MARBLEHEAD — Every football player on the North Shore has been excited this week after getting back on the field, but for Marblehead’s George Percy there’s another reason to be just as excited for the start of this season.
After spending the last four years — two in middle school and two in high school — at St. Mary’s, Percy is gearing up for a homecoming on the gridiron this season after transferring to Marblehead High for his junior year.
“I played for Marblehead youth football growing up,” said Percy, whose father Douglas is a Marblehead High alum himself. “It was just that I wanted to come back and play for my hometown team.”
The past week or so has been a crash course online and on the field for Percy while seeing some familiar faces, meeting some new ones and diving into the Magicians’ playbook.
“(Thursday) was my first actual practice on the field and before that it was all on Zoom because I had to quarantine to start,” Percy said.
So far the transition has been a good experience for Percy, who has already spent some time on the court with the Magicians’ basketball team and spends two days a week in school during Marblehead’s hybrid learning program. And when it comes to football he’s already been putting in the work along with the rest of the team.
“It’s been great so far,” Percy said. “The team is putting in hard work every day. Joining a new team this year, the kids have helped a lot and the coaches have made me feel welcome too. At first it was a lot of Zoom calls where I got to get to know them and obviously get into learning all the plays.”
Anyone who followed the St. Mary’s football team last year knows the impact Percy can have on the field once the season does roll around. As a sophomore, Percy anchored the Spartans’ defense at linebacker and brought a spark to the offense at running back, earning Item All-Star honors that season.
While Percy is excited to get started in Marblehead, leaving his Spartans teammates makes the decision bittersweet.
“It was definitely a difficult choice to make,” Percy said. “I still love all those kids over there, I have great friends there. The coaches were all great too.
“My time at St. Mary’s definitely helped me as a player,” Percy said. “It really helped at first in my freshman year to get some playing time right away. I got to fit into a spot and play with a lot of older players. I learned a lot from them.”
For now, Marblehead spends practice getting up to speed, but Percy is already itching for a chance to pop on the pads and knows the team already has some lofty goals for 2021.
“I’m excited to get started on both sides of the ball,” Percy said. “I enjoy getting to hit kids on the defensive side and I love playing running back.
“The goal is for the team and that’s to go undefeated,” Percy added. “We get to play eight games this year, so we want to go 8-0.”
