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Red Devils Football ’09 Preview
Mike Stellato likes the summer, but admits that he often finds himself counting the days until the weather gets a bit cooler and school gets back in session. “Once the summer gets going, you’re always itching and ready to go for football season,” said the Chelsea High head football coach. “You don’t want summer to go too fast, but you want football season to get started because you look forward to it so much.”
The wait is over for Stellato, his coaches and their players. The Red Devils have been practicing since August 24 in anticipation of the 2009 football season. They have played two scrimmages – one at home against Boston Latin Academy on Sunday and one at Georgetown High on Tuesday – and will play one more at home against Greater Lawrence on Friday before turning their attention to the season opener. Chelsea will open on September 11 on the road against Pope John XXIII, who, conveniently enough for the Red Devils, happens to play their home games at Chelsea High.
With eight offensive and nine defensive starters returning to the field this year, the Red Devils are sure to be an experienced group. Coach Stellato is hoping that many of the players who got their varsity reps in as underclassmen a season ago will be ready to step up and lead the team to a big improvement over last year’s 4-7 record. The team’s coaching staff also remains largely intact from 2008. Terry Lee returns as the offensive coordinator, and defensive line coach, John Hassell, is back to work with the quarterbacks and offensive line. Junior Valentin will again coach the linebackers and running backs, and Lee Miller, a Peabody High graduate who has coached at the high school and college level, is the staff’s newest addition, who will serve as the team’s defensive coordinator.
John Washington, Gary May and Shane Verge are all returning to coach the freshman squad and will be helped by newcomer Amanda Alpert, who has worked in the past with the Chelsea High program. Quarterback Nelson Molina, who was named the MVP of ’08 Devils, and running back Dan Martinez, who won last year’s Offensive MVP Award, have been named the co-captains of the 2009 squad. Stellato said the two have had a very strong preseason and have continued to provide the leadership they exhibited last season.
The task of leading the Red Devils won’t fall to the captains alone. Fullback/linebacker David Cortez, running back/linebacker Justin Saez and defensive back Troy Crossley are all returning starters who will be expected to help fill the void left by last year’s six departing seniors. Coach Stellato is hoping for big things from his experienced core of linemen. Junior center Brayan Blanco, senior left end Felix Torres, junior guard/defensive tackle Andres Romero, junior tight end J.J. Rivera and junior offensive tackle Andy Rath have all worked hard in the offseason and will have to be a force in the trenches to allow Molina, Martinez and company to rack up big yardage.
The team is also excited about the emergence of five players who were lettermen on last year’s team but figure to be regular varsity contributors in 2009. Darius Corchado, Walter Cortez, Paco Silva, Juan Martinez and Chris Acosta are Chelsea’s best hope of providing the Red Devils with added depth, which Stellato admits is, at this point, a team weakness. “I think the kids have worked very hard in the offseason,” he said. “Once the banquet ended last year, guys were in the weight room, working out and preparing themselves for the upcoming season. The attitude is very positive, and kids have been dedicated to this point; and each day, we’re looking to get better as a team and not just be satisfied with the outcomes of the two scrimmages.”
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