Veteran St. John's Prep football coach Jim O'Leary and his coaching staff took 115 players to the team's annual preseason camp in Wayne, Maine. Only 15 of those players were seniors, however.
There are plenty of jobs open, especially on offense, for the defending Catholic Conference champions. Trying to fill them will not be easy.
The entire offensive line, which was one of the best in Eastern Mass. a year ago, graduated. So is tailback Tyler Coppola, who set a new single-season school record for rushing with 2,182 yards and 20 touchdowns. And as always, the Eagles have one of the toughest schedules in the state.
"Our main area of concern is the offensive line because not only did our five starters graduate, but also the five backups," said O'Leary, whose club is coming off a Division 1 Super Bowl season that ended with a loss to Everett at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
"We have a lot of young guys, but no experience. It's going to be a little bit of an adventure early in the season. The good thing is we have plenty of time to fix things before we get into the Catholic Conference games (late in the season). We're looking at so many people in so many different combinations trying to find the right combination. Right now it's hard to get into any kind of offensive flow because we are making so many changes there."
O'Leary said he isn't even going to try to fill Coppola's shoes with one back, but rather hopes to take up some of the slack with three speedsters. Junior Alex Moore, who showed signs of talent a year ago as Coppola's backup (6 TDs), will start at tailback while junior Gerald Kahari is the wingback and sophomore Johnny Thomas steps in at fullback. Junior R. J. Pizzano, sophomore Sean Smerczynski and sophomore Jordan Pallazola provide depth at fullback.
Calling the signals for the second year in a row is senior captain Tommy Gaudet of Peabody. Gaudet has a strong arm and likes to call his own number in the option. Last year he scored nine touchdowns and made three-two point conversions and was also the Eagles' second-leading rusher with 524 yards. O'Leary hopes to keep Gaudet off the field on defense to give him a breather.
"We also have three strong receivers in (junior) Lucas Bavaro, (sophomore) Josh Hubbell and (senior captain) Owen Lynch at tight end," said O'Leary.
There is much more experience returning on the Prep defense. The 6-foot, 200-pound Lynch leads the way at defensive end while Smerczynski, Pizzano and Pallazola are the linebackers. Senior Kyle Kaneb has experience on the defensive line, and junior Tucker Mathers is back at end. Mathers can also step in at linebacker and senior Colby O'Connor got some playing time at defensive tackle last season.
The kicking game is solid led with returning seniors David Pope and Connor Shaw.
Whereas last year's team was built around its skill players and offensive line, the Eagles will need their defense to carry the day in 2011.
EAGLES TALONS
Last year's record: 8-5
Coach: Jim O'Leary (28th year, 186-94-2)
Team captains: Tommy Gaudet, Sr., QB; Owen Lynch, Sr., TE/DE; also, one game captain each week
Top returning rusher: Gaudet (524 yards, 9 TD's)
Top returning passer: Gaudet (33-for-63, 446 yards, 3 TDs)
Top returning receiver: Gerald Kahari (4 rec, 31 yards)
Last league title: 2010 (Catholic Conference)
Did you know: The Eagles have only 15 seniors on their squad, the lowest number head coach Jim O'Leary has ever had. Fortunately, the junior and sophomore classes are very large.
2011 SCHEDULE
DateOpponentTime
Sept. 10Dracut1:30 p.m.
Sept. 17at Central Catholic1:30 p.m.
Sept. 24Everett1:30 p.m.
Oct. 1Brockton1:30 p.m.
Oct. 15at St. John's Sh.1 p.m.
Oct. 22Somerville1:30 p.m.
Oct. 28at Catholic Memorial7 p.m.
Nov. 5Malden Catholic1 p.m.
Nov. 11at B.C. High6 p.m.
Nov. 24Xaverian10:15 a.m.
