Pit stops at Everett High, Pope John XXIII
EVERETT — On the first day of practice, MassVarsity traveled up to Everett to see what should be two of the top teams in their respective divisions, Everett High in Division 1 and Pope John XXIII in Division 8.
We started first at with the reigning, two-time Division 1 champs, and the conditioning under first-year head coach Theluxon Pierre was crisp.
Assistant coach Mike Ruth seemed to speak for everyone when sizing up both the team's prospects and the program's overall direction as Pierre takes over.
"This is the best group of kids," Ruth said. "They're hard-working, old-fashioned, good kids. Theluxon is knocking it out of the park. The kids, that's the No. 1. But the way Theluxon has pulled everyone together (is the other)."
Rob Doherty, the father of sophomore quarterback Duke Doherty, echoed those comments.
"It's a family (at Everett)," Rob said. "It's a family atmosphere."
Toward the end of practice, Pierre deflected credit for that.
"It's always about family," Pierre said. "Coach (John DiBiaso, now at Catholic Memorial) did it great. I'm just trying to continue it, that's all."
Wide receiver/defensive back/good-at-everything senior Mike Sainristil welcomed those who think the Tide are going to fall off the map now that DiBiaso is on Baker Street.
"It feels good, actually," Sainristil said. "We're getting a lot of doubt: 'Oh, we've got a new coach. Since DiBiaso left, it's going to be hard.' Every year is hard. Just because it's a new year, no one knows what can happen. If we do it this year, at least we can help coach Pierre have a good start as the 2019 class puts him in a good position. And then if we win it all, which is always the goal, then we can be the first team in history to say we're the only Everett team to win with a new coach in how many years? That's the goal."
Onto the players...
— Sainristil spoke briefly during a break about the upcoming season.
(On some of the younger kids he wanted to highlight stepping into new roles)
MS: I'd say (receiver/defensive back) Elijah (Auguste). He's a slot receiver. (Senior) Robbie (Riobe) is not a young guy, but he's been playing defense, so I think he'll be good (at receiver, as well). We have (sophomore wide receiver/defensive back) Samy (Lamothe). We have Ish (Zamore), he's a freshman. The state's going to know about him soon in a year or two. He plays receiver/quarterback.
(On his updated height/weight)
MS: I'm 5-10, 175.
(It's been a busy summer with recruiting and everything. Is it great to be back here playing with your teammates, getting ready for the season?)
MS: This is amazing. I can't wait for this. First day of camp is always the most electric day, I think. Everyone's high energy. Everyone wants to be here. The guys worked hard this summer. The freshmen worked very hard this summer, too. I feel like it's going to be a good year. We're young, but we have heart. We're like the Celtics.
(There's a lot of pressure in this city with the amount of tradition, the amount of wins you guys have had . . . )
MS: Definitely, definitely is.
(But do you like that?)
MS: I love it. I love it. I like the pressure, because that's when good football players are found.
— There is a lot of buzz around Zamore. Pierre mentioned him this summer, and the 6-foot-1, give-or-take 160-170-pounder has been working with the high school group in workouts as early as the seventh grade.
— Riobe wanted to remind everyone in a quick chat between whistles that he did play receiver as a freshman and sophomore, and that he simply specialized on defense a year ago.
— Linemen like Jalen Smith, Gilbert Kabamba and Wilson Frederic are already well-known, but keep an eye on senior guard Giovanni Raduazzo. He's about 5-10, 215, quick, tough, and without an ounce of fat on him. He's the type of player every good high school line needs, especially one that traps and pulls.
— Running back Isaac Seide looks outstanding. There are Division 1-aa offers already on the table, but this is a 1-a player. Some teams are missing the boat. If it's not at running back, it's somewhere else. You find a spot for guys like him and take it from there. Ditto Riobe, Smith, Kabamba and Frederic. Some ACC and Big Ten schools are already showing legitimate interest in Lamothe, too. Don't be late to the party.
By the time we made it over to see the Tigers, the rain started to pour as they finished up practice on Edith Street Park.
Coach Paul Sobolewski had roughly 26 players in attendance, but expects to be around 30 with the hope of getting around 35 by the time the season starts.
"At this level, you're just not going to get 50 kids anymore," he said later in his office at the school.
Out of that Spartan group were a few he wanted to highlight early on.
He has two very promising receivers in junior Steven Gaskill (6-0, 170) and senior Jesus Rivera (5-8, 160).
Sophomore running back/safety John Smith-Howell is just 5-7, 140, but Sobolewski says he plays with the type of passion that you normally see from a senior who is much bigger. One sophomore, tight end Greg Smith, is already way ahead in that department at 6-1, 220.
Senior middle linebacker Ajan Nelson (6-0, 240) will be a force and is already on the radar of many college coaches.
Finally, senior signal-caller Anthony Mejia is 6-foot, 215 pounds with a cannon for an arm and a reported bench press of 275.
The Tigers will be very experienced on the offensive line.
Other lower-division teams Sobolewski said to keep an eye out for were Tech Boston, the New Mission/Boston English merger, Pope John II (Hyannis), Matignon, Austin Prep, Lynn Tech, West Bridgewater and Lowell Catholic.
The Tigers open the season with games against East Boston and West Roxbury.
We started first at with the reigning, two-time Division 1 champs, and the conditioning under first-year head coach Theluxon Pierre was crisp.
Assistant coach Mike Ruth seemed to speak for everyone when sizing up both the team's prospects and the program's overall direction as Pierre takes over.
"This is the best group of kids," Ruth said. "They're hard-working, old-fashioned, good kids. Theluxon is knocking it out of the park. The kids, that's the No. 1. But the way Theluxon has pulled everyone together (is the other)."
Rob Doherty, the father of sophomore quarterback Duke Doherty, echoed those comments.
"It's a family (at Everett)," Rob said. "It's a family atmosphere."
Toward the end of practice, Pierre deflected credit for that.
"It's always about family," Pierre said. "Coach (John DiBiaso, now at Catholic Memorial) did it great. I'm just trying to continue it, that's all."
Wide receiver/defensive back/good-at-everything senior Mike Sainristil welcomed those who think the Tide are going to fall off the map now that DiBiaso is on Baker Street.
"It feels good, actually," Sainristil said. "We're getting a lot of doubt: 'Oh, we've got a new coach. Since DiBiaso left, it's going to be hard.' Every year is hard. Just because it's a new year, no one knows what can happen. If we do it this year, at least we can help coach Pierre have a good start as the 2019 class puts him in a good position. And then if we win it all, which is always the goal, then we can be the first team in history to say we're the only Everett team to win with a new coach in how many years? That's the goal."
Onto the players...
— Sainristil spoke briefly during a break about the upcoming season.
(On some of the younger kids he wanted to highlight stepping into new roles)
MS: I'd say (receiver/defensive back) Elijah (Auguste). He's a slot receiver. (Senior) Robbie (Riobe) is not a young guy, but he's been playing defense, so I think he'll be good (at receiver, as well). We have (sophomore wide receiver/defensive back) Samy (Lamothe). We have Ish (Zamore), he's a freshman. The state's going to know about him soon in a year or two. He plays receiver/quarterback.
(On his updated height/weight)
MS: I'm 5-10, 175.
(It's been a busy summer with recruiting and everything. Is it great to be back here playing with your teammates, getting ready for the season?)
MS: This is amazing. I can't wait for this. First day of camp is always the most electric day, I think. Everyone's high energy. Everyone wants to be here. The guys worked hard this summer. The freshmen worked very hard this summer, too. I feel like it's going to be a good year. We're young, but we have heart. We're like the Celtics.
(There's a lot of pressure in this city with the amount of tradition, the amount of wins you guys have had . . . )
MS: Definitely, definitely is.
(But do you like that?)
MS: I love it. I love it. I like the pressure, because that's when good football players are found.
— There is a lot of buzz around Zamore. Pierre mentioned him this summer, and the 6-foot-1, give-or-take 160-170-pounder has been working with the high school group in workouts as early as the seventh grade.
— Riobe wanted to remind everyone in a quick chat between whistles that he did play receiver as a freshman and sophomore, and that he simply specialized on defense a year ago.
— Linemen like Jalen Smith, Gilbert Kabamba and Wilson Frederic are already well-known, but keep an eye on senior guard Giovanni Raduazzo. He's about 5-10, 215, quick, tough, and without an ounce of fat on him. He's the type of player every good high school line needs, especially one that traps and pulls.
— Running back Isaac Seide looks outstanding. There are Division 1-aa offers already on the table, but this is a 1-a player. Some teams are missing the boat. If it's not at running back, it's somewhere else. You find a spot for guys like him and take it from there. Ditto Riobe, Smith, Kabamba and Frederic. Some ACC and Big Ten schools are already showing legitimate interest in Lamothe, too. Don't be late to the party.
By the time we made it over to see the Tigers, the rain started to pour as they finished up practice on Edith Street Park.
Coach Paul Sobolewski had roughly 26 players in attendance, but expects to be around 30 with the hope of getting around 35 by the time the season starts.
"At this level, you're just not going to get 50 kids anymore," he said later in his office at the school.
Out of that Spartan group were a few he wanted to highlight early on.
He has two very promising receivers in junior Steven Gaskill (6-0, 170) and senior Jesus Rivera (5-8, 160).
Sophomore running back/safety John Smith-Howell is just 5-7, 140, but Sobolewski says he plays with the type of passion that you normally see from a senior who is much bigger. One sophomore, tight end Greg Smith, is already way ahead in that department at 6-1, 220.
Senior middle linebacker Ajan Nelson (6-0, 240) will be a force and is already on the radar of many college coaches.
Finally, senior signal-caller Anthony Mejia is 6-foot, 215 pounds with a cannon for an arm and a reported bench press of 275.
The Tigers will be very experienced on the offensive line.
Other lower-division teams Sobolewski said to keep an eye out for were Tech Boston, the New Mission/Boston English merger, Pope John II (Hyannis), Matignon, Austin Prep, Lynn Tech, West Bridgewater and Lowell Catholic.
The Tigers open the season with games against East Boston and West Roxbury.
Comments
Post a Comment