At one time, it seemed a given that Will Quigley would attend St. John's Prep.

Even some coaches in the Marblehead Youth Football League would make that suggestion to him. After all, Quigley was a promising athlete, a pretty good running back who had a family history at the parochial school in Danvers.

His father Bill Quigley, a lawyer, had a notable stop at the Prep. He led the Eagles to a Division 1 state tennis championship as a sophomore before departing for Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Camp in Bradenton, Fla., where he completed his high school degree, went off to Brown University and eventually played 18 months on the world pro tennis tour.

"I got sick of the travel. I was in Taiwan and all four of my wisdom teeth impacted," the 46-year-old father said. "I wasn't going to let anybody in Taiwan work on my teeth, so I came home and saw my own dentist."

Never to look back, either. The elder Quigley headed for law school at Boston University after two more years at Brown.

His son Will is a slim 6-foot, 172-pound sophomore who chose to stay at home and attend Marblehead High.

The Magicians' football program is glad he did.

"Physically, he doesn't yet have the ideal body of a varsity football player, but Will works hard and he's going to get there," Magicians' head coach Jim Rudloff said. "He'll be a big sturdy kid as he gets older.

"He's a (15-year-old) sophomore with the mind of a senior. His academic and football IQ is that of a senior."

Quigley leads the team in rushing with 461 yards on 78 carries and three touchdowns. He's also caught nine passes for 95 yards and another score, and also returns kicks. He plays tailback, flip-flops at cornerback, and learned a new offensive position — H-back, the slot position — last week against Danvers High.

He'll no doubt get some special attention from Beverly in tomorrow night's showdown at Piper Field. He always finds a way to contribute.

"Our eighth grade team last year had eight players enroll at St. John's Prep," Rudloff said. "I'm happy Will stayed.

"I've seen Will play since fifth grade. He was always one of the best, if not the best player, on the field. I knew if he came here he would be the type of kid who would have an impact on the varsity.

"We lose kids to private school all the time and it's generally some of our better kids. I think we have two starters on the Prep freshman this year, one a quarterback. Private school; it's a crapshoot. Depending where, the level of education may not be on a par with Marblehead. St. John's is a great school. Some others have not been as good as I've seen at Marblehead."

Rudloff doesn't necessarily say Quigley is a poster boy for staying at home. But he's glad that Quigley did.

For most of his youth, Quigley was targeted for the Prep, according to his father.

"When he was younger, it was just accepted that he'd go," the elder Quigley said. "Then about seventh grade he told us he 'bled red and black' and wanted to go to (Marblehead) High School. My wife and I had no problem with that. Our daughter Grace (now a freshman at Bucknell) had a wonderful experience in public school, took part in athletics and had strong grades."

Will said "I'm not interested" when asked in eighth grade if he wanted to visit the Prep and check it out.

"I've been with some of my teammates since third grade," he said. "I respect all of my teammates, and football is my favorite sport. Why should I have left?"

"(St. John's Prep) has kids going to Division 1 and 1-AA (colleges) all the time," Rudloff added. "They're a powerhouse school. Hopefully, once we get together, we'll be sending those type of kids there, too. Right now we're sending our share of kids to the NESCAC schools."