In one year, John DiBiaso has turned Catholic Memorial into a state powerhouse.
The 2019 season is upon us. Here is our pre-season Top 25 to kick off the new season.
1. Catholic Memorial: The Knights are loaded with talent. As a friend of mine who coaches recently told “They are the best high school team I have ever seen.” That is high praise for such a young team.
2. Everett: Everett graduated a lot of talent, most notable wide receiver Mike Sainristl and running back Issac Seide. Despite that, there is plenty of talent returning headlined by quarterback Duke Doherty, wide receiver Eli Auguste and sophomore athlete Ismael Zamor. The Tide are once again well positioned to make another title run.
3. St. John’s Shrewsbury: Jay Brunelle and Eamonn Dennis will give opposing defenses nightmares. This team could be a juggernaut offensively.
4. St. John’s Prep: The defending D1 champs return a good core of players from last year’s championship highlighted by quarterback Matt Crowley.
5. Springfield Central: Defense wins championships and Springfield Central will have one of the top defenses in the state. Coach Valdamar Brower has built one of the best programs in Western, Mass. A program capable of beating St. John’s of Shrewsbury in the playoffs.
6. Xaverian: Don’t sleep on the Hawks. Coach Al Fornaro and his staff have holes to fill up front but returns a talented skill including quarterback Mike Berluti.
7. Central Catholic: You can never count the Red Raiders out in D1 North. Coach Chuck Adamapoulos returns a talented team despite losing quarterback Jared Silverio to BB&N. Tight end Jermaine Wiggins is a man and one of the best players in the state.
8. Mansfield: The Hornets return several starters from a team that lost to King Philip in the D2 south sectional final. Linebacker and fullback Vinny Holmes leads this group of talented seniors. With rumors circulating that this might coach Mike Redding’s last season. The Hornets will be motivated.
9. Brockton: The Boxers have an abundance of skill and pose a threat in D1 South to presumptive favorites like CM and Xaverian.
10. King Philip: The Warriors will be looking to make their fourth straight Super Bowl appearance. It won’t be easy however because D2 is once again loaded. Despite that, KP has enough returning talent to make a run. Most notably, running back Ryan Halliday.
11. Tewksbury: Coach Brian Aylward beefed up the schedule this off-season. The Redman play their usual MVC small schedule and Methuen, Needham and B.C High to open the season. It’s a tough slate for a program looking to get back to Gillette.
12. Wachusett: Central Mass is deep this season. We all know how good St. John’s is going to be. Wachusett might be the second best team in the region. The Mountaineers play a run first ball control style offensively and they are stout defensively. They will be there in the end.
13. B.C High: The Eagles are the forgotten team in the Catholic Conference but this team is big, physical and has good young talent at the skill positions. Don’t sleep on the Eagles in D1 South.
14. Barnstable: The Red Raiders announced their presence last season. This season, they hope to make some noise in the ultra competitive D2 South and advance beyond the first round.
15. Natick: Natick is young and talented and with more experience under their belt, the Red Hawks are primed to make a run in D2 South. Quarterback Will Lederman is poised to have a big season statistically.
16. Franklin: It is time to forget about Franklin’s almost upset of Xaverian last season. This is a good program and more than capable of competing with Mansfield and King Philip for a Kelley-Rex title in the Hockomock League.
17. Duxbury: The Dragons are young at the skill positions but this is a team that has a lot of talent and is set up to make another multi-year run in Division 3 South. Freshmen quarterback Matt Festa is a name to keep an eye on in the coming years.
18. Lynn English: The addition of running back Sam Ofurie makes the Bulldogs a legitimate contender in D3 North. This team will score a lot of points but they will need to play good defense to make a run come November.
19. North Andover: North Andover graduated one of the most talented senior classes in school history. Replacing that class is virtually impossible but the defending Division 2 champs still have a lot of talent returning and they should again contend in D2 North. Running backs Freddy Gabin and Ricky Brutus will garner most of the headlines but this is a deep team.
20. Stoneham: The defending Division 6 champions return several key pieces from their title run last season. Running back Seth Russell is the most notable returnee but several experienced players are back to run Bob Almeida’s option offense.
21. Scituate: The defending Division 5 champions return 13 starters from last season most notably running back Will Sheskey. The Sailors are loaded with talent and well coached. They will once again be the favorites in D5 South.
22. Canton: There are whispers that this might be the best Canton team in 30 years. After holding their own against Mansfield in a scrimmage last week, that statement might be true. Coach Dave Bohane has got this team believing. Anything less than a deep playoff run or better would be disappointing.
23. Bishop Feehan: The Shamrocks are loaded with talent but there will be some adjusting to new schemes and a new coach. Former Malden Catholic coach Brian Pinabell takes over a talented team looking to recapture the glory of past Shamrock teams.
24. Doherty: Quarterback Noah Callery and the Highlanders have a chance to make a statement in Central, Mass but first they must prove that they can get past Wachusett and Shrewsbury. Doherty has the talent to play with and beat both programs. They’ll have to do that to get over the hump.
25. Hingham: New coach Mark Nutley inherits a talented team with a lot returning talent. Duke commit, Cole Finney is a man and a match up nightmare at tight end. He will give teams fits in the Patriot League all season long and so will this team.