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11/13/2018 11:00 PMMax Thomas got out to a great start in his football career by running for 12 touchdowns and more than 500 yards without being tackled once when he was in 8th grade. Max has kept his legs moving on the gridiron throughout the ensuing years, and now he’s a force for the Old Saybrook-Westbrook football team as a senior this season.
Max is a wide receiver/cornerback for the Rams who also runs track at Old Saybrook High School. Max started a few games as a sophomore and progressively earned more playing time, before becoming a full-time starter on both sides of the ball this year. Thus far, Max has nine receptions for 185 yards and four touchdowns, along with a pair of interceptions on defense for the Rams, who have won three of their last four games for a record of 4-4.
“I’ve been here for all four years and came in the same year that [Head Coach Mike Marone] and his staff got here. I’ve had a really good time here,” says Max. “We play quarter coverage on defense, so that puts me in the deep end, so I just try and go up for the ball. And then on offense, we are an option team, so we run the ball.”
By playing both receiver and corner, Max is constantly on one end of a critical matchup on the football field. Max draws upon what he’s learned in both scenarios in order to deceive his opponent on any given snap.
“You have to know route running in order to trick corners, plus I’ve had good players around me to learn from,” Max says. “But a lot of it comes game to game, and our coaches prepare us well for everything.”
Max has incrementally risen up the Rams’ ranks with each passing season. Max says that every stop along the way has left a lasting impact on him and driven him to do even better than before.
“I started my first two games of my sophomore year, and I didn’t expect to play varsity after my freshman season, so that was big for me,” Max says. “My junior year, I started on offense, and then this year starting on both sides really changed me. You just have to make adjustments and be ready.”
The numbers in Old Saybrook-Westbrook’s program have fluctuated throughout Max’s tenure with the team. With a smaller squad this season, Max says that every senior veteran on the roster is playing an invaluable leadership role for the Rams.
“When I was a freshman, we had 60 guys on the team. We had 32 this year, but after injuries, we have about 25 for the varsity and scout team,” says Max. “So, with that, it becomes a big deal to step up as a senior leader on this team, and I try to also help out the freshmen.”
Coach Marone describes Max as a gifted football player who loves competing for Old Saybrook-Westbrook. Marone says that Max features a great pair of mitts that allow the senior to make game-changing receptions.
“I have told Max since his freshman year that he has golden hands,” Marone says. “We are a run team first. Teams know that Max can strike at any time, so they have to respect his side. This helps our ability to run the ball. On big downs, the quarterback usually throws to Max, because he knows that Max will never drop a football. Max has thrived on the OS-W football field for four years with this philosophy: Dropping or catching the football is the difference between winning and losing. He will be difficult to replace after this season.”
Max feels that a turning point for the Rams this year can when they knocked off previously undefeated division rival Cromwell-Portland by beating the Panthers 35-20 on Oct. 20. Max had three catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns in that victory. Now, he wants Old Saybrook-Westbrook to finish 2018 strong by claiming victory in its final two games.
“We started 1-3, and I think a lot of people counted us out after that, but then we beat 5-0 Cromwell-Portland,” says Max. “I think now we are expected to go on a roll the rest of the way and do very well.”