Mason Wilson’s evolution at QB powering Hawks to strong start

Published 10:00 am Thursday, September 25, 2025

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Rotating through practice drills with his fellow linebackers, Mason Wilson bolted off the line and churned his legs to halt the ball carrier’s progress, drawing praise from his coaches.

The Mountlake Terrace junior would take hits carrying the ball in other drills, and line up at defensive end as well, all before taking the field to practice no-huddle situations. Although this time, he was no longer lined up on defense.

Wilson took his place under center as the starting quarterback for the Hawks. A rare two-way playing quarterback, Wilson is powering a Mountlake Terrace team with big expectations for the 2025 season.

He’s been used more situationally on defense this year, getting occasional reps at linebacker and defensive end, but the biggest focus has been building off his sophomore season at quarterback in 2024, when he was named Second Team All-Wesco.

“I take more pride in (that) I can play both sides of the ball pretty confidently,” Wilson said. “But I’m trying to work on my QB skills as much as possible.”

Safe to say that mission has gotten off to a good start.

In last week’s 43-6 win against Meadowdale, Wilson bulldozed for 201 yards and four touchdowns on the ground while going 7-for-9 for 116 passing yards. As a team, with eight starters on each side of the ball returning from last season, Mountlake Terrace has jumped to a 3-0 start, outscoring opponents 132-6 across the three games.

As expected of any quarterback, Wilson has been a big key to that success.

“When we’re down and close to the goal line, he’s a tough kid to stop,” Hawks coach Archie Malloy said. “We can run a lot of stuff, and we have a lot of options as it pertains to putting the ball in other people’s hands, but you know, it’s never a bad call if Mason Wilson is carrying the football.”

Listed at 6 feet, 210 pounds, Wilson has used his size and athleticism to his advantage, but the biggest development between his sophomore season and this year has been improving the other intricacies that come with the position, such as anticipation and reading different defensive looks.

He’s had plenty of help with that, particularly from his father, Kevin, who is Mountlake Terrace’s defensive line coach. A former defensive lineman in his own right, Kevin Wilson started Mason on the defensive side of the ball when he began playing pee-wee at five years old, displaying greater strength than his peers even at that age.

Even before Mason entered high school, Kevin would bring him along to Mountlake Terrace practices and have him watch the players to learn right from wrong on the field. To this day, the two watch film together every night.

Those habits at home have transitioned into the locker room. Kevin praised Mason’s maturity, always helping out his three younger sisters at home when his parents are working. In turn, the Mountlake Terrace coaches have seen him grow into a bigger leader on the team, rallying teammates on the field and in the weight room.

“He’s always really had good habits,” Kevin said. “He’s always been really good in the classroom. He doesn’t really do anything bad. He eats well, he’s not really into the junk food, anything like that. That’s just who he is.”

Kevin has no background on offense, so it was other youth coaches who recognized Mason’s potential to impact the game offensively. Kevin estimates his son has played practically every position on the field except for offensive line over the course of his career, and it was Malloy and the rest of the Mountlake Terrace coaching staff that has taken his performance as the signal-caller to a whole new level.

“I (have) confidence (in) what we (can) do in the game,” Mason said. “(…) We could just make more confident throws. We can expand our offense more now that everybody’s confident that the coaches have really brought us all together, now that we have a good game plan.”

Between his experience playing on defense and his dad’s coaching knowledge, Wilson has used it to his advantage while playing quarterback. By understanding the tendencies of the opposing defenders, he can think multiple steps ahead.

“I think I see that a lot, especially when he scrambles,” Kevin said. “He understands what the D-line (is doing), he understands their pass rushing lanes, and so he kind of sees it, and he gets out and he scrambles. He gets in space, makes people miss.”

So far this season, the Hawks have seen Wilson’s understanding expand to the entire offense. After putting in the work on the field and building better chemistry with his teammates this offseason — bonding off the field by swimming at the beach or sharing meals together at Denny’s — Wilson has the Hawks offense operating as a cohesive unit, and the results speak for themselves.

“The biggest thing with Mason is that he has such a grasp of the offense,” Malloy said. “Of what it is that we’re trying to do. He not only knows what he’s supposed to do, but he knows what everybody else is supposed to do, and so he gets people lined up.

“He’s got a great understanding of what it is myself and my coaching staff are trying to do when we’re putting drives together.”

A significant portion of the offense is built around Wilson’s rushing ability, but Malloy said the Mountlake Terrace program prides itself on playing “complementary football,” and Wilson’s ability to be a facilitator is what makes it all work.

Whether he’s connecting with senior tight end Nate Brown downfield or dishing the ball off to junior running back Owen Boswell, Wilson has been able to consistently create opportunities for his teammates to make plays.

“It draws eyes, the double threat,” Boswell said. “They’re looking for me, but they’re also looking for Mason, so it opens up more opportunities for me.”

With the way things have started, the Hawks have high expectations for the rest of the year, but right now all focus is on their next task: a Friday night matchup against Shorecrest, which kicks off at 8 p.m. at Edmonds Stadium.

“We’re trying to hammer down their defense,” Wilson said. “Their real defense against teams that look like us is kind of hard to do since the teams they were playing run like a Wing-T or a Double Tight scenario. We have to envision what they’re going to run against us.”

No matter what that is, Wilson and the Hawks offense have proven they’ll be difficult to stop.