For the last 30 years, Doherty head coach Sean Mulcahy has seen and done just about everything there is to do as a coach in Massachusetts.

Except prepare for a season in March during a pandemic.

Mulcahy, like every other coach in the state, has had to dodge some unexpected twists and turns when it comes to getting his team on the field, but now that the Highlanders are together again, it’s as if nothing changed over the last year.

“Just seeing them on Monday – we didn’t even have practice we just used it as a day to hand out equipment – it was so therapeutic,” Mulcahy said in a phone interview on Friday. “I met every class separately…just seeing them, my nephew plays for me so I’ve see a few around but in terms of seeing them as a group I hadn’t done that since March 13 (2020), so it was great.”

It’s a sentiment that coaches, players, trainers and athletic directors can all relate to. Getting on the field this season regardless of what it looks like was the most important thing. Doherty is just one of many programs soaking up every opportunity to share time together. For some coaches like Mulcahy, the world of Zoom and FaceTime has made keeping in touch with players that much more interesting.

“I did try and maintain a sense of connection through Google meetings, weekly emails, monthly emails and stuff like that,” he said. “I’m not the most technically advanced guy, so it was definitely different but I think we did a good job of trying to stay in touch with guys. Seeing them in person live on Monday though, it was very therapeutic.”

The Highlanders went 7-1 during the regular season before bowing out of the Division 3 CMASS playoffs in the semifinals with an ugly loss to St. John’s. Since winning a Division 4 state title in 2013, Doherty has been back in the CMASS semifinals every single season. That type of consistency doesn’t happen by accident, and the crop of players that continues to roll through the halls of Doherty High is often one of the best in the area.

Despite not chasing another deep playoff run this season, Doherty is hell bent on continuing to show they are still one of the top dogs in Central Massachusetts, even if they are a bit younger than usual.

“Despite not having a postseason, we were fortunate enough to get matched up with some pretty tough teams,” said senior captain Alex Boutros. “That’s going to make for exciting games. The team just wants to get out there and win. With these uncertain times, I think this year’s program will be remembered for its resiliency and toughness.”

“We’re still going out to win every game,” added classmate and fellow captain Seamus Bisnette. “That’s been our goal every year, we want our class’s legacy to be one of the best teams to play here at Doherty. We want to leave the classes behind us with a standard to live up to like the ones before us did.”

Boutros, Bisnette, Noah Callery, Jairon Vega and Jon Mejia will be the five senior captains leading the way this season.

“Those five guys are all great guys and solid players,” Mulcahy said. “I feel like Noah is probably the best player in Central Mass. I’m sure other coaches have their biases obviously, but I would put him up against anybody as a four year starter at quarterback. We build everything off of him. Vega rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last year too, so they’re a good one-two punch.

“I believe our line would have been better going into the season if we had the opportunity to lift, but I’m pretty satisfied that our lineman will be guys we can rely on. Our juniors…we had a lot of seniors last year so they’re a bit of an unknown. There’s a lot coming up off the JV team because of the seniors last year, they’re just kind of trying to make their way right now. We’ll have a better idea of what we are in a couple of weeks.”

The Highlanders may be a bit young, but the enthusiasm and excitement radiating throughout the program is hard to ignore. Like most of the teams that feel like they have something to prove, March football is just as exciting for Doherty as November football.

“I think I speak for the whole team, and especially the seniors, when I say that we’re extremely grateful and excited to have a season,” said Boutros. “For a long time, it looked like we were never going to get the chance to get on the field.”

“We couldn’t wait to get back throughout the offseason,” added Bisnette. “We all kept in touch and were preparing like we had a season. We had a feeling that we would have one.”

That preparation comes from the top down, and Mulcahy has found ways to continue adapting his coaching style, something that’s not easy after 30 years of routine.

“I feel like I’m a much better coach than I was years ago,” Mulcahy acknowledged. “Football has evolved, I’ve learned a lot watching college coaches throughout the years. Football practice just doesn’t resemble what it did 30 years ago in terms of contact. It’s for the better with concussions, but I think having coached over the span of the transition while scaling practices back has helped with some of the changes this year. Running those types of practices has really helped us just in terms of time management and stuff like that.”

It’s impressive when someone is able to change things up after 30 years and still be successful, but even Mulcahy has been stunned by the resiliency of not only his seniors, but players statewide.

“I’m really proud of the kids, they could be really bitter,” he added. “They lost more than just football. Proms, graduations won’t look like graduations in normal years, spring sports last year, at least half of fall sports, some winter sports, but everyone was smiling Monday and so happy to be there, it’s incredible.

“I always say kids are the most resilient people we have in society, so I couldn’t be more proud to deal with the group I deal with and I know a lot of other coaches feel the same way about their kids.”