During Wayland’s annual Thanksgiving Day football game against Weston on Nov. 23, junior captain and running back Max Dresens broke the single season rushing record. In the second quarter of the game, Dresens ran in a touchdown for 43 yards, ending with 1,762 yards ran in a single season. Dresens broke the record previously held by Class of 2003 graduate Brandon Anderson 21 years earlier. Now, Dresens has cemented his role in Warriors football history.

Dresens completed 24 touchdowns this season, had 175 carries and is in a first for Wayland’s rushing touchdowns. Not only is Dresens a force on offense, but he is also a crucial player on the Warriors’ defense, ending the season with eighty-nine tackles. He believes his work ethic was a large part of the record he set this season.

“Throughout the whole off-season I would workout almost every day with my teammates so we could be the best we possibly could be for the season,” Dresens said.

Not only does he believe that his hard work and dedication to training for the season paid off, but he also believes that the support he got from friends and family made him a better player.

“My teammates have helped me by pushing me to be better and being super supportive,” Dresens said. “The support of my friends and family [has helped me a lot too].”

Dresens’ work ethic, as well as his love and passion for football, was acknowledged by the team. Additionally, acording to some of Dresens’ teammates, they believe that they can count on him for support and motivation.

“Dresens has always been willing to work, and he showed up to practice ready to get better,” sophomore football player Braylen Jenkins said. “Even during the off-season I would always see him putting in the work for the team.”

Dresens doesn’t want his football career to stop with the Warriors, and has actively been going through the college recruitment process so he can continue to play football. The recruitment process can pose some obstacles, like juggling grades, relationships and sports, yet for Dresens, the recruitment process has been doable. Since third grade, Dresens has dreamed of playing football, and admired his older brothers as he watched them play football.

“I would love to be able to play football in college, [but I know it’s] a big commitment to make,” Dresens said.

Last season, Dresens tore his labrum, and this injury ended his sophomore season in seconds and impacted his recruitment opportunities, since scouts couldn’t see him play during this time. Nevertheless, Dresens wasn’t going to let the pain from his injury stop him from playing this season.

In an interview with MetroWest Daily News, Dresens talks about playing through the pain of his injury and how he powered through.

“It was really hard because I had trained all offseason for it, I’d been given a crucial spot as a sophomore, to see that all go down the drain after the first week was really hard,” Dresens said in the interview. “It motivated me to make this year count even more. It was definitely tough, but I did what I could.”