Every year, there seems to be at least one South Shore or Brockton-area high school football team that makes a substantial leap from the season prior.
Flashback to last fall, it was Hull. The Pirates followed a Division 8 Super Bowl loss to Randolph in 2021 with a breakthrough 2022 campaign in which they ran through the season unbeaten and captured their first title since 1996.
The year before, it was the aforementioned Randolph group that turned a one-win Fall II season in 2020 to an unexpected run to the program’s first Super Bowl win.
Not saying the below teams will have transformations like the ones above, but improvement is the goal. Then, who knows what could ensue?
Note: no particular order.
CARVER (3-8 last season)
The season isn’t in swing quite yet, but the Crusaders have already showed improvement in a big way this summer. Last Thursday, Carver reached the Final Four of the Northeast 7-on-7 championships, finishing with underdog wins over North Kingstown and Xaverian while hanging tough with Milton, Methuen and Peabody.
“I think it gives them confidence that they can play with anybody,” said head coach Ben Shuffain, who enters his second season.
Senior quarterback Tyler Lennox (who broke the school record for passing yards with 2,557, and finished with and 27 total TDs last year) and senior receiver Robbie Peterson spearhead a dynamic offensive arsenal, which also features running back Pat Attaya and receivers Jack Balzarini, Derek Lopes, and brothers Nate and Jameson Helms.
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“I would like to see another program in the South Shore, or Division 8, have the same talent at receiver that we have,” Shuffain said. “I’m going to give them a lot of credit. They work hard together as a group in the weight room. They’re a different group this year. In the spring, a lot of 50-50 balls were getting ripped out our hands in the end zone. Now, we’re doing the ripping out.”
The defense will be led by junior Darrian King, sophomore Teagan Zakrewski and senior JJ Grimes.
RANDOLPH (2-6 last season)
Injuries headlined a series of setbacks that made the 2022 season a difficult one for the Blue Devils.
Every starter from Randolph’s title-winning team two years ago has since moved on, and the program has sent 11 players to the college ranks in the past two seasons.
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Sophomore Abraham Cornett will be the new face at quarterback, replacing perennial starter Gardy Augustin who graduated this past spring. Senior running back and free safety Nate Gomes, junior lineman Elton Stubbs and senior guard and linebacker Chris Covino lead the cast of two-way players.
“We’re going to be young this year, but we have talent,” fourth-year head coach Jonathan Marshall said. “(The 2021 group) left a great culture for the next generation of Randolph football players to follow. The younger guys really understand what it takes to win in this league.”
ABINGTON (4-7 last season)
It’s rare for Abington to target a bounce-back year. 2022 marked the first time in over 20 years the Green Wave owned a sub-.500 record.
But this season, the 50th as head coach for Jim Kelliher, the team will return an impressive core of seniors: tight end/edge rusher Connor Pease; running back AJ Nash; linemen Steve Wojciechoski, Connor O’Donnell, Bodie Johnson, Liam Giller, Andrew Kerr and Alex Mullen; outside linebacker Nate Duggan, and receivers Will LeBlanc, Aiden McClellan and Ryan Simonetti.
Quarterback Michael Reilly enters his junior season. He, like many other retained starters, gained experience from taking snaps as a sophomore member of one of Abington’s youngest rosters in years.
The Green Wave completed a sweep of East Bridgewater and had double-digit wins over North Quincy and Sandwich last fall.
STOUGHTON (3-8 last season)
There’s new blood in Stoughton. Therefore, it’s a new era.
Not only was Robin Ireland named the Black Knights’ new athletic director, but Christopher Evans was introduced as the football team’s new head coach. Evans replaces Hall-of-Famer Greg Burke, who retired after a 33-year tenure at the helm.
Competing in an always-competitive Hockomock League Davenport Division, Stoughton will be led by seniors Jarred Daughtry (quarterback) Liam Pearl (linebacker/running back), Liam Dunn (linebacker/running back), Alex Huynh (defensive back/running back), and James Currier (defensive back/receiver), along with an influx of younger players in key spots, according to Evans.
“We’re in a unique position because the roster we’re bringing back is not huge, but it is really talented,” Evans said in a story in February. “While we’re definitely looking to build long-term success and sustainability, we also are not looking past this year either. It’s about striking that balance between building on the successes our current players have, while also being mindful of what the sustainable model is.”
