Friday night football heralds start of season

Last season, the Lynn Classical football team under head coach Tim Phelps gave the heavy hitters of the Northeastern Conference fits thanks to a stout defense. The Rams also put a scare into a very talented Catholic Memorial team during the regular season.On Friday night (7) at Manning Field, the Rams will open the 2009 season against the Knights out of the Catholic Conference. CM sports a top-10 ranking in Eastern Mass. coming into the game.”This should be a good building block for us,” Classical coach Tim Phelps said. “CM should be good competition and we’re expecting a tough game.”Classical’s task won’t be easy on Friday as the Knights possess an immense amount of talent, led by senior running back Lorenzo Warren, who is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball.CM comes into the season as one of the favorites in the Catholic Conference, along with Xaverian and BC High.”We played them tough last year,” Phelps said. “We had some chances but made a couple of mistakes. And they took advantage of them.”Classical finished 5-5 last season and returns six starters on a defense that was among the stingiest in the NEC for most of 2008. On offense, the Rams will have Nick Grassa at quarterback as he takes over for older brother Jasper, who was Classical’s starter for most of last season.”We’ve got a long time until the games really count in the conference,” Phelps said. “If we can get some good competition now and a few wins going into the league that would be great.”English at LawrenceAt Lawrence Memorial Stadium (7), the Bulldogs will hit the road to open their 2009 campaign with a trip up Route 114 to take on a team from the challenging Merrimack Valley Conference.English finished 6-4 last season, coming within a game of reaching the playoffs as it finished second to Gloucester in the Northeastern Conference North race. The Bulldogs will face a stiff challenge tomorrow in the Lancers, who finished 7-4 last season with wins over the likes of Newburyport and Wilmington.Saugus at FenwickAt Donaldson Field in Peabody (7), the Crusaders will put their smallest team in terms of numbers in the David Woods era on the field as they host a team looking for a third consecutive winning season.Fenwick was 5-6 a season ago, but challenged several of the big boys in the Catholic Central League. The Sachems were 7-3 for a second straight season in 2008, but will have to replace 16 seniors that comprised the bulk of the starting offensive and defensive units.Northeast at RevereAt Della Russo Stadium (7), the Patriots will look to rebound from a 3-8 year a season ago as they open the season against the Golden Knights out of the Commonwealth Conference.Manchester-Essex at DanversAt Dr. Deering Stadium (7), the Falcons will face a stiff challenge in the Hornets, who were a playoff team a year ago and boast a high-powered spread offense under coach Mike Athanas.The Falcons, winless a year ago, return nine starters between offense and defense and will look for quarterback Greg Ladd and running back Eric Burgos to shoulder the load.Salem at WinthropAt Miller Field (7), both teams begin life without their star running backs as the Vikings look to replace Chris Beranger while Salem will begin life without Melikke VanAlstyne.The Vikings finished 6-5 a year ago and were within a few points of winning the NEC South title. Quarterback Will Milano and running back Frank Ambrosino will look to pick up the load gone with Beranger’s graduation.For Salem, which was 3-7 last year, David Kendrick will become the feature back with the departure of Van Alstyne.