WATERTOWN — Maybe it’s becoming that, when Buckingham, Browne & Nichols soccer coach Mike Willey was requested to select a second he knew Bo MacCormack can be particular, it was not even an offensive play.
That’s as a result of MacCormack, the game-changing operating again for the Knights, does a lot extra than simply run the ball properly. His versatility is simple.
The play in query really got here on particular groups two years in the past, when the Westford native was a freshman.
“Bo’s obviously special. He’s been special since he got here,” Willey mentioned. “I think one of the things that really set a memory in my mind is we’re playing Governor’s, always a well-coached team. He was starting running back that game and played outstanding on offense. But he was also on the kickoff (return) team, and he recovered a surprise onside kick, where it took a lot of courage to go in there and get it. I was like, ‘Wow, this kid is carrying the football for us. He’s making that type of play. This kid’s going to be something special.’ ”
MacCormack remembers it properly.
“That was the first game of my career here. That was my freshman year,” MacCormack mentioned. “I hadn’t played an offensive snap yet, I don’t think. That was one of the first things I did. They called an onside kick and I went and got it.”
But, make no mistake, MacCormack’s play as a operating again is kind of excellent, as properly. Speed? Check. Running with energy? Check. Tackle-breaking means? Check. Catching the ball out of the backfield? Check. Pass safety? Check.
His freshman 12 months, MacCormack rushed for 1,178 yards and 12 touchdowns on 189 carries (6.2 yards per rush). Last season, MacCormack rushed for 1,308 yards and 11 touchdowns on 233 makes an attempt (5.6 yards per carry). He additionally made 56 tackles on protection, and caught seven passes for 106 yards and a landing.
And MacCormack is the proper again for the BB&N offense. Willey likes to run the ball behind the Knights’ sometimes huge entrance, and he feeds his again early and infrequently. The Knights by no means abandon the run, and MacCormack — a 6-foot, 194-pounder — will get higher as the sport goes alongside.
“In the offseason, I do some pretty crazy conditioning with my dad,” MacCormack mentioned. “It’s a lot harder conditioning with him than it is in a game. What he always says to me is when I’m running sprints, and I do sprints up hills with the ball making moves all the way up the hill, and he tells me, ‘Picture the defense. Keep your mind in the same spot when you’re going through.’ I keep my head in a spot the whole way through. … When they’re all tired, you can just run over them.”
And he has run over loads of drained defenders over time. His recruitment — as a junior nonetheless — contains affords from Nebraska, UConn, UMass, Coastal Carolina, Charlotte, Rhode Island and East Carolina.
He will doubtless get extra, however proper now, MacCormack is targeted on the opener towards Milton Academy. BB&N tied for the ISL-7 title final 12 months. Milton is without doubt one of the groups that stands within the Knights’ method in the event that they hope to do this once more.
“Especially for these seniors, this will be their last time doing it, and their last time going at it,” MacCormack mentioned. “We really want to get an outright ISL championship and a (NEPSAC) bowl win this year. That’s what we’ve been working toward every year. This year more than any year, I feel like we have the talent to do it. That’s where everyone’s head’s at. That’s definitely the goal.”
And extra than simply MacCormack’s heroics, his teammates love taking part in with him.
“They love him because of how hard he works and how much he cares about BB&N football,” Willey mentioned. “Bo is a great player, and could be all about individual stuff, but that is the exact opposite. He is a great teammate. He cares about BB&N football tremendously. They see that and are like, ‘OK, this is great. He’s our guy.’ Couldn’t be a better teammate.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com