LYNN — Lynn Tech football is using the finish of its season last year as motivation to propel the team to new heights in 2022.
The Tigers finished with a (3-8) record last season, which was good enough to sneak into the playoffs, where Hoosac Valley ousted them by a slim margin. This year, Head Coach James Runner says his players are reminded of that game often.
“We posted the score in our weight room. Every waking day we are in the weight room; we think of that playoff game because we were the last seed, and nobody gave us a chance,” said Runner.
Even as a young team last year, Lynn Tech was within striking distance of taking down the number one seed in the playoffs, and Runner hopes his players can use that toward their constant goal of making the playoffs.
“All those guys have kept it on their minds all summer long, and our goal every year is to make the playoffs,” said Runner.
To achieve their goal, the Tigers will have to fill some pretty big holes on the roster as important players have since graduated. Chief among the players who have graduated are standout linebacker Domenic Giordano who won the Agganis/Item Defensive Player of the year, and terrific running back Regner Nival, who received Commonwealth Athletic Conference All-Star honors.
“Those two guys are going to be missed in the program — they worked hard for four years, and now they are off at college doing their thing,” said Runner.
Although Tech is losing significant contributors on each side of the ball, Runner is confident in the players he has this year who will try and fill the void.
“We have a good nucleus of guys coming back who worked their tails off during the summer,” said Runner. One of the key players in that nucleus is quarterback Tyler David who could be poised for a big year.
“This should be a breakout season for him [David]. Even though he is a quarterback, we run the ball, so he is like a quarterback and running back, and he should have a really good year for us,” said Runner.
On the defensive side of the ball, Runner is excited about his middle linebacker Michael Monbleau who has had a tremendous offseason.
“He had a great offseason — worked his ass off — went to a lot of college combines with Tyler [David], and I think he is going to have a breakout year,” said Runner.
Joseph Amaro will look to wreak havoc over opposing linemen all year long in the trenches. “Joseph Amaro — my defensive tackle — this will be Jojo’s third year as a varsity starter, and I think he will be a part of our offensive and defensive line,” said Runner.
Heading into the regular season, Runner hopes the team’s good play on the offensive and defensive lines will carry over from last year, along with the play of his linebackers.
The Tigers will also look to come out crisper on offense as they will have more reps with last year’s newly installed offense.
“We implemented a new offense, and now with it being the second year with everybody learning everything that we needed to learn, I expect there to be a bigger turnaround this year,” said Runner.
“The kids did really well with it in sevens, so it should turn over to the football this year,” he added.
Tech has also emphasized getting better in the passing game, whether that’s on offense or stopping the pass on defense. On offense, Runner mentioned getting the ball in playmakers’ hands when needed as an emphasis and having more experienced defensive backs on the field because the Tigers had to play linebackers at cornerback last season.
The Tigers will open the regular season Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at Manning Field against Essex Tech.
“I have been doing this for 13 years now as a head coach for Lynn Tech — 23 years as a coach, and I think that these guys have what it takes to make a good run,” said Runner.
“I think we did a great job as a program preparing ourselves for the next upcoming season compared to what we did last year. Going into this year, I think we are ready for a good run,” he said.
Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
