Making the transition from townie to prepster, from the comfort of his AHS senior spring to the academic stresses of Andover, has been simply more of the same for Nick Stamas ’04. Stamas is no stranger to change: partway through his senior season at Andover High, Stamas made switch from wide receiver to starting quarterback. Replacing former Andover student-athlete Brent Hyde ’05, Stamas took the reins of a faltering 0-3 Andover High football team and led the them to a surprising 3-8 finish last year. Stamas’s ability to “adapt on the field” is “one of his many strengths,” said current Andover High quarterback and former teammate Geoff Stevens. On the field, “Stamas can improvise and make plays happen when it would be a dead-down for other players,” said Head Football Coach Leon Modeste. “You just can’t teach creativity,” Modeste continued. This natural game-sense, coupled with his “tremendous athletic ability” and “good vision,” as Coach Modeste said, makes Stamas a dependable asset to the Big Blue football team. Stamas attributes his play-making skills at QB to “developing around wide-receiver plays” during the three years of wideout he played before making the switch during his senior year. While following in the footsteps of Andover football legend Zak DeOssie ’03 is no easy task, Stamas appears eager to take up the challenge. Characterized as a “silent leader” by Coach Modeste, Stamas is a modestly confident athlete who “let’s his actions speak for him” as AHS QB Stevens said. In fact, Stamas’ leadership seems to have rubbed off on Stevens, an 11th grader who is currently playing like a senior. Elaborating on the clear differences between DeOssie and Stamas, Coach Modeste said, “While DeOssie, used his powerful arm and size, Stamas is a different animal. [Stamas] takes the opportunity to run for yards, while DeOssie only ran to get out of trouble.” Stamas is an ideal fit for Coach Modeste’s pass-driven offense, which takes advantage of wide receivers Tyler Simms ’04 and Tolu Wusu ’04. Stamas’ ability to run when the opposition chooses to play man-to-man will be key in upcoming games against Loomis and Hotchkiss. Additionally, the ground threat Stamas creates should spring Simms and Wusu loose, opening up scoring opportunities. Stamas’ cites his experience playing for a “similar offense” at AHS as a base for his development at PA. Very rarely do high schools, especially in the New England area, choose to run such pass oriented offenses as both Coach Modeste and Coach Ken Maglio of Andover High have chosen to implement. With such talent, it would be surprising not see Stamas continue his football career in college. The division III academic-sports experience is appealing to Stamas, who mentioned interest in Bates and Bowdoin as prospective schools. A true athlete, Stamas hopes to play lacrosse in addition to football at a higher level. Whatever the case, it’s clear that Stamas will adapt and excel as he has done and is currently doing at Andover.
