Noah McDonough was trying to prove he deserved to be the new starting quarterback at Wells when the Warriors faced Biddeford in a preseason scrimmage.

One play in particular went a long way toward winning over his head coach.

Tim Roche held his breath as McDonough launched a pass that Roche thought was going to be up for grabs. Instead, the junior’s pass found an open receiver who had gone unnoticed by Roche, resulting in a completion and a big gain.

“I was about to be mad at him, but it was the right throw, especially under pressure,” Roche said. “Later in the game, he took off running on a called pass play where our first option was to run, so I said, ‘OK, good.’ Those two plays, they really caught my attention.”

That scrimmage helped McDonough get the nod to replace a quarterback, Cal Moody, who led Wells to back-to-back Class D state championships. When a starting job opens up, offseason battles or succession plans that long have been in place can define seasons for Maine high school football teams.

After the graduation of two-year starter Braden Branagan, Winthrop went into 2025 looking for a new signal-caller. The Ramblers had two talented candidates: senior Jake Feith, who had been their junior varsity quarterback, and sophomore Porter Lavigne.

Although the competition was open, Feith had the edge entering camp, said coach Joel Stoneton. Getting reps as Winthrop’s No. 2 quarterback last year prepared him for the moment, and when he finally got his chance in an exhibition against Medomak Valley, he passed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.

“It was really great in my first start to be able to spread the ball around and get it to all of our good receivers on the field,” Feith said. “That first time always feels like you have something to prove, but once you’ve won over your team, it feels really good.”

There were a few advantages that helped give Feith the inside track. For one, as a starting defensive back in 2024, he was accustomed to the every-down speed of varsity play. He also impressed coaches with his offseason dedication, excelling in 7-on-7s and displaying strong knowledge and command of the offense.

“Jake is the type of guy where, if you sit him down in front of the board and go over plays, he’s going to be able to tell you what your first, second and third option is and what his audible is going to be if you have to go to it pre-snap,” Stoneton said. “He just needed that opportunity to get that shot and be the guy for us, and he’s embraced it and owned it.”

Lavigne is now filling Feith’s former role of backup QB. The sophomore performed well, completing 6 of 10 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns, when he was called into action early in last Thursday’s win over Mountain Valley after Feith suffered an injury. Feith is expected back Friday against Lisbon.

A similar battle took place at Lawrence after Michael Hamlin, the Bulldogs’ three-year starter, graduated in June. A three-way contest between junior Colt Robinson and sophomores Jackson Dangler and Evan Bowers emerged, and Robinson was named the starter the day before Lawrence’s season opener at Brunswick.

“We put a lot on our quarterback’s shoulders, just in terms of getting our players in the right positions with our formations, and he showed a great ability to deal with that,” said Lawrence coach John Hersom. “He’s kind of like Michael: kind of quiet, but he’s vocal when he has to be and gets the job done.”

Teams often put together succession plans for the quarterback position years in advance. That was especially the case for the programs that have graduated the past two Fitzpatrick Trophy winners: Leavitt (Noah Carpenter, 2023) and Noble (Jamier Rose, 2024).

Even when Carpenter was an underclassmen, Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway was preparing for Brock Poulin to take over the quarterback position in 2024. Long before that, he had identified Landon Marquis, now a sophomore, as his starter for 2025 and beyond.

“Our coaching staff does a great job of preparing our whole team for what we’re coming into, so all summer and all fall, we’ve been busy prepping everyone,” Marquis said. “I knew (what the plan was), and Coach Hath and our other coaches have been putting a lot of time into getting me ready to flow into it.”

Like Leavitt did with Poulin and Marquis post-Carpenter, Noble had lined up Mark Lapointe to be its starter following Rose’s graduation. In both cases, Hathaway and Noble coach Keenon Blindow had the same message for the players tasked with following their star predecessors: Focus on being yourself.

“We told (Mark), ‘Listen, this is now your program, so do what you do best and play to your skill set,’” Blindow said. “He’s got a rocket arm, and he’s 6-foot-5, and like we told him, he’s going to be able to do some things that Jamier was unable to do. If he does the things he can do well, we can coach him up on the things he can improve.”

Making the most of the talent on the field is another consideration. Although Dom Carbonneau battled McDonough hard for Wells’ starting spot, Roche and his staff decided that putting McDonough under center and Carbonneau at running back would make the Warriors most efficient. During Hunter Hayes’ senior season at Leavitt (Carpenter’s sophomore year) in 2021, Hathaway tested plays that put both players on the field.

Skowhegan has also tried to piece that puzzle together. After Jason Aubin started for the River Hawks as a sophomore in 2023, Austin Lancaster took over as a freshman last season. The two then battled it out again after Aubin won the job back following an injury to Lancaster, but ultimately, coach Brad Cyr decided that putting Lancaster at quarterback and Aubin at tight end was best.

“Part of the thinking was, ‘OK, what can make us a two-dimensional offense instead of a one-dimensional offense?’” Cyr said. “It was a competition with the plan in mind that, if Austin won, this is going to be (Jason’s) role. He’s also embraced that role as tight end, which has been big for our offense.”

The way Skowhegan managed its quarterback situation proved fruitful last week. Lancaster completed 12 of 16 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown in the River Hawks’ 14-13 win at Lawrence, and Aubin’s presence at tight end paid off as he used his 225-pound frame to break two tackles on the way to a 34-yard touchdown reception that was ultimately the winning score.

If there have been nerves for the newbies, they’ve dissipated quickly. After a week of butterflies, Lapointe was 11 of 16 for 143 yards in Noble’s season opener, a win over Windham. Sam Matthews, Kennebunk’s new starter, recovered from a rough first half in his first game and helped end Falmouth’s 12-game winning streak. Robinson completed seven passes on a last-ditch touchdown drive that nearly pulled out a win for Lawrence against Skowhegan (the Bulldogs were stopped on their 2-point conversion try).

“I was nervous (before the season) because it’s a big step between that and JV, but I wanted it, and I had a good game,” Robinson said. “I just think about doing my thing and not worrying about all of it too much — just keep your composure together, go on out there and play your game.”