- Gagne is ready to coach this fall.
By John Devereaux
WABC Liaison
As another school year starts, so does another season for Westford Academy’s football team. As their first game was away at Lowell tonight, Coach Adam Gagne and his players plan to tackle the season with a preparedness they have been developing since last season came to a close.
Gagne is entering his second year as head coach for the Varsity football team. The team may have lost last year’s seniors, but will gain fresh new faces in the sophomore class. Gagne expressed that this year’s team is showing great potential whether they’re entering their first year on varsity or whether they’re playing their last season in a Ghost uniform.
Gagne explained that the 2014 Varsity team will not have weekly starters; the players will each have to earn their starting spot by performing well on and off the field and every practice and every game could have a new player at any single position. Gagne expressed that he will not look a week ahead to see who will start the next game or how they will handle the opponent’s team. His mind is on a day to day basis.
“We believe that this season is going to be successful due to all the hard work we put in this off-season,” said senior captain James Antonelli, as he looks forward to the upcoming season’s schedule.
As senior captains Antonelli, Tommy Jacobsen, Alex Chernauskas, and Brett Fitzgerald take on their first year as playing a key role in leadership for the football team, and they felt that excessive hard work and practice will lead them to a competitive and fun year.
“I feel that we are a pretty balanced team. No one part of our game is more significant than the other and we can’t lean on anything while letting other aspects slide,” said Jacobsen.
The captains and Gagne agree that they will not rely solely on offense or defense but some senior players that spectators should look out for on the field are linemen Chernauskas, Johnny Scammon, and Michael Burns. On the offensive side some other notable players are Fitzgerald and Jacobsen.
“Our starting lineup is a powerhouse this year. We have a strong offensive line who is working hard, a sophomore [Connor Degenhardt] QB who can sling it, and skilled position players who, when they get the ball in their hands, will make something special happen,” said Antonelli.
