Hometeam 2010 Football Preview - Worcester Telegram & Gazette

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Home field: Murdock High Field. Grass field, 3
Memorial Drive, Winchendon.
Brain trust: Coach: Rob Allard (second season, 7-4
career). Assistants: Ripp Charters, Rick Weinhold,
John Harrington, Steve Ringer, Mike McDonald.
Returning starters: 15 (7 offense, 8 defense).
Top players: Sr. RB Dominick Polcari, Sr. QB Andy
Ladeau, Sr. RB Jake Hunt (614 rushing yards), Sr.
RB/LB Dustin McCaw, Jr. RB/CB Travis Arsenault,
Sr. DL Eric Ducharme, Sr. G Keith Cullen, Sr. T
Russell Henry, Jr. G Dan Antilla, Jr. K/RB Pat
Culverhouse.
Out with the old: The Blue Devils graduated two of
their four Division 3B all-stars last year in OL Jimmy
Manca and DL Aloune Chantahachack.
In with the new: So. T James Maynard, So. RB/LB
Killian Nutt, So. QB Pat Connor, Jr. TE/DB Sean
Feeney.
When the Blue Devils have the ball: Double-wing offense.
… Scored 242 points last year. … The Blue Devils
return a solid backfield in Polcari, a returning Division
DIVISION 3B
Murdock Blue Devils
3B all-star, and Hunt. … Ladeau is back at
quarterback.
When their opponents have the ball: 52 defense. …
Allowed 236 points last year. … McCaw leads the
linebackers after being named to the Division 3B
all-star team last year. … Ducharme anchors the line.
… Arsenault is back in the secondary.
In the trenches: Cullen and Antilla lead the offense at
guard. … Henry and Maynard line up at tackle.
One to watch: Polcari rushed for 887 yards last year
as a junior and should improve on that this year. He
has a good backfieldmate in Hunt and plenty of good
blocking up front.
What you should know: Culverhouse kicked 26 extra
points last season and is four shy of the school’s
career record.
The quote: “We are very excited for the opportunity
some of our kids are going to have this year,” Allard
said. “Some have waited for a long time to get a shot.
We feel our strength will be our backfield with
experience and talent. Our offensive line will have
2009: 7-4 (3-2 Division 3B)
By Jim Wilson
some challenges ahead. They are an untested bunch,
so I am excited to see them develop and grow as a
group. Defensively, we are going to pride ourselves
on our team speed. These kids are hard workers, and
I believe they are ready for that next level.”
Schedule:
Sept. 10.......................................at Hudson, 7
Sept. 17 ......................................Lunenburg, 7
Sept. 24 ........................................Oakmont, 7
Oct. 1....................................at Monty Tech, 7
Oct. 9.....................................at Keefe Tech, 1
Oct. 15............................................at Ayer, 7
Oct. 22..............................at West Boylston, 7
Oct. 29......................................at Maynard, 7
Nov. 5 ............................................Littleton, 7
Nov. 12..................................Nashoba Tech, 7
Nov. 25 ..................................Narragansett, 10
Key game: Nov. 5 vs. Littleton. The past few years,
the playoffs have come down to Murdock, Narragansett
and Littleton fighting for a spot. The Blue Devils
were left out last year, and a win in this game should
give them the inside track toward making sure it
doesn’t happen again.
2009 results:
Hudson 13 ......................................Murdock 7
Murdock 7....................................Lunenburg 0
Oakmont 56 ....................................Murdock 0
Murdock 42................................Monty Tech 7
Murdock 38 ................................Keefe Tech 6
Murdock 37 ........................................Ayer 19
Murdock 39 ..........................West Boylston 22
Murdock 27...................................Maynard 22
Littleton 36....................................Murdock 19
Murdock 26 ..........................Nashoba Tech 20
Narragansett 35...............................Murdock 0
Jim’s take: With 15 returning starters, including
standouts in Polcari, Hunt and Ladeau, the Blue Devils
should be back in the thick of the postseason hunt
this year.
5
Follow the Blue Devils’ every game this fall
at www.telegram.com/hometeam.
Narragansett Warriors
2009: 8-5 (5-0 Division 3B); Division 3 Super Bowl runners-up
Home field: Stuart Memorial Field. Grass field, 464
Baldwinville Rd., Baldwinville.
Brain trust: Coach: John Beary (third season at NRHS,
17-7, 46-32 career). Assistants: Joe Mizhir, Jim
Hannula, Ray Richards, Todd Shattuck, Wes Flis.
Returning starters: 16 (8 offense, 8 defense)
Top players: Sr. RB/DB Shane MacFee, Jr. QB/LB
Derek Desbois, Sr. QB/DB Jeremiah Stancombe, Jr.
FB/LB Sean Young, Sr. RB/DB Jayson Gauvin, Sr.
FB/LB Cody Savoy, Sr. OL/DL Corey Johnson, Sr.
OL/LB Zach Fleming, Sr. TE/LB Pat Doyle.
Out with the old: The Warriors graduated three of their
seven Division 3B all-stars, OL Dylan Haughton, LB
Adam Brown and DL Tom Mason.
In with the new: Jr. RB/DB Dan Eaton, So. RB/LB
Trevor Richard, So. RB/LB Tim O’Leary, So. FB/LB
Darren Duguay, Jr. RB/LB Michael Whittle, Sr. RB/DB
Jacob Hammond, Jr. TE/LB Wyatt Davidson, So. OL/DL
Marcus Kitchen, Jr. OL/LB Tyler Jankauskos, So.
OL/DL Tyler Merrill, So. OL/DL Charlie Montalbano, Jr.
OL/DL Tim Thebeau, So. OL/DL Pryce Stewart.
When the Warriors have the ball: Wing-T offense. …
Scored 340 points, second most in Division 3B. …
Savoy was named to the Division 3B all-star team after
rushing for 547 yards and eight TDs. He’ll join with
MacFee (664 rushing yards) to form a dangerous
backfield for Narragansett. … Stancombe returns after
throwing for 489 yards and seven TDs.
When their opponents have the ball: Bear defense. …
Allowed 232 points, second-fewest in Division 3B. …
The Warriors return three league all-stars on this side of
the ball, including Johnson on the defensive line and
MacFee and Stancombe in the secondary. … MacFee
was second on the team with 43 tackles.
In the trenches: Johnson and Fleming return to lead a
young line.
One to watch: The Warriors return many key skill
position players, so the pressure on MacFee to carry
the load at running back won’t be overwhelming.
MacFee heads into the season as Narragansett’s
leading rusher and tackler, and if the Warriors find the
bodies to surround him, they could get another shot at a
Super Bowl trophy.
By Jim Wilson
Schedule:
Sept. 10 ..............................................Clinton, 7
Sept. 19 .................................at St. Bernard’s, 7
Sept. 24............................at Groton-Dunstable, 7
Oct. 1.........................................at Lunenburg, 7
Oct. 8 ..........................................at Oakmont, 7
Oct. 15.....................................West Boylston, 7
Oct. 22.............................................Maynard, 7
Oct. 29..........................................at Littleton, 7
Nov. 5....................................................Ayer, 7
Nov. 12 ..............................................Hudson, 7
Nov. 25.......................................at Murdock, 10
Key game: Sept. 10 vs. Clinton. With a rematch of last
year’s Super Bowl in Week 1, the Warriors won’t have
much time to find those players to fill the holes left by
graduation. Narragansett will be looking to avenge a
pair of shutout losses to the Gaels in what should be
one of the better offerings of opening weekend.
2009 results:
Clinton 7......................................Narragansett 0
St. Bernard’s 20..........................Narragansett 14
Groton-Dunstable 33 ....................Narragansett 29
Narragansett 28 .............................Lunenburg 14
Oakmont 50................................Narragansett 14
Narragansett 33........................West Boylston 17
Narragansett 33................................Maynard 28
Narragansett 14...................................Littleton 7
Narragansett 36 .....................................Ayer 20
Narragansett 42..................................Hudson 14
Narragansett 35 .................................Murdock 0
Narragansett 36 ......................Groton-Dunstable 8
Clinton 14 ....................................Narragansett 0
Jim’s take: The Warriors always are in title contention,
and this year won’t be any different. Depth is a big
problem for Narragansett, but Beary and his staff
should be able to find the athletes and keep the
Warriors in the mix. MacFee and Stancombe will make
sure other teams have a tough time finding the end
zone, and MacFee and Savoy will lead a strong running
attack.
5
Follow the Warriors’ every game this fall
at www.telegram.com/hometeam.
West Boylston Lions
Home field: West Boylston High Field. Grass field,
125 Crescent St., West Boylston.
Brain trust: Coach: Dave Tingloff (sixth season,
17-38 career). Assistants: Harold Ogilvie, Doug
Sochovka, Dennis Mannone, Jeff Taylor, Bob Thorsen,
Pat Corbett, Matt Buma.
Returning starters: 7 (3 offense, 4 defense).
Captains: Sr. OL/DL Matt Nishan, Sr. WR/DB
David Blake, Jr. RB/LB Colby Bostek, Jr. QB Dan
Polnerow.
Top player: WR/DB Joe Dankwah.
Out with the old: The Lions graduated only one
Division 3B all-star from last year, OL Tim Brown.
In with the new: Jr. RB/DE Shawn Harlow, Jr.
TE/LB Kyle Barrow, Jr. RB/DB Ryan Morris, Jr.
OL/DL David Passmore, So. OL/DL Luke Fancy, Sr.
RB/DB Shay de Rivera.
When the Lions have the ball: Wing-T offense. …
Scored 205 points. … Look for Bostek to get most
of the carries. … Polnerow returns at quarterback. …
Blake, Dankwah and Barrow will be Polnerow’s
targets.
When their opponents have the ball: 5-2 defense. …
Allowed 368 points, second-most in Division 3B. …
Linebacker Bostek is the Lions’ sole returning
all-star. .. . With seven open spots, West Boylston
had plenty of competition in camp.
In the trenches: Matt Nishan leads both lines for
the Lions.
One to watch: The Lions have a keeper in Bostek,
the only sophomore named to the Division 3B
all-star team. Bostek was a two-way starter for the
Lions and recorded 72 tackles last year. He also
had 743 rushing yards and totaled 10 touchdowns.
“Colby worked very hard over the offseason to gain
size and speed and is also a standout athlete in all
three seasons — football, basketball and baseball,”
Tingloff said. “We are looking to build on all those
past stats from a season ago to help our team.”
The quote: “Our team this year has had its best
offseason in my six years with participation in the
weight training, passing league, seven-on-seven
games and the speed and agility work,” Tingloff
2009: 3-8 (1-4 Division 3B)
By Jim Wilson
said. “The younger players have especially taken
an interest in working hard this offseason, and we
are hoping to carry that over to the regular season
for both the varsity and junior varsity.”
Schedule:
Sept. 11..................................at Uxbridge, 1
Sept. 17.........................Groton-Dunstable, 7
Sept. 24................................Monty Tech, 7
Oct. 1...........................................Clinton, 7
Oct. 8.....................................Lunenburg, 7
Oct. 15.............................at Narragansett, 7
Oct. 22......................................Murdock, 7
Oct. 29........................................at Ayer, 7
Nov. 5 ...................................at Maynard, 7
Nov. 12 ......................................Littleton, 7
Nov. 25 .................................at Quabbin, 11
Key game: Oct. 8 vs. Lunenburg. Two up-andcoming
teams meet, and for the Lions, it’s a chance
to show the rest of the area how the rebuilding
project is coming along.
2009 results:
Uxbridge 40 ......................West Boylston 20
Groton-Dunstable 35 ...........West Boylston 14
West Boylston 17...................Monty Tech 14
Clinton 43...........................West Boylston 0
Lunenburg 42 ....................West Boylston 16
Narragansett 33.................West Boylston 17
Murdock 39 ......................West Boylston 22
West Boylston 47............................Ayer 26
Maynard 49.......................West Boylston 31
Littleton 41........................West Boylston 14
West Boylston 7...........................Quabbin 6
Jim’s take: The Lions have a solid core of skill
players returning in Bostek, Polnerow and Blake, so
it will be interesting to see if West Boylston can
translate that into victories. Tingloff and his staff
are doing a good job getting the program back on
solid ground, and while the playoffs might be a
ways away, the Lions are just hoping to add a few
more wins this year.
5
Follow the Lions’ every game this fall
at www.telegram.com/hometeam.