Max Clark and Jack Schuck know each other well.
Schuck was Clark’s backup at Bangor High School, and credits the quarterback two years ahead of him for being a valuable mentor. The two have long been friends and teammates, playing multiple sports together in high school.
But on Saturday, at least for four quarters, they became opponents with a surprise reunion at the college level.
Clark is now a senior and the starting quarterback at Husson University in Bangor. Schuck is a sophomore at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and until this weekend, he had been a backup QB for the Engineers.
But a nagging injury for usual starter Aedan McDermott meant Schuck got his first-ever college start against Husson on Saturday.
It happened in his hometown, against his high school mentor.
“I would just watch him and how he played, and really try to model my game after him,” Schuck said about Clark. “And to come out and compete against him and kind of just share the field with him was a great experience.”
Clark said it was “definitely a unique perspective to come off the bench and look over there and see someone who you’ve known for quite a while, and worked out with for quite a while, play the opposite position.”
The former teammates have remained close after high school, even training together over the summer.
They crossed paths on the field during pregame warmups before Saturday’s matchup.
“I said hi and told him good luck,” Schuck said. “And told him to ball out, but not ball out that hard because I still wanted to win.”
It was all respect and “nothing but great vibes” between the two, according to Schuck. He stressed that Clark remains a friend and mentor, but noted how he was also playing with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after playing in Clark’s shadow during his later high school years.
Schuck acknowledged that Bangor didn’t have the same level of success on the football field after he took over for Clark. And the young QB wanted to prove himself in his first college start.
He certainly did on Saturday.
Schuck went 28 for 39 for 231 yards and one touchdown pass, helping WPI engineer a 15-13 win over the Husson Eagles.
Clark went 20 for 37 in the game for 284 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He said Husson was “very heartbroken as a team” after the loss. But he also couldn’t help but feel good for his friend.
“As a human being, though, I was very happy for him,” Clark added.
Schuck praised Clark for the example he set at Bangor High.
“He’s very smart and very comfortable at all times,” Schuck said. “He’s always composed in the pocket, and he always knows what he’s doing.”
The younger QB said his “mind was blown” when he arrived at Bangor as a John Bapst transfer and watched Clark talking about football Xs and Os with the coaching staff.
“From there I really realized how there’s different levels to the mental side of the game, and Max really has that,” Schuck said.
Clark in turn credited Schuck for his selflessness and hard work. He pointed to a game in high school where COVID had sidelined roughly 20 players on the team, and the backup QB stepped up as an emergency tight end.
“He was the backup quarterback that season, and starting at tight end in a huge game is not something that you’d normally see,” Clark said, calling it an example of Schuck’s approach as a teammate.
Clearly, one game as opponents hasn’t damped the respect these two quarterbacks have for one another.
“It was definitely very cool and very unique,” Clark said about the hometown reunion on the field.
Schuck reveled in the chance to get his first college start back in Bangor, saying he felt right at home playing on the Husson turf. He had never played a football game there before, but logged plenty of baseball games on that field.
“I know the turf like the back of my hand,” Schuck said. “All summer I trained there with Max and all of his receivers. So it felt like a home game, it felt comfortable, it felt relaxed.”
He even had some fun with the fact that he never won an away game during his high school career.
“It’s crazy that as a starter, I’ve never won a football game outside of Bangor, Maine,” Schuck said.
