The arrival of the Olson family to the Milford Scarlet Hawks program has been nothing short of an excellent thing.

Under head coach Dale Olson and his brother, Dana, an assistant, Milford has been more than competitive in one of the top leagues in Massachusetts, the Hockomock League’s Kelley-Rex Division.

Starting in 2021, Milford has won 29 games to just seven losses. In the last two seasons, the Hawks have won 10 games each time.

Under Olson, the Hawks have competed in both D2 and D3, and made the Final Four or semifinals in each.

The program is in strong shape, and Olson wants to keep the good times rolling.

“It’s a grind,” Olson said of competing in the Hockomock. “Everybody in the Hockomock, especially in the large, it’s lunch pail, right? If you’re not physical, and you don’t bring a toughness to the game, and you don’t play good football, you have an opportunity of getting beat. Top to bottom, there’s good leagues out there, but the Hock, it’s an animal all to itself.”

And Olson could not do it without great players, which Milford has. Last year, the top performer was running back, linebacker, and kicker Nick Araujo.

This season, one name to keep an eye out for is Andrew Rivera, an OLB/TE/WR at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds.

“(Colleges like) his length, athleticism,” Olson said. “Toughness. He’s like an old-school player. Very tough coming off the edge when we do blitz him. He led our team in sacks the past two years. His length and athleticism is what made him stand out. Offensively, his length, and he has good hands.”

Olson expects interest from the Ivy League, Patriot League, and CAA.

Thomas Sousa is a TE/H-back/DE at 6-3, 255.

“Thomas is a very athletic, twitchy kid for his size,” Olson said. “Big, strong kid. He’s got good hands. Defensively, he helped us tremendously last year with his size, mobility, and strength playing defensive end for us last year.”

Sousa has had initial interest from UMass, UConn, and the FCS level.

Danny Carvalho is a 6-1, 210 linebacker.

“He had a phenomenal year for us,” Olson said. “Then he ended up breaking his ankle in our King Philip game, reaching out to score a touchdown against King Philip. . . . Danny had an interception that (first) North Attleboro game that was like an ESPN highlight. Danny’s like super-athletic, put together. Danny’s, to me, Danny’s a surefire NESCAC kid.”

Quarterback Jack Buckley (6-1, 210) also returns.

“Jack had a fantastic year for us running and throwing the football,” Olson said. “Jack is going to be a NESCAC kid.”

Of the 2026 class, CJ Farrell is coming back, as well, as a 6-1, 165 WR/DB.

“High academic kid. He’s going to end up somewhere in 1-aa football. Ivy, Patriot, something like that,” Olson said.

Jason Stokes is a 5-10, 175 WR/DB who had nine touchdowns as a sophomore.

“That kid was electric for us,” Olson said.

Ryan Burns is a 6-5, 265 offensive tackle who started as a sophomore, as well.

“Good (feet), he’s a basketball player,” Olson said. “His uncle was an All-American at Princeton. . . . He’s right where he needs to be (in his development). When his film went out at the end of this year, a lot of the Ivy Leagues spiked interest right away. BC said, hey, we’ll be seeing that kid this summer. You can’t teach 6-5, right? He’s got big-time length, and he’s athletic.”