A relatively inexperienced but enthusiastic Arlington Catholic football team took to the field Monday for the first time this season.
"It's good to be back," veteran coach Serge Clivio said at practice.
The Cougars lost stud running back Charlie Bates to graduation and only return two or three starters from last year's 9-2 team, which split the Catholic Central League title with Austin Prep. However, a number of young players are poised to breakout, according to Clivio.
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"We're going to be young and untested for the first time in awhile," he said, "but we have some legitimate talent at certain positions. Both our [junior-varsity] and freshmen teams were very good, and I expect those players to pick up the slack."
Prior to last year, the Cougars won the Eastern Massachusetts Division 3 Super Bowl in 2008 and made three straight playoff appearances.
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About 60 upperclassmen and another 25 to 30 freshmen went through a series of positional drills in the rain Monday. The players wore helmets but no pads.
The Cougars travel to Malden High School for a scrimmage at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. They open the regular season against Shawsheen Valley Technical High School at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 10, at Arlington's Pierce Field.
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