High School Season Preview: Football

The Lexington High School football team barely squeaked by with a winning season last year, finishing at 6-5. This year, the Minutemen are led by several exceptional athletes who have their coach, Bill Tighe, feeling confident. 

"I'm optimistic," he said. "I think we'll be a pretty good football team."

Led by several juniors who starred on Lexington's undefeated freshman team two seasons ago, the Minutemen have high hopes. 

"Most of the kids are excellent athletes, these juniors," he said. "Very talented kids."

Junior twins Connor and Nicholas Murray, the starting quarterback and running back, respectively, will lead an offense which will mostly lean on its running game — as it has in years past.

But the Minutemen will still look to improve their passing attack too.

"We have to get our passing game down," Tighe said. "We need to work on a little bit of everything, I think."

The Murrays will work behind an experienced offensive line that is entirely made up of seniors, save one junior. The offensive line is viewed as one of the team's bigger strengths. Senior center Charles Blackett and senior offensive guard Peter Crampton were designated to co-captain the team. 

At 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, Crampton, along with 6-4, 226- pound senior tackle Tim Lawler, is viewed as an excellent lineman by Tighe. It's behind these pillars of the offense that the Minutemen figure to have an advantage over their opponents.

"I like to run the ball if we can," Tighe said. "We need to perfect what we can do best."

Also returning from last season's team is junior Dan Coste, senior Derek Embry, senior John Giliberto, junior Korey Kajko, senior Matthew Martel, senior Kaylin Pina and senior Timothy Sheehan.

On defense, Lexington is led by Max McDaniel, a talented junior middle linebacker who also started as a sophomore. 

"He's highly touted," Tighe said.

The 2010 season should be interesting for Lexington.  The team is loaded with athletes at the skill positions, and has a front-loaded offensive line.

The first game, against Westford Academy, should be a good measuring point to see if those two factors can lead the team to an improvement on its winning record last year.

"The first game is important," Tighe said. "But every game is important."

The Minutemen and the Ghosts open the season at Westford on Friday night.

LEXINGTON FOOTBALL

Coach: Bill Tighe

League: Middlesex League

Last Year: 6-5

Returning Players: Charles Blackett, Dan Coste, Peter Crampton, Derek Embry, John Giliberto, Korey Kajko, Matthew Martel, Max McDaniel, Connor Murray, Nicholas Murray, Kaylin Pina and Timothy Sheehan. 

Keys to Success: Lexington will need to run the ball effectively behind its experienced offensive line, and rely on athletically-skilled position players to lead the way.

Game to Watch: "Every game is important," Tighe said. "The first game we start is important, that's Westford Academy."

Coach's Take: Tighe has an optimistic outlook on the year, and said he figures to see an improvement on the 6-5 record from the 2009 season.