After a disappointing 2-9 season last year, the Lynn English Bulldogs are ready to change the trajectory of their program. With a host of experienced upperclassmen returning to the field along with an infusion of young talent, English looks poised to possibly break out this season.
“This is a team with a lot of smart, experienced players coming back who have grown together,” said coach Chris Carroll, now entering his third season at the helm of his alma mater. “These guys all know what happened last year, they’ve worked hard all summer, and now they’re ready to write their own chapter in English football history.”
Leading the way on offense for the Bulldogs will be junior captain Matt Severance at quarterback. There aren’t many players on the team who have played the amount of snaps Severance has, ever since Carroll made him the starting quarterback two years ago as a freshman.
“He’s a very experienced quarterback, and he’s been running this offense for three years now,” Carroll said. “He and I are very familiar with each other at this point, and I think it will really help us in our playcalling and execution on offense this year. He’s a talented, athletic quarterback and we’re expecting big things from him.”
But Severance isn’t the only playmaker coming back on offense. The Bulldogs are also expecting big seasons from junior WR/CB Prince Brown and junior RB/MLB Stravensky Gaston.
On the defensive side of the ball, middle linebacker Jacob Miller will be the lynchpin for English. Entering his fourth year as a starter, the senior captain will be the signal-caller for the defensive unit and will likely lead the Bulldogs in tackles. He’s also going to make the move to left guard on the offensive side to give English more punch on the line.
“Jacob is a very intelligent player who is very athletic and can make a lot of plays for us,” Carroll said. “He’s the leader of that defense, and the move to left guard should help us shore up the offensive line as well.”
Other key players likely to impact the defense are senior Tyshawn Anderson, a hard-hitting safety and a leader in the secondary, and senior defensive tackle Emil Rossi, an explosive interior lineman who is the Bulldogs’ most imposing player at 6’3 and 255 pounds.
While experience is certainly the hallmark of this English squad, Carroll is quick to point out that he has a very talented freshman class on the rise and he will not shy away from giving opportunities to those who earn them.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys who can play, and they’ll get some chances,” said Carroll. “We’ll see what they can do with those opportunities.”
One thing that Carroll has been preaching since the end of last season is the idea of finishing games, something the Bulldogs didn’t do well enough last year.
“We were caught in a lot of close games last year, and in the end we just couldn’t finish a lot of those games,” said Carroll. “But I think this year, with that much more experience, these guys are ready to take the next step and start finishing.”
The real test starts at the end of this week when English hosts Northeastern Conference opponent Beverly on Saturday afternoon.
“Practice has been going well, the guys are excited and flying around,” Carroll said. “Now that it’s finally game week we’re fine-tuning some things, but I think these guys are ready to go.”
English will take on Beverly at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Manning Field.
