SOUTH DEERFIELD — There’s a noticeable buzz around the Frontier football camp heading into the season.
One thing is abundantly clear: the Redhawks weren’t happy with their performance during the abbreviated 2020 season. Frontier went 2-2 against area foes and are determined to turn things around this year.
Through a week of practice, they feel they’re trending in that direction.
“The mood has been different from last year,” senior Josh Semaski said. “Coach (Scott) Dredge came over and said it was fun and games last year but now it’s time to get serious. It’s time to put in work. We’re looking good. Everyone has been showing up and putting in the work.”
The improvement the players have seen is all over the roster. From captain’s practices over the summer to players getting in the weight room, the Redhawks feel they’ll be back to being a competitive team in the mix for a playoff spot this season.
While they haven’t been able to put the full pads on yet, the difference in energy between last year and this year is night and day. Like all teams in Western Mass., the Redhawks had a shortened offseason last year, one where they didn’t even know if they’d be allowed to play in games.
With a full month of practice before the games begin, and more time for Dredge & Co. to implement his schemes, Frontier is ready to hit the ground running when they travel to Ware on Sept. 10 for the season opener.
“We had a few really good days of conditioning to start everything off,” senior Sam Schreiber said. “Everyone realized at the first day of practice that this is serious. Everyone came in playing different and playing harder. It’s showed.”
It’s easy to prepare for a season when you’ve had it nearly taken away, as was the case last year. As part of the new league alignments, the Redhawks find themselves in the Intercounty South this season along with Hoosac Valley, Lee, Belchertown, Commerce and Easthampton.
The new league presents a fresh challenge for Frontier, with Easthampton being the lone carryover from the old Intercounty North the Redhawks competed in during the last alignment cycle. Greenfield is the only Franklin County opponent on the team’s slate this fall, and the two squads will meet during the early-season independent portion of the schedule for the foreseeable future.
“Words can’t describe how happy we are to be out here,” senior Iain Spearance said. “We’re so excited. It’ll be a good challenge for us. We’ll play some very good competition.”
Not only were the leagues in Western Mass. altered, but with the MIAA moving to a statewide format for playoff purposes, the postseason divisions for each school were also realigned. As such, Frontier now finds itself in Division 8, same as league-mates Hoosac and Lee.
Belchertown is a Div. 5 school while Commerce and Easthampton are both in Div. 6, presenting what should be a tougher schedule on paper than in past years. If the Redhawks are able to beat teams from higher divisions, it should have an impact on potential postseason seeding.
“In terms of playoffs we play some harder teams that are above our division [in the regular season],” senior lineman John Semaski said. “If we can win [those games], it puts us pretty high for playoffs. That’s something to look forward to.”
While most teams don’t look forward to conditioning in the dead heat of summer, Frontier players say they understand the importance of it, especially this season. The Redhawks return a plethora of skill position players but lost a lot on the offensive line from last season.
They know they’ll have to be in great shape and use their speed to their advantage to win games this year.
“We want to have more of a family bond compared to last year and years past,” Schreiber said. “We don’t have the size like we had a few years ago. We have to be in great shape and be able to out-run everyone.”
If you’re planning to see Frontier in person during the early portion of the season, you’ll have to make a road trip. With the school’s outdoor track that encompasses the football field being upgraded, the Redhawks won’t play a home game until Oct. 1 when they host Lee. Instead, they’ll open the season with a three-game road stretch.
The players don’t mind, however. They’re hoping to find positives in the early-season travel binge.
“I like playing on the road,” Josh Semaski said. “It’ll be hard not playing in front of our home fans but it’ll bring us closer.”