. The defending Class D state champion finishes the regular season Friday at home against Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale, another high-scoring 7-0 team. The winner will be the top seed in the Class D South playoffs.

“I’ve been doing pretty good, a lot of guys helping me out,” Moody said. “A lot of seniors being leaders helping me through it, this being my first year. The chemistry has definitely gone up with the team and we’ve just gotten better.”

The sturdy 5-foot-11, 190-pound Moody is not the centerpiece of the offense. Wells quarterbacks never are. In the Warriors’ wing-T attack, the running backs get the ball and the big stats. Dom Buxton (827 yards, 14 touchdowns) and fullback Eli Potter (747 yards, 13 touchdowns) are both averaging over 100 rushing yards per game.

Moody has had eight carries all season (for 55 yards) and throws the ball less than six times per game, having completed 20 of 38 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns.

“I’m fine with that. If something’s working in the game, then I’m completely up for that,” Moody said. “I don’t care what we do. We’ve just got to win.”

Operating behind a quality offensive line (“They’re fantastic this year,” Moody said), Moody has shown the ability to make big plays. In his first varsity start, he threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Cody Haynes right before halftime in a 40-0 win against Cape Elizabeth. Two weeks later, Moody, Riley Murphy and Buxton combined on a hook-and-lateral touchdown two seconds before halftime.

Against Fryeburg, Moody connected with Murphy in stride on a fly pattern up the left sideline for a 41-yard gain that set up the Warriors’ winning touchdown.

“He seems to hit us wherever we go,” said Murphy, a senior. “He’s made mistakes, obviously, but I’m seeing less and less mistakes from him through the games.”

One way teams win is by limiting turnovers. Moody has thrown one interception. As a team, Wells has four turnovers.

Will Martinez, Wells’ center, said Moody is “very smart. He knows what everyone is supposed to be doing at all times. He leads us. He’s a very good leader. His father coached us as we were growing up and I remember seeing those traits passed down to him.”

Jon Moody said he never forced his son to play the position. Rather, Cal, gifted with a strong arm that he also displays as a catcher in baseball, naturally gravitated to being a quarterback.

Cal says he wanted to play quarterback, “a hundred percent. I mean, I have a good arm. I like showing it off.”

Cal is well aware of the family history. His grandfather, Rick, was the Warriors’ QB in the early 1970s. Then came Josh, Cal’s uncle, and the oldest of three brothers. Josh Moody’s senior season was 1996. The next year, Jon Moody, then a junior, took over and Wells won the Class B championship – the school’s first state title. Roche became head coach the following season, and Jon Moody was his first quarterback. Jason Moody, Cal’s other uncle, followed a few years later.

Not every Moody is a quarterback. Cal’s brother, Colin, a freshman, is a halfback.

“He’s a little faster, so he switched,” Cal said.

But the Moody quarterback pipeline is still flowing.

“I’m the oldest of all my cousins. There will be more to come up. Yep. There’s a couple in middle school and one in elementary, so there will definitely be more to come,” Cal said.

So, which Moody is the best quarterback? Well, for now, Jon Moody, 43, is the only one to be a starter on a state championship team. Last year, Cal was a reserve at multiple positions and did some kicking.

If the discussion comes up at a family gathering, Jon Moody said, “Certainly I give him some highlights, like winning states and things we did as a team. We don’t compare stats, and if we did, it wouldn’t bode well for me.”

Like his son, Jon Moody played in a run-oriented wing-T offense. He later played defensive line at Holy Cross, and then for three seasons at Bates College.

Cal Moody says, “I’m always joking with him that I’m a better quarterback than he was, but he says he was. Don’t really know, though. I don’t think they had film when he played, so not really sure. No way of knowing.”

Starting with Friday’s game against Winthrop, Cal Moody will likely have more chances to burnish his argument against quality opponents.

“We’ve been airing it out a little more, the last few games,” Cal Moody said. “That’s because of tougher opponents, but also trying to get that in and get that stuff ready for playoffs in case it comes our way.”