After a season in which Franklin County teams only played one another, coaches around the area are having a hard time getting a read on what their opponents will look like this season.
Between the last year’s local schedule, not having seen some teams in two years and the new division alignments, there’s no telling how an early-season opponent will look until they get on the grass and the opening whistle blows.
“It’s hard to tell how everyone will be,” Franklin Tech coach Kurt Richardson said. “We play Ware, who didn’t have a program three or four years ago. You just have no idea what each team has. Even if you do, most of the kids would have graduated and the kids are all two years older from the last time you saw them.”
The Eagles find themselves in the Tri-County League, facing the likes of Smith Vocational, St. Mary’s, Pathfinder, Mohawk Trail, Duggan, Hampden Charter, Ware and Pioneer Chinese Immersion, and after a Fall II season where they had just enough players to field a team, they’re looking forward to having a full roster and bench this season.
Nine players return from last year, with seniors Alex Davidson-Carroll and Grayson Rollins leading the charge for Franklin Tech. Nik Martin will play in goal while Brayden McCord and Robbie Murphy will play big roles as juniors. Richardson is excited to have Cam Bashaw back after missing last season.
Frontier coach Evan Horton used the abbreviated Fall II season to implement a new system, hoping that getting game experience with it would pay dividends down the road. Through a pair of scrimmages, Horton feels his plan is showing success thus far.
“They’re picking everything right back up,” Horton said. “They’re taking to it well. They’re really paying attention to what we’re trying to do in practice and the stuff we’re working on is equaling success on the field.”
Cairn Bright is a returning captain in the midfield while Payton Sladeski and Ngawang Deter will be in the back. Brady Burch, Matt Sicard, Devin Niles and Dwight Balk return up front while Mohawk Trail transfer Tyler Dubreuil and Greenfield transfer Dante Ruggiano will facotr into the lineup. Dylan Martin will start the season in goal, but should return to the field once Owen Babb recovers from injury.
Frontier is in the Moriarty League with Easthampton, Mahar, South Hadley, Lenox, Palmer, Mount Everett and Wahconah, a challenging conference but one the Redhawks expect to be competitive in.
“I’m confident we’ll be a dangerous team in our league,” Horton said. “We’ll be playing some really good teams, though. It’s going to be a physical, fast league, which is good for us, but there aren’t many games I’d circle as easy.”
Mahar is another squad looking to be competitive in the Moriarty League, though will be doing so with a roster that features just three seniors.
“Our varsity team is predominately ninth and 10th graders,” Senator coach Dan Guertin said. “Our team last year was pretty much just eighth, ninth and seniors so a lot of them are returners. The future of the program is bright. You saw last year what the younger guys wanted to do, but just weren’t physically strong enough. Now you can see they’ve put on weight, they’re more developed physically and they’re now able to execute what they wanted to do mentally.”
Senior Cole Johnson and junior Gavin Sullivan are the Mahar captains. Sullivan started slow last year with an injury but is expected to be a key player in the midfield as a distributor. His return frees Johnson up to play as a forward, where he should find the back of the net plenty.
Dom Whitman will be a factor on the offensive end and Liam O’Donnell will be a big piece all over the lineup. Tristian Gaj returns in goal for his freshman year.
Mohawk Trail has a solid young core that’s looking to be competitive in the Tri-County League.
“It’s going to be a lot of good matchups for us,” Warrior coach Nick Brown said of the new league. “We’re really young but some of our sophomores have been playing varsity since they’ve been in eighth grade so they’re experienced.”
Jeffrey Buck is the sole senior on the Mohawk Trail roster, taking charge of the defensive unit with sophomore Tony Hernandez. Weston Den Ouden is a player to watch on the offensive end.
Jason Quinn is the only senior for Pioneer, with Ben Tufano taking over the programs reigns after serving as the JV coach for the last four years.
Quinn has stood out so far playing all over the field while Peter Loud and Trey Frasier have made an impact as the two juniors on the roster. Freshman Ethan Quinn, Gavin Gammell and Kurt Redeker all saw time last season as eighth graders and are expected to make an impact once again this season.
“We’re hoping to be competitive,” Tufano said. “We’re a young and hungry group.”
Another young squad, Greenfield coach Erich Leaper is looking to see his team progress throughout the season.
“My expectation is to see growth with the players,” Leaper said. “I always go into every season with the goal of making the playoffs. That’s the ultimate goal but I’m also looking to see growth and development with all the players and create something to build on and put out a team that the community can be proud of.”
Keegan Doty-Smith and Henry Zaccara are the two seniors on the Green Wave team. Jacob Blanchard and Jayson Smith have also stood out as leaders so far.
Athol will be looking to build off the work done in the Fall II season.