LYNN — Any high school program is only as good as the young men and women who come through it, but for the KIPP football team, the class of 2021 has meant everything.
“I’ve said this many times, the program would not have survived if it wasn’t for this group of seniors,” KIPP football coach Jim Rabbitt said. “If it wasn’t for these guys I don’t know if we would have made it to year two or three.”
Rabbitt isn’t exaggerating. The Panthers didn’t have a team when this current group of 14 seniors was in eighth grade. But the next year they became the first freshman football players for a brand-new program and it was anything but easy for them.
“They’ve gone through so much,” Rabbit said. “A lot of them were playing as freshmen in a senior-heavy league. We took our licks in those first two years. Normal people probably would have quit and said ‘the heck with this, it’s not worth it.’ But those guys stuck with it. They built the program, built a culture, got in the weight room and the film room and bought into what it took.”
That buy-in has paid off. KIPP went from the bottom of Division 8 football straight to the top in recent years. In 2019, the Panthers won a Division 8 North title and came just two games shy of a state title. Without a tournament to play in this year, KIPP wrapped up a 5-2 year a few weeks ago.
“I think the high point was winning that Division 8 North Championship against Keefe Tech,” senior captain Mike Brice said. “That was one of the best feelings out of the four years.”
Brice has been one of four key leaders for KIPP over the years along with Daniel Oluwasuyi, Taj King and Dave Filias. Brice has anchored both the defensive and offensive line. Falias was another piece on the offensive line and cleaned things up defensively at linebacker. Both Oluwasuyi and King have found themselves in the endzone plenty of times over the years at running back and wide receiver respectively. No matter what they did on the field, the group’s bond has grown into a brotherhood over the years.
“We’ve just all grown together throughout these four years because we started from scratch,” King said. “It was just building bonds with everyone on the team.”
Today’s success didn’t come cheap or by accident. Just like any good team it was created when nobody was watching.
“Freshman year was really a struggle,” Filias said. “But towards the end of freshman year you could see who wanted to play football and who was really dedicated and wanted this. Then it progressed over the summer where people started working out, going to the Lynn fitness center and really taking the time to get better. That helped build a bond together as a family. Without that we wouldn’t have been as successful.”
Monday the group, along with the rest of the team officially turned in their pads and uniforms. It may be the end of a chapter but they were already back in the weight room afterwards.
“I knew this day was coming,” Rabbitt said. “I kept saying ‘it’s not here yet, it’s not coming yet,’ but that last game against Shawsheen, it was surreal. I haven’t coached a group without these guys so next year for me it’s certainly going to be different. They’re a special group of guys.”
That respect goes both ways.
“Jim made us more mentally tough,” Oluwasuyi said. “Whenever things got bad and there was any complaining about practices, Coach Rabbitt would lecture us on how we have to get through obstacles and we can’t just take the easy way out. Going through those hardships really build character.”
While their time with KIPP is over, football isn’t in the rear view mirror for these four. Brice and King will be playing at Trinity College next year while Oluwasuyi and Filias are gearing up at Middlebury College. The two teams will meet for a game on Oct. 2.
