High School Season Preview: Football

Peter George, Jibrail Coy and Ryan Ruiz are captains of Concord-Carlisle High School's football team. And it's no surprise that their teammates voted them into their senior positions as they appear to be natural, vocal leaders.

"The team voted for us and then coach looked at the votes and the top three were assigned captain," George said.

George, a quarterback, Coy, a running back and Ruiz, a guard and nose guard, have played all four years at C-C. They'll kick off their senior season Saturday in a non-league game at Beverly High School.

And in their years, they've played some great games.

"It was the Westford (Academy) game," George said. "We were down by two touchdowns with about six minutes to go and we drove down to the field for a touchdown. And then got an onside kick and then drove it down for another touchdown and won it in the last six minutes.

C-C beat Westford Academy 41-40 in that October 2009 game.

"That was definitely my most stunning game," continued George.

Coy enthusiastically agreed that C-C's 41-40 victory over Westford Academy was his most memorable moment as a C-C player.

Ruiz said his best moment was C-C's 49-31 win over Wayland High School in November of last year.

"I had five tackles," Ruiz said, all smiles.

But not just as players have they had memorable moments. Being appointed captain was a great time for all.

"We have that opportunity to not only take over the role of being the leaders of the team, and you know, the last three years we've been underclassmen and we've had those leadership roles based on our positions, but now, being appointed captains, we definitely take advantage of it," George said.

The captains said they are looking forward to C-C's entire season, especially since they are seniors. But they're most anticipating their games against Acton-Boxborough and Westford Academy.

"I think Westford (is the biggest game)," Ruiz said.

"A-B, it's at their field, and we haven't beaten them in a couple decades, so that's going to be great," George said. "And Westford, they're returning a lot of starters this year so it's going to be home here.

"(A-B) is our biggest rivalry," George continued.

As seniors they're also looking forward to their final season as Patriots.

"Being able to spend time with the teammates and just be a kid and have fun on the field," said Ruiz.

"This is some of our last years playing football, high school football definitely," George said. "It's our last year playing and that camaraderie we've had as a team, last year for that. So I think we're all looking forward to spending as much time with the team and becoming closer."

Beverly is an unfamiliar opponent for C-C. But the Patriots are ready to start the season.

"New opponent for us," said coach Mike Robichaud. "They're a big, tough, physical team. We've seen them once on tape and we saw a number of those players from that team a couple of years ago at camp and they were a really good team. Well coached. Physical. Aggressive team."

CONCORD-CARLISLE FOOTBALL

Coach: Mike Robichaud (second season)

League: Dual County League small

Last Year: 8-4 (lost in the first round of the playoffs)

Returning Players: Bobby Davin, Darius Mongomery, Jibrail Coy (Captain), Jackson Finigan, Peter George (Captain), Anthony West, Ryan Hoey, Brendan Gay, Brett Ogilvie, Tyquan Culbreath, George Craan, Ryan Ruiz, Colin Wilson, Thomas Kleyn, Jesse Adegbe, Max Barrett, Tyler Koning, George Carette, Andrew VanderWilden, Sam Howes, Sean Dalton, Jack Donovan, Tom Gregory, Mitchell Cannon, Aiden Webb, Thomas Mathiasen, Henry Bumpus

Key to Success: "Maintain our intensity. We've got to continue to develop – we're a pretty young team, especially up front, on the line both the offensive and defensive lines. So we've got to continue to improve," coach said. "Last year's team was able to accomplish some things because they were just a very, very intense group. And this is a group that just needs to kind of match and surpass that intensity. That's critical for us."

Game to Watch: "Every game last season was a battle for us. I think in our league we had a real war with Weston last year so I'm sure that's a game they're looking forward to again. We barely came out on top that game. So in the league that's a huge game," said coach.

"Out of league, Westford Academy. That's going to be a big game. In fact that came down to, that was a 41-40 finish in the last minute of the game. We were fortunate to come out on top but that's a really talented group coming back and that was a really wild game last year."

Coach's Take: "It's all in how we improve," said coach, referring to the youngness of his team. "It's a really, really hard working group of guys. They're very committed to their out-of-season football training and they're great physically."

"But," coach continued, "They're very inexperienced. So I think the great thing about inexperience is that there's no where to go but up. And we're seeing that already. We're not even into the season yet and we're seeing improvement every day. It's good."