LYNNFIELD — This year has been a tough year for recruiting, and Lynnfield senior Jack Ford has been right in the middle of it while looking for a landing spot to play football next fall.
“With everything going on with the pandemic, it made it hard to stay in touch with any coaches,” Ford, a multi-sport athlete with the Pioneers, said. “The recruiting process changed more than I could’ve imagined and I started to get stressed out about where I was going to go. I had talked to some Division I schools and it was a dream of mine to go that route, but it was hard when camps and workouts started to get canceled.”
But one team, Division II Bentley in Waltham and its head coach Bill Kavanaugh, stood out by showing constant interest in Ford throughout the year.
“Coach Kavanaugh constantly stayed in contact and would check up on me throughout the year,” Ford said. “That really made me feel like Bentley was the best choice for me.”
Ford made that choice official Thursday afternoon, signing his National Letter of Intent to join the Falcons at Lynnfield High School.
“I think personally, and they’ve proven it over the last few years, Bentley is the best Division II program around,” Ford said. “I want to be competing and that’s what they’ve been doing there. Their offense is a good fit for the kind of player I am too, they love to get the ball to the outside with their wide receivers.”
As a receiver for the Pioneers, Ford accomplished more than most players could ever hope for on the football field.
A two-time Cape Ann League All-Star, Ford finished his junior season second in the state in receiving yards with 908 and third in the state in receiving touchdowns with 15. Both were program records for Lynnfield, and the season earned him Cape Ann League Offensive Player of the Year honors.
“As a person, he’s our leader by example,” Lynnfield head coach Pat Lamusta said of his senior captain. “Jack’s a game-changer on the field and is always working. He’s always trying to win the play, ever since his sophomore year, which has impressed me the most. He’s been a stud receiver since day one and not many people can say they broke school records as juniors.”
Ford himself wasn’t always sure if he’d play for the Pioneers, but it’s safe to say he’s glad where he ended up.
“Before high school, I was thinking about maybe going to another school,” Ford said. “But in the end I decided to stay here and be with my friends. It was the best decision I could’ve made.”
It was a bit of a roller coaster ride with the Pioneers. When Lamusta first took the reins as head coach, Lynnfield went 3-8. But last season, Ford and his teammates turned things around.
“So much has changed with the program,” Ford said. “When Coach Lamusta stepped in we had a tough year. Then my junior year we had a lot of returning players but no one really had faith in us except ourselves. That taught me a lot of life lessons.”
Now Ford and his teammates will hope to continue that success this spring in the “Fall Sports II” season that is slated to start later this month.
“None of us thought anything like this would happen, so my main goal this year is to not take any second for granted,” Ford said. “Me and my friends have been talking about playing our senior season since we started playing football. Coming into it, I know we all want to make it the best we can and we know we can still find success even without a tournament. We want to go out with a bang.”
