Versatile quarterback Chris Ladd leads Belchertown on Super Bowl quest
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Belchertown football coach John Mayo is in his fourth season leading the Orioles, but he’s coached for roughly three decades. Having worked with hundreds of players over that time, Mayo delivered the ultimate compliment about his current quarterback.
"I've coached football for 30 years, and Chris Ladd is the best player I've ever coached," Mayo said. "His football IQ is so high, and his memory is tremendous, which is huge at the high school level. You put his physical ability with his mental ability, you have one heck of a player. He's been pretty much the ideal player."
Ladd seemed flattered by his coach's comment, but his response exhibited the young man's humility.
"I don't know, you see a lot of players in 30 years," he said. "But that's his opinion, which I respect."
Ladd, a senior signal caller, is enjoying a third consecutive outstanding campaign for Belchertown, which earned its second straight Western Massachusetts Division 3 playoff berth with a 9-2 record.
The No. 2 Orioles play No. 3 Lee (9-2) tonight at 7:30 in the semifinals at Westfield State University.
A four-game winning streak to close the regular season secured a spot in the playoffs. As has been the case for the past three seasons, the Orioles leaned heavily on their dynamic quarterback.
"I think he compares well to (running back Melquawn) Pinckney of Putnam and (quarterback Greg) Heineman of Minnechaug," Mayo said. "I think Pinckney will probably win the Bertelli award, and deservedly so, but Chris is right there."
Case for MVP
Ladd's accounted for nearly 2,500 passing and rushing yards. He's run for 1,297 yards on 225 attempts, an average of 5.8 per carry. Through the air, he passed for 1,161 more, completing 84-of-157 pass attempts (54 percent). Ladd's the only quarterback in the area to have surpassed 1,000 yards in both categories.
"You can make a very strong case that Chris is the most valuable player to his team in western Mass., when you also factor in his impact on defense and special teams," Mayo said. "And as quarterback, he does so much out there for us, including reading defenses and deciding which play to run."
Ladd's tremendous versatility and ability to break down a defense with his skill set has slightly changed the way Mayo looks at offensive football.
"Up until the last couple years, I didn't like my quarterbacks to run this much because of the risk of getting hurt," he said. "But Chris running sets up everything for us. He's an aggressive kid, and has gotten better and better. Other teams I've coached threw the ball about 30 times a game. I've been around a lot of good passing quarterbacks, but Chris is just as good running as he is throwing."
Ladd has had a part in 31 touchdowns this season, nearly three per game. He's run for 19 scores, thrown for 11 more, and returned an interception all the way. Ladd threw just five interceptions, and turned it over only a handful of other occasions despite handling the ball on every snap.
The Orioles' receiving corps - Tyler Rodriguez, James Ryan, Steve Boudreau, Kevin Comeau and Nick Leduc - is talented but on the small side. When they get open, Ladd hits them, usually for big plays.
"It's perfect to catch passes from a quarterback as good as Chris," Boudreau said. "He puts it right on the money."
Whenever the Orioles break the huddle, all 11 sets of eyes on defense are focused on the quarterback, who can run by you, around you, through you, or find an open receiver.
"Personally, I love it because if everyone's focused on me, they're not paying as much attention to my teammates," Ladd said. "That helps everyone out, including myself."
Starting running back Jake Loughman is a highly-productive player on both sides of the ball, but the senior has no problem deferring much of the ball-carrying duties to his classmate.
"Getting the ball is a nice perk, and it's fun to run it, but I'm just as happy blocking for Chris as long as we put points on the board," Loughman said. "That's what this team is all about."
Even when Ladd makes the rare mistake, nothing seems to affect him from possession-to-possession or from game-to-game.
After throwing a pair of interceptions in an October loss at Commerce, the Orioles' first setback of the season, Ladd responded the next week with 267 total yards and four touchdowns in a key victory over Mahar.
"If I throw a pick here or there, I'm upset, but I just move on to the next play," Ladd said. "Same thing week-to-week, all you can do is move forward. I always try to keep calm on the field, both to keep my teammates up and also not to give the other team motivation."
Numbers speak
As a junior, Ladd helped lead the Orioles to a 9-2 record and a Division 3 playoff berth before losing in the semifinals to Athol. He threw for over 1,200 yards, ran for more than 700, and accounted for 25 total touchdowns (15 rushing, nine passing, one INT return) while throwing only three picks.
Ladd won the starting job as a sophomore, taking over for another versatile quarterback in Cody Brown, who had 1,861 passing yards and 11 touchdown tosses as a senior in 2008.
"Cody taught me to always keep my head in the game, just to stay calm and relaxed," he said. "That's what I've tried to do since I became the starting quarterback."
The first-year signal caller compiled close to 1,600 total yards and 17 touchdowns. Despite the impressive rookie campaign, Ladd knew he had a lot of room to grow.
"When I started as a sophomore, I wasn't very patient in the pocket and my arm wasn't too strong," Ladd said. "I became more confident and comfortable the more I played, and my accuracy and arm strength came along."
For his career, Ladd has crossed the goal line 73 times (40 rushing, 31 passing and two interception returns). As for career yardage, he's 10 shy of 6,000. In his three seasons, Ladd's tossed for 3,703 yards and rushed for 2,286 more.
While his passing totals have decreased a bit over the past two seasons, Ladd's rushing exploits have exploded in 2011 with about 500 more yards on the ground.
"I wouldn't say we've run more often, but we've been better at it," he said. "It all starts with the offensive line, which has played great. If they block well, we'll run more. If not, we'll move on to the passing game."
Out of the Orioles' shotgun spread formation, Ladd can run the zone option or the draw, and even under center he's a threat with the sneak. And no matter where the ball is spotted, the end zone's under attack, as Ladd's a home-run hitter as well as a virtual sure thing on the goal line.
"We know we just have to give him a little block, and he's gone," fellow captain and lineman Zach Lebeau said. "In my mind, he's the best player in western Mass."
Despite his personal preference as a quarterback, Ladd admits his identity has changed some this year.
"I like throwing a little better," he said. "It helps me keep my breath, and also gets other guys involved. Last year, I saw myself as a passer who can run. But this year, I'm more of a runner who can pass."
Defensive playmaker
The overwhelming offensive statistics only tell part of the story, as Ladd's also a significant contributor on defense and special teams. As a playmaking linebacker and defensive back, he's made 56 total tackles (36 solo) with three sacks and three interceptions this year.
"I haven't played as much defense this season, and that's more about saving my energy and because we have a lot of weapons on the defensive side," Ladd said. "But I come in for big situations."
In the win over Mahar, he forced a red-zone fumble to thwart a Senators' scoring chance, then sealed the victory with a 76-yard interception return for a score.
"The number of big plays he's made for us on defense is incredible," Mayo said. "He's such a good all-around athlete. Chris will play all over - outside linebacker, safety, cornerback. He punts really well, too, which is very important as this level."
Then there's his capacity as a leader and a captain. Ladd isn't boisterous on the field, but his work ethic has clearly rubbed off on the rest of the team.
"I lead vocally when I have to," he said. "Sometimes I have to take charge in the huddle, but that's more of a senior mentality as much as a captain mentality. It's my last year, and I want everyone focused on winning."
Mayo said, "His teammates all respect him a great deal, because of his ability and that he never misses a day. I don't think he's missed a practice in three seasons. Neither Chris nor Zach (Lebeau) are big rah-rah guys, but they work their tails off and definitely lead by example. The intangibles are there."
Super Bowl quest
Undoubtedly, Ladd's strongest intangible quality is bringing his entire team together with a single purpose.
"My teammates mean everything to me," Ladd said. "If I was a cocky player, then if I screwed up, the guys wouldn't be as eager to pick me up. We give everyone the opportunity to help win the game, and that team spirit has really helped us.
"We're like a family out here, many of us have been playing close to 10 years together," he added.
With a win tonight, the Orioles' family would advance to their first Super Bowl since 2005. The prospect of bringing a championship back to Belchertown is certainly exciting for Ladd and his teammates. "Winning a Super Bowl would be huge," Ladd said, "because everybody thinks this is a soccer town, but if we can get a ring, that would be very significant for the program."
Ladd doesn't plan on playing football in his freshman year of college, but hasn't ruled out trying to walk on to a team later in his collegiate career. He's looking at Westfield State, Western New England, the University of Massachusetts and UMass-Dartmouth.
"It's been really fun to coach him and just watch him play over four years," Mayo said. "I wish we could keep him for four more, or at least one more."
Michael Wilkinson can be reached at mwilkinson@gazettenet.com.
