Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Labor Day scrimmages provide positive messages

Labor Day weekend is prime scrimmage time, and this one was no exception. Monday?s doubleheader with Classical-St. John?s and English-St. Mary?s drew great crowds … so much so, as Lynn?s Jim Ridley said, the concession stand would have done a bang-up business had it been open.Scrimmages are important to team morale, because no matter what happens, you can take positives out of them. Classical?s scrimmage against The Prep is a good example. St. John?s has one of the more intimidating offensive lines coming back (all but center James Fagan are veterans of last year?s Super Bowl-winning team) yet the Rams were able to pop a score in on the Eagles Monday. And offensively, the Rams held their own against a Prep defense that still has a lot of question marks.?I thought we did well,” Classical coach Tim Phelps said. “That offensive line is very big, but we made some plays against it. And I thought our offense did very well against their defense.?They?re tough,” Phelps said, “but that?s why we scrimmage them. We go against Everett and St. John?s every year, and it gives us a good indication of where we are.”Classical will also find out a bit more about itself Friday night when the Rams help re-open Newell Stadium in Gloucester. The Rams had all they could handle last year against the Fishermen.?That?s a tough team, and we?ll know a lot more about ourselves after that game,” Phelps said. “They?re going to be up for that game … but so are we.”English coach Peter Holey wasn?t as happy about his team?s scrimmage against St. Mary?s Monday … or at least not as happy as he was after Friday?s very good showing against St. John?s.?We played great Friday,” he said, “but you have to do that all the time. They had two days off (after Friday?s scrimmage) and they have to be able to deal with that.”English was missing a couple of players Holey is counting on to be factors Monday. Kyle O?Connor wasn?t on the field, nor was Lucas Harris, who tweaked his ankle in Friday?s match. On the other hand, Chris Lessard looked very good, catching one pass from Jordan Javier over the middle and sprinting to the end zone. And Chris Tinkham will be a force on the offensive line.There?s some uncertainty on the Spartan side of the ball, but at least one of the gaping holes St. Mary?s had coming into the season looks as if it will be filled … and filled capably. Running back Jordan Collier, who was a mainstay last season for the Division 6 runner-up Spartans, has transferred to New Hampton, where his brother, Todd, prepped last year. This opens up the door for junior Connor Sakowich to play more, and coach Matt Durgin is more than happy with him. Sakowich was a force on the Catholic Central League championship team last year too. And there?s still plenty of experience back there with Jordan Manthorne and John Gaeta.?He?s a good kid, and he?s played hard on both sides of the ball,” Durgin said.The other spot with question marks is quarterback. Jake Cassidy transferred to the Salisbury School, leaving the position up for grabs among Antonio Felix, Kyle Smith and Calvin Johnson (whose father, Calvin, was a star on Lynn Classical?s back-to-back state championship basketball teams in the 1990s).And even though Andres Rodriguez, who has to be among the best linemen St. Mary?s has ever had, has graduated, there?s more than enough back to make the Spartans formidable up front. Durgin was happy with how it went Monday against English, and hopes the practice will pay off a week from Thursday when Swampscott comes to Manning Field for a season-opening doubleheader.Speaking of Todd Collier, he will be attending Hobart College in New York, where he?s listed as a cornerback. The Statesmen?s only trip to Massachusetts comes Saturday, Oct. 12 (noon) at Springfield College … just in case anyone?s interested. It?s difficult to imagine that any coach who?s seen Collier play won?t be able to find a spot for him on the field somewhere.Because Yom Kippur begins next Friday, Sep