LYNN– So. What do you do for an encore if you’re St. Mary’s and you’re coming off a Super Bowl season where the only game you lost was the final one.
That’s the question Spartans coach Matt Durgin is faced with as he prepares for Friday’s opener at Manning Field (5) against Saugus.
“We lost a lot of outstanding kids and football players,” he acknowledges.
Among them are Liam Reddy, Abraham Toe, Cam Sakowich, Marcus Atkins and Joe Silvestri.
As a result, “it’ll be a different team this season,” he said. “We are going to have to create our own identity. Last year is over. The (Catholic Central) league is always going to be competitive, and it’s going to be battle. We all love to compete against each other.”
Still, there’s no shortage of returning starters for the Spartans, beginning with Patrick Henry (tight end), Kyle Bernardini (right tackle) and D.J. DiCenzo (right guard). Snapping the ball will be one of two players: Bobby Reynolds and Israel Figueroa.
Moving along the line, Durgin has Mathias Haley slated to play left guard, and Brendan McCarthy at left tackle. Also looking to fit at tight end are Aaron Burris and Jack Maguire. Also in the mix is Connor Donohue.
Durgin has three players vying to catch the ball: Lisandro Pacheco, Eni Falayi and Joseph Mateo.
Calling signals this fall will be Calvin Johnson, who was a running back last year, and “who is looking very good so far this preseason.”
George Freeman and Nino Echevarria are competing at fullback, and James Brumfield and Marlon Scott, both coming off fine seasons last year, will be at wingback. Brumfield, who won the state decathlon championship last spring, played a huge role in the Spartans’ Super Bowl-clinching victory over Lynnfield after both Toe (who was already injured) and Johnson (who was hurt early in the game) went down.
Durgin said that just about everyone who plays offense will flip over to the defense.
When asked to assess strengths, Durgin said “we’re a hardworking group. Our backfield is very good, and we have decent strength at the skill positions. Calvin is a tremendous athlete.”
As for weaknesses, “I just think we don’t have a lot of game experience.
“We need kids to grow up fast,” he said. “And we don’t have a lot of depth. We’re going to need to stay healthy.”
Now in his 10th season coaching at St. Mary’s, Durgin has built a consistent winner. That, he says, puts some pressure on his players — but in a good way.
“We’ve done well,” he said. “And we put it on the kids to keep the tradition alive. And the kids respond. They do a nice job in the off-season. Now, it’s their turn to carry on the tradition. We’ll see how it goes.”
Known primarily as a coach who loves the run, Durgin acknowledges that the Spartans will be doing a lot of that this season.
“We’re definitely going to try to run the ball and be successful there,” he said. “But we’ve practiced passing too.”
Beyond the usual tussle he expects in his own league (“Spellman looks strong, and Bishop Fenwick is always going to be a good rival to us; we always have tough games with them”), Durgin doesn’t expect a walk in the park Friday night against Saugus.
“It’s the Northeastern Conference,” he said. “They have a new coach and a new system. We don’t know that much about them.
“However,” he said, “we’re excited to get going.”
