GRAFTON – Tyler Dimond is a student of football. He loves the thinking part of the game.

With less than four minutes to go in the first quarter of the Oct. 1 game against undefeated Marlboro, the Grafton High School senior stood behind center with the ball on the Panther’s 33-yard-line. As he scanned the defense, he noticed something about the Panther’s cornerback Ryan Blaisdell, who was playing eight yards off the line-of-scrimmage.

“I knew I just needed about two-and-a-half seconds to let my receiver, Liam Donagher, get downfield and all I needed to do was throw it up to him, knowing he’d beat the defender who was playing about eight yards off,” Dimond said. 

As Dimond predicted, Donagher did beat his man along the left sideline. Dimond then lobbed the ball to where only his receiver could catch it. He dropped the over-the-shoulder pass away from Blaisdell’s outstretched left arm into his receiver’s breadbasket. Donagher cradled the ball into his body and scampered into the end zone. “He’s one of the most gifted athletes I’ve ever had the privilege of playing with and I couldn’t ask for a better receiver to have.”

Grafton went on to beat Marlboro, 41-20, as the Gators cruised to their fourth win of the season. Entering the game, Dimond only completed a total of six passes on eight attempts for 108 yards. Most of his offensive production this season was rushing the ball. The Gators decided to dust off Dimond’s right arm at just the right moment.

“In terms of a game plan, we knew that they would be keying on the run game because teams haven’t seen a lot of our air attack,” Dimond said. “So, we knew passing would be a huge part of our offense this week.”

Dimond, who also had two touchdown plunges near the goal line, put the game away on another throw. This time, the Gators drove the ball to Marlboro’s 13-yard-line. When Dimond looked over the defense, he saw the Panthers bunch up at the line to stop the run.

“That left man coverage on the left side of the field with the safety shifted to the right leaving the middle of the field wide open,” Dimond said, who hit Jayce Walker on a post route up the middle for the easy score. “Before the ball was snapped, I knew it would be a touchdown, because covering Jayce one-on-one is really never going to work.”

Granted, Dimond’s ability to run and throw the ball makes him a tough dual threat to contain. However, Grafton head coach Christopher McMahon said what sets him apart from a lot of similar quarterbacks is his mind for the game.

“He’s like a coach on the field,” McMahon said. “He knows our offense inside and out. He knows what we do well. He knows what we don’t do well. To have a quarterback that has that ability, it’s obviously helpful … He’s instinctive. He’s smart. He sees things. Those are great traits to have in a quarterback.”

Dimond said mental preparation is the most important part of his pregame routine.

“If you know how a defense is going to line up against your offense before a game, then going into that game, it’s going to be easier,” he said. “It’s almost like studying for a test where you know what to expect and you know where the open zones are going to be in the defense. So, it just makes your job overall easier.

“The mental aspect is such a huge part of these games,” he said. “You have to make sure while you’re preparing, you have to be training your brain, studying defenses, studying coverages, passing concepts and what’s going to work.”

Along with his mental approach to playing the position, Dimond does have tremendous physical tools to play football. He is a versatile player who is on pace to rush for 1,000 yards for the season and has nine rushing touchdowns and three passing scores. “I like to make sure I can do a lot of things,” he said.

As a runner, he may not be the fastest player on the field, but he is sneaky-quick when it comes to picking up big chunks of yards. As a passer, he has enough athleticism and quick moves in the pocket and in small spaces to avoid sacks and oncoming tacklers. McMahon said he is capable of playing several positions other than quarterback. “He could play wide receiver. He could play running back. If he wanted to, he could play defensive back, too. I don’t think there’s a position he couldn’t play. From quarterback, to running back, to wide receiver, I think the door is open for all those things in the next level (at college).”

Dimond, who is 6-feet, 185 pounds, hopes his versatility will give him an opportunity to be a productive player in college. “I’d like to gain 15 pounds of muscle, if possible, for next year. Being around 195 to 205 pounds is a really good weight to play a lot of positions in college football,” he said. With that said, he plans to attend a university where academics are just as important as football. “Right now, I’m only really talking to Division 3 schools. Schools that are active in academics, as well as have a great football program. That’s very important to me, but wherever I end up, it’s going to be the right fit for me. But we will see.”

Dimond comes from a football family. His father was a football coach. He was a sophomore when his brother Cam was a team captain in 2019 as a starting linebacker for Grafton. His younger brother Chase is currently a starting offensive guard on the team.

“It goes back to Tyler’s love of football,” McMahon said. “It’s been a passion of his since he was a young kid. It’s something that’s important to his family as well. They’re a football family. We’re really lucky to have such a great football family. That’s a great foundation for any team to have.”

Cam Dimond was a great mentor to Tyler. “He’s been a huge influence to me,” Tyler said about his brother, who is a sophomore linebacker at Carleton College in Minnesota. “I’ve always looked up to him and basically just tried to follow his basic work ethic. It’s really led me to the place where I am now. He’s been a huge role model for me, for sure. He was a great captain and a great player here.”

Tyler said he learned how to be a leader from his brother. “My sophomore year, we had my brother as a captain. He was unbelievable. He knew how to get everyone pumped up without putting them down, without making them feel bad about themselves … I just try to follow in his footsteps the same way. That’s 100 percent effort and when I need to pick someone up, I do it without putting them down.”

No matter how Dimond’s high school football career ends, he appreciates what it means to wear the green and white Grafton uniform on gameday.

“We’re a family here and I know it’s cliché and a lot of teams say it, but we really do mean it,” Dimond said. “All of us have this strong bond and we know we’re gonna go into a game with everyone giving 100 percent no matter what, no matter the circumstance. There’s a lot of pride that comes with wearing that green jersey and putting on those pads, so when you put that on, it’s a privilege to play with the guys around you and we play for each other.”

Grafton’s next game will be on the road against South Worcester County League rival Northbridge (4-0) on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.