For the last few years, Marcus Qualls has lived in the shadows at Lake High School.
Last year, there was always Jay Jimison and in baseball there was Deyton Lingle and Jay Johnston.
But all three of those are going and the spotlight is focused squarely on Qualls. And that’s just fine with the third member of The Newton County Appeal’s Elite 11 team.
Qualls was the Hornets’ second-leading rusher last year with 863 yards on 160 carries and scored 44 points. He also had 52.5 tackles for the Lake defense.
But things are about to change for Qualls. Gone is former coach Lee Martin’s spread offense and now the Hornets will be moving to a power rushing attack under new coach Tate Hanna.
“We expect some great things out of him and with my style of offense,” Hanna said. “We expect Marcus to have over 1,500 yards rushing, at least. We are going to put the pressure on him and put the ball in his hands and put everything on his shoulders. We expect that he will be the bell cow for us and lead us to great things.”
For Qualls, that’s music to his ears as he looks to get the memories of last year out of his mind.
“I just want to get better every day and do better than we did last year,” Qualls said. “I want to improve in everything we do, whether it’s running the football or catching the football. We want to be better than we were last year. I will play strong safety on defense but I like running back the best. You get to make plays at both positions but there is nothing like making a touchdown from the backfield.”
Hanna credits Qualls’ work ethic with his success so far and hopes it leads to great things for the Hornets in 2017.
“Marcus is a great kid and comes from a great family,” Qualls said. “He is a hard working young man and shows up every day in the weight room. It doesn’t matter what we are doing, Marcus is going to give his best.
“Watching the game film and coaching against him in the past, Marcus is the kind of kid that would hard to tackle in a phone booth. The first guy is not going to get him down and I hope he continues that this year.”
Former coach Lee Martin was quick to sing Qualls’ praises as well.
“He’s one of those kids that may be small of stature but has the biggest heart of anybody on the team,” Martin said. “He’s one of those kids that whatever you tell him to do, he’s going to do it right. You could tell him to go paint the weight room and you could come back and it would be just like you wanted hit. He’s an even better kid than a football player and he’s a pretty good football player. I wish I could have 40 kids like him. He’s a hard worker everywhere he goes and it shows up on Friday night.”
On the baseball diamond, Qualls hit .316 and was second on the team with 15 stolen bases.
“He’s a great kid and a hard worker,” Lake coach Jake Nester said. “He will probably hit leadoff for us this year and can really run. He has hit over .300 for us the last three years and I hope he can improve on that this year. He has started in the outfield since he was a freshman and this will be his third year in centerfield. He’s not going to be loud, he’s just a quiet, hardworking kid. He leads more by example than with his mouth.”
The Jackets sent two players to junior college last year as Deyton Lingle signed with Pearl River and Jay Johnston signed with East Central. Nester said Qualls could definitely play at the next level.
“I hope that he has a shot to go somewhere and play baseball,” Nester said. “I keep on trying to get him to go to some of these college and work out for them. I definitely think he could play at that level. I think he’s one of those kids that you really aren’t taking a big chance on if you sign him. He has a lot of upside and a high ceiling.”
With Lingle and Johnston gone, Qualls is looking forward to stepping up his game.
“We had three seniors last year and because of them we had a great year,” Qualls said. “I was in the six, seven hole for most of the year but it looks like I will be leading off this year. That will be a challenge for me and something new. But I’m looking forward to it.”
Qualls said he hopes to get the chance to play at the next level somewhere next year but like the opportunity to play at East Central. He said he would like to become an electrician and “make some money.” tions but there is nothing like making a touchdown from the backfield.”
Hanna credits Qualls’ work ethic with his success so far and hopes it leads to great things for the Hornets in 2017.
“Marcus is a great kid and comes from a great family,” Qualls said. “He is a hard working young man and shows up every day in the weight room. It doesn’t matter what we are doing, Marcus is going to give his best.
“Watching the game film and coaching against him in the past, Marcus is the kind of kid that would be hard to tackle in a phone booth. The first guy is not going to get him down and I hope he continues that this year.”
Former coach Lee Martin was quick to sing Qualls’ praises as well.
“He’s one of those kids that may be small of stature but has the biggest heart of anybody on the team,” Martin said. “He’s one of those kids that whatever you tell him to do, he’s going to do it right. You could tell him to go paint the weight room and you could come back and it would be just like you wanted it. He’s an even better kid than a football player and he’s a pretty good football player. I wish I could have 40 kids like him. He’s a hard worker everywhere he goes and it shows up on Friday night.”
On the baseball diamond, Qualls hit .316 and was second on the team with 15 stolen bases.
“He’s a great kid and a hard worker,” Lake coach Jake Nester said. “He will probably hit leadoff for us this year and can really run. He has hit over .300 for us the last three years and I hope he can improve on that this year. He has started in the outfield since he was a freshman and this will be his third year in centerfield. He’s not going to be loud, he’s just a quiet, hardworking kid. He leads more by example than with his mouth.”
The Jackets sent two players to junior college last year as Deyton Lingle signed with Pearl River and Jay Johnston signed with East Central. Nester said Qualls could definitely play at the next level.
“I hope that he has a shot to go somewhere and play baseball,” Nester said. “I keep on trying to get him to go to some of these college and work out for them. I definitely think he could play at that level. I think he’s one of those kids that you really aren’t taking a big chance on if you sign him. He has a lot of upside and a high ceiling.”
With Lingle and Johnston gone, Qualls is looking forward to stepping up his game.
“We had three seniors last year and because of them we had a great year,” Qualls said. “I was in the six, seven hole for most of the year but it looks like I will be leading off this year. That will be a challenge for me and something new. But I’m looking forward to it.”
Qualls said he hopes to get the chance to play at the next level somewhere next year but would like the opportunity to play at East Central. He said he would like to become an electrician and “make some money.”
