Hometeam 2010 Football Preview - Worcester Telegram & Gazette

PAGE
CENTRAL MASS. HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE
WWW.TELEGRAM.COM/HOMETEAM
16
DIVISION 1C
‘Golden ticket’
South High senior quarterback Joe Brigham can throw the ball 55 yards with accuracy.
By Bill Doyle
WORCESTER — At 6
feet, 4 inches,
senior quarterback
Joe Brigham stands
nearly a head taller
than many of his teammates
on the South
High football team.
“It’s easier to see,”
Brigham said.
What Brigham saw last season was not
pretty. The Division 1C Colonels went 0-11 in
Brigham’s first season as starting QB and
Hampton Clarkson’s initial season as coach.
“That stunk,” Brigham said. “It was kind
of embarrassing. You don’t want to do that
again.”
“We were 0-11,” Clarkson said. “I’m quick
to say it because it’s been the motivation
behind everything we’re doing, everything in
the offseason. Any time we get together, we
think about it. We don’t dwell on it, but it’s
certainly motivation for making improvement
and doing the little things it takes to
make sure we don’t experience that same
feeling again of not winning a game.”
South plans to ride Brigham’s right arm to
a much better season this year. He can throw
the ball 55 yards with accuracy.
“He’s our golden ticket,” Clarkson said.
Brigham played flag football instead of Pop
Warner, and he played quarterback for only
one of those years. He played some QB as a
sophomore, but didn’t become a full-time
starter until last season.
“I wasn’t really looking forward to playing
quarterback last year,” Brigham admitted,
“because my sophomore year didn’t go real
well. I felt like I didn’t get coached real well
on how to play quarterback. I felt like I just
got thrown in.”
Last year, Clarkson kept the spread offense
of his predecessor, Jerry Snay, but he’s
switching this season to an option attack that
will feature more running. It’s the same
offense that many South players learned in
Pop Warner with the Worcester Vikings.
“Joe is going to run the option,” Clarkson
said, “and he’s also going to be able to throw
the ball, which makes Joe extremely dangerous.
That’s why I think he’s going to have a
great year because most option quarterbacks
can’t throw. What most people don’t realize
about him is he’s athletic.”
Accuracy was stressed when Brigham
attended a football camp at Ohio State University
in April, so he’s working harder on
his. When he attended another camp at Boston
College in June, he was picked to showcase
his talents in front of visiting college
TOM RETTIG
South High hopes to ride Joe Brigham’s strong right arm to a much better season
coaches. WPI, RPI, Endicott and Western
New England are high on his list, but he’s
not sure if he’ll play football or basketball in
college.
Brigham didn’t play basketball at South
until his sophomore year, but last season he
was the only South High basketball player to
dunk in a game, and he did it twice, against
Holy Name and Wachusett.
Brigham lives in the Doherty High district,
but he attends South High as a Goddard
Scholar, just as his brother Michael did.
Goddard Scholars attend South’s accelerated
program from throughout the city and are
required to take at least five advanced placement
courses. Brigham will take six, including
calculus, physics and computer science
this year.
Brigham would have won more football
games if he had attended Doherty, but he has
no regrets.
“I love our school,” he said. “I wouldn’t
want to go to another school. Everybody gets
along. It’s a great atmosphere.”
Brigham wears No. 13, but he didn’t considered
it to be unlucky last season when South
finished 0-11, and he never thought about
switching.
“We should definitely win some games,” he
said. “We’re more motivated. We want to go
out and surprise some people.”