WORCESTER– In sports, starting a season on a high note can often lay a solid foundation for the remainder of the year.
That’s what Revere native Kaleb Silva and the Assumption College football team hope happens.
Silva, a junior safety, and the Greyhounds are off to a fast start after victories over Kutztown (31-28), Pace (56-0) and Southern Connecticut (25-8). The victory over Pace was Assumption’s first shutout win since 2014. Silva certainly had a lot to do with that win, recording nine tackles and two sacks and earning Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
“It has been a good start to the season,” Silva said. “I can always get better. There’s always room for improvement. I’m always expecting and wanting more.”
A starting safety in his third season with the Division II Greyhounds, Silva has totalled 27 tackles through three games in 2017. The Revere High graduate recorded 44 tackles, 17 assisted, through his first two seasons at Assumption.
The fast start, Silva said, is exactly what the Greyhounds were hoping for coming out of the gate. The key to the team’s early success has been its aggressiveness on both sides of the ball.
“We’re attacking,” he said. “Our offense is running the ball well. Our defense really knows what to expect and what’s coming, and we’re ready for it.
“It’s three strong showings for both our offense and defense coming out of the gate,” Silva added. “That’s what we were hoping for. We had a great camp, so we kind of saw it coming, but we just have to keep this going.”
Silva said that Assumption will have to continue to play aggressively while setting the tone against opposing teams in order to keep pace with the strong start.
“We’re able to be aggressive on both sides of the ball,” Silva said. “Overall, we’re stacked up. We know what we have and what we’re capable of. We won’t let other teams decide what we can do. We put our feet down first and take over the games and let other teams know what we can do.”
Coming into the season, the Greyhounds were sold on showing opposing teams what they’re capable of. Last season, Assumption finished 9-3, 8-1 in conference play, but was bounced out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round by Shepherd with a 48-31 loss.
“Team wise we came into the season wanting to win it all,” Silva said. “We wanted to play the way we know we’re capable of playing and play the way we know how to play. We wanted to start off fast in every game.”
In his high school career, Silva was a three-year starter at running back and outside linebacker for Patriots coach Lou Cicatelli. Silva put together an impressive career in his days wearing the Patriots uniform, tallying 2,452 all-purpose yards, 84 tackles, and seven interceptions. He was also a three-time All-Northeastern Conference player.
“It was great, I made a lot of great memories being with my friends and playing high school football,” Silva said. “There was always a great vibe, playing in the Revere program.”
On the academic side of things, Silva’s pursuing a degree in business management. The most important part of being a student-athlete, Silva said, is making academics a priority before stepping on the field.
“Everything’s going great,” Silva said. “School started three weeks ago. It’s a matter of keeping school first and making sure I get that work done before I get on the field. Things are easier if I don’t stay behind, so that’s the most important thing.”
And with eight weeks to go in the regular season, opposing teams can expect a tough battle from Silva and the Greyhounds the rest of the way. Assumption will look for a 4-0 start on Saturday when it hosts Merrimack.
“Expect a team that’s always ready,” Silva said. “We’re always going to bring an aggressive attitude. We like bringing what we want to bring. We won’t let other teams determine what we want to do. That’s how we’re going to play, no matter who’s in front of us.”
