SWAMPSCOTT — It’s no secret that the Swampscott football team asks a lot from its quarterback, regardless of who’s calling the signals. When former starter Colin Frary graduated from Swampscott High last spring, Big Blue coach Bobby Serino found himself needing a new quarterback. It didn’t take him long to find one.
Junior Graham Inzana, last year’s backup, has taken complete command of Swampscott’s offense this fall. And while emerging as a top-notch quarterback, Inzana, who’s also a starting safety, has also made key contributions on defense.
“Graham was our No. 1 backup last year and he knew the whole offense last year,” Serino said. “He actually came up last year. Graham participated in every meeting, didn’t miss any film sessions. The one nervous thing we had, knock on wood, is he’s a safety and we don’t usually play our quarterbacks on defense. He’s one of our best tacklers as well.”
With Inzana off and running in his first season under center, Swampscott became the No. 1 seed in the Division 5 North state tournament. The Big Blue knocked off No. 8 Triton (42-12) and No. 4 Pentucket (34-0) with relative ease in the respective quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.
The Big Blue will clash with No. 2 Amesbury Saturday at noon at Blocksidge Field in the Division 5 North final, for the right to to advance to the state semifinal. The Chieftains defeated No. 6 Saugus, 20-0, in the semifinal round last week. Both teams are 8-1 this season.
Inzana, who also plays basketball and baseball, threw for 207 yards on 16-of-24 passing, and connected for three touchdown passes (two to Jonathan Oriakhi and one to Andrew Augustin) in last Saturday’s win over Pentucket.
“It’s awesome trying to contribute as much as I can,” Inzana said. “Our receivers are good. I just try to give them the ball and let them do their work. It’s great to be a part of a team like this, my teammates are awesome.”
Despite his early success, Inzana feels there’s still room for improvement.
“I think I can definitely get a lot better,” he said. “All my stats are because of my receivers. I still think I can do a lot better. I’m filling in Colin Frary’s shoes and he was wicked good last year. I’m trying to strive to be as good as he is.”
Although the stakes are elevated as Swampscott inches closer to a sectional title and a Super Bowl trip, the Big Blue haven’t changed their week-to-week approach. Inzana said the mentality in practice remains the same as he and his teammates gear up for Amesbury.
“At the beginning of the season we weren’t thinking about it. We weren’t thinking about the Super Bowl or anything like that,” Inzana said. “It was in the back of our minds, but we were just taking things one game at a time and that’s still what we’re trying to do.
“(In practice this week) we’re definitely all business,” Inzana said. “We’re trying to show up and bring our best. We’re still trying to learn with each practice and get better. Amesbury runs the wing-T and we haven’t played many teams that run the wing-T this season. We’re trying to get used to it and get ready for the game.”
Inzana and his teammates know it’ll take their best effort to come away with a win Saturday.
“It’s going to be a ‘fight in a telephone booth’ is what our coaches have said all week,” Inzana said “We’re definitely going to have to show up and play our best game to win.”
Aside from what he’s accomplished as a quarterback, Serino has also come away impressed with the progress Inzana has made as a leader this fall.
“Graham’s a cool kid,” Serino said. “He doesn’t let things bother him. He makes a bad play and he shakes it off. He goes into every game to have fun. Most of his interviews after the game are ‘I can’t wait for the next game to have fun.’ He’s the first guy in the end zone congratulating his teammates. He enjoys the game, bottom line.
“He’s becoming a true leader of this team,” Serino added. “He took command of the huddle. He talks to the headsets with Coach (Chris) Cameron and Coach (Robert) Serino like he’s one of us. He’s like another coach. He has gone above and beyond this year so far.”
