The ORR boys’ football program is looking to make up for its small size and lack of seniors with speed and some fresh, new faces for the 2012 season. The Bulldogs, led by Coach Henry Quinlan, took a big hit from graduation, losing valuable players like star Running Back DJ MacDonald, Quarterback Mike Asci and Wide Receivers Mikey Durocher and Max Risch. With only three senior players this year, the Bulldogs will have to rely on some of their underclassmen in order to win games in the competitive SCC league.
Senior Linemen Aaron Holick and Ben Mattson will lead the defense, along with junior Lineman Zach Bowen. On the offensive side, junior Nolan Bergeron will start as Quarterback and fellow classmate Colin Knapton will look to fill the shoes of MacDonald in the position of Running Back.
The team also boasts a variety of newcomers, particularly Richie and Raekwon Phillips. The brothers, transfer students from Wareham, will add speed to the Bulldogs’ offense, a thing that athletic director Bill Tilden says will be important for the team.
“The team is pretty light size-wise, but they definitely have speed,” Tilden said. “They’ve been working on a whole new offense, so we’ll see a new style of ORR football this season.”
The ORR football team looks to improve their 4-7 record from last year starting with a game at Martha’s Vineyard on September 7 at 6:30 pm.
The football team is not the only ORR sports team looking to improve upon last year. The boys’ cross country program looks to be undefeated SCC champions, while the girls’ team hopes to defend their SCC title. Coach Cindy Tilden leads both teams.
The boys’ team, which suffered one loss to Greater New Bedford Vocational Tech last year, will be led by a strong 1-2 in junior Mike Wyman and senior Nick Pacheco. From there, they have a strong varsity team with runners in seniors Fred Murolo and Conner Medeiros-Sweet.
The girls’ team will be led by juniors Sammie Barrett, Paige Santos, and Hannah Viera along with seniors Sophia Santos and Abby Hiller. The girls’ varsity team lost only one member of their varsity squad to graduation, while the boys lost four, including standout David Friedman. However, Assistant Coach Bill Tilden is not too concerned with either team’s top seven runners.
“You always try to improve from the season before, and we have a lot of depth through our top eight spots,” Tilden said. “I’m really looking forward to the season.”
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams will begin their season at the SCC Jamboree at Washburn Park in Marion on September 8 at 9:30 am.
By Michael Kassabian