Moving the Chains

Matt Williams

The countdown to Thanksgiving is at T-minus 12 days and counting, and no clear front-runner has emerged as a local Coach of the Year candidate.

Here's a quick look at a possible Top 3 list and what their arguments for the award might be (list presented in alphabetical order):

Chris Powers, Pingree: The Highlanders are 6-1 and sit on the cusp of the first football playoff appearance in school history. Fresh off sending its first ever Division 1 player, Derek Pratt, to Maine last year, Powers and Pingree have continued to build the program. Part of doing that early on is getting athletes to have faith in your system and want to play for you — and Powers has done that big time.

You also have to put it together on the field, and thanks to great speed and superior schemes, Pingree's done that too. Powers and his staff deserve a lot of credit for tackling unique circumstances like 4-hour bus rides to Maine for games in the snow, like last week's romp over Kent's Hill.

Jim Rudloff, Marblehead: The idea that Marblehead is a runaway favorite at Miller Field tonight against Winthrop would have been unheard of as recently as two years ago. That it's no longer the case is a credit to Rudloff and his staff.

It's not easy for a good football team to adapt to a new coach, especially after a controversial departure (see Peabody High, circa 2005). But Rudloff has made sure the Magicians haven't missed a beat. Doing that in any town is hard; doing it in a town that hadn't had a winning season in 15 years before 2008 is laudable.

Rudloff has the Magicians with their best record (8-1) since the mid-1980s and in position to win a league title if they beat Swampscott on Thanksgiving.

John Sullivan, Danvers: Less than a handful of teams have gone from one win to a winning season in just 12 months, but that's exactly what Sullivan's Falcons (5-4) will do if they beat Saugus tonight. The accomplishment of going from 0-11 in 2007, 1-10 in 2008 and to a winning campaign simply cannot be understated.

Sullivan and his staff got Danvers to believe it could win — no easy task when you're downtrodden in high school football. The Falcons' defense has been among the area's best since Day 1, and Sullivan's been keen to make sure the offense didn't suffer when captain Eric Burgos, the team's leading rusher, was lost for the season.

That Danvers rebounded from that potentially devastating injury — and from the last two years — are a credit to the players, as well as the staff, that keeps them on the same page.

Others: It's impossible to overlook the jobs Steve Dembowski of Swampscott and Jim Pugh of Masconomet have done. They've been under the radar a bit because their teams seem successful every year, but they'd certainly round out the coaching Top 5 for 2009.

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A classic Cape Ann League coaching matchup is on tap at Walter Roberts Field tonight when former Wilmington boss Bob Almeida leads his Malden Catholic Lancers in a non-league matchup against Jim Pugh's Masconomet Chieftains.

Under Almeida, the Wildcats frequently engaged the Chieftains in "Game of the Year" type contests for the CAL Large title. They beat Masconomet in seven straight seasons from 1999-2005, with four of those decided by less than a touchdown. The Chieftains finally broke through in 2006 to start their recent run of CAL dominance.

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No word on if Bishop Fenwick's ace running back Alex Crecco will be back from an injury that's cost him the last two games when the Crusaders host Archbishop Williams tonight at Donaldson Field (7 p.m.). If not, expect another big game out of Nick Corbett, who had deuces wild last week running for 222 yards on 22 carries last Saturday against St. Mary's of Lynn.

"He hasn't played much until the last couple weeks with the injuries we've had. He played very little early in the season because he was a little injured himself," Fenwick coach Dave Woods said of Corbett. "It was a huge game for him, no question.

"We were thinking at some point that some trap plays and belly things with the fullback would be there, and most of his yards were on the trap."

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Justin Provencher is anything but underappreciated by his Peabody High teammates. Four times in nine weeks, the senior has been named a "game captain" by his coaches and fellow captains.

"Every week we meet with our captains (Mike O'Brien, Mike DiFrancisco and Jeff Egitto) and pick a guy that's set the best example with his work ethic all week," explained Peabody head coach Scott Wlasuk. "We mention Justin and everyone nods. The way he works, the way he's carried himself all year — he's been great."

Provencher's best known for his kicking; his signature moment was a walk-off field goal in a win over Arlington last year. But he's also a beast from sideline to sideline in the middle of the Tanners' defense and leads the team in tackles.

The Tanners (3-6) will have a losing record for the fourth straight season, but they'll try to get some good vibes against a strong Lynn English team tonight at Coley Lee Field (7 p.m.) before looking to end the program's longest holiday losing streak in decades when they renew acquaintances with Saugus on Thanksgiving.

"The goal now is to make this as enjoyable as I can for my seniors," said Wlasuk. "We want to win these (last) two games, obviously. Some of these guys will never play football again; we have to make sure it's a good experience for them."

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A rarity happened late in the first half of last Friday's Beverly at Marblehead contest: the host Magicians were erroneously awarded a fifth down. It could have had a big impact on the game, too: Hayes Richardson fired a pass over the middle to hulking Evan Comeau, who caught and lugged it 29 yards downfield before being tackled at the 7-yard line as time ran out in the half. Had he scored, there's no doubt we'd looking at some controversy this week.

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Beverly senior running back Dylan Terry, who sat out last Friday's game at Marblehead with a leg injury, is expected to suit up tomorrow when the Panthers look to put a blemish on host Swampscott's unbeaten NEC Small record.

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Here's a look at the potential playoff match-ups for whoever advances among the local squads, as the MIAA has already set league vs. league opponents for Playoff Tuesday (Dec. 1).

The winner of Thanksgiving's Swampscott-Marblehead clash will represent the NEC Small and face the Patriot Fisher champion. That will be either Rockland or Hanover, who battle for that league crown tonight.

The Cape Ann League Large champ, likely Masconomet, will play the Dual County Small champ. At this point, it looks like that will be Bedford or Concord-Carlisle, who face each other on Turkey Day.

Should Gloucester beat Lynn Classical tonight and claim the NEC Large, the Fishermen would face the Dual County Large winner. Westford leads the league right now, but Waltham and Acton-Boxboro are only a game back and the DCL Large could wind up decided by tie-breakers if Westford trips up.

Meanwhile, should St. John's Prep take the Catholic Conference championship, they'd face the Merrimack Valley Large champions (likely Billerica or Central Catholic). Cape Ann Small leader Lynnfield should advance to face the Catholic Central Large representative (either Arlington Catholic or Austin Prep).

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Moving the Chains, a column on high school football, runs every Friday during the fall in The Salem News. Contact Matt Williams at MWilliams@salemnews.com or 978-338-2669.