Continued Success For Norton Football In 2011

Even though it is losing 13 seniors to graduation, next fall the football team will be looking to improve upon its eight-win campaign of 2010.

This season, the Lancers finished with an 8-3 record and in sole possession of third place in the TVL.

Holliston captured the league crown with a 10-1 record. The Panthers, who also won the TVL Championship Tournament, defeated Rockland 35-20 at home on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Division 3A Playoffs. That win sends them to the Division 3A Super Bowl on Saturday at Gillette Stadium, where they will face Cardinal Spellman.

Medway finished second with a 9-2 record, while Norton was third and Westwood was fourth with a 7-4 mark. Hopkinton (6-5) placed fifth and Medfield (5-6) was sixth.

"Our goal all along was to win the league title," said Norton head coach Ted Currle, who was selected as the TVL Coach of the Year this fall. "We knew all along that Holliston would be difficult to beat and we beat every team in the league except one, them. We wanted to improve on last year's win total (seven) and we were able to do that."

After opening the year with six consecutive victories over Medway, Ashland, Dover-Sherborn, Hopkinton, Westwood and Medfield, the Lancers lost three of their last four contests to fall to 7-3. A win over Bellingham on Thanksgiving improved Norton to 8-3.

Norton's first loss came 42-0 to Holliston on Senior Night at Adams Field. A 29-6 win in Millis the next week against the combined team from Millis and Hopedale improved the Lancers to 7-1. Norton then competed in the TVL Championship Tournament, entering the event as the third seed. In the first round in Westwood, Norton fell to second-seeded Medway, 28-18. The Lancers then suffered an excruciating 13-12 loss at the hands of fourth-seeded Westwood in the consolation game of the tournament at Adams Field.

Norton completed the season with a 35-14 victory on Bellingham on Thanksgiving Day.

"I'm pleased with the season as a whole," said Currle. "We had a rough ending, losing three of our last five games, but I could not be happier with the effort of the kids this year. It was a successful year. 8-3 at Norton in a tough league is pretty solid."

Norton will lose 13 seniors off this team, including captains Brendan Curtin, Phil Rizzo, Mike Twitchell and Shawn Ferrini.

Curtin played quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back, while Rizzo was a wide receiver and defensive end. Curtin was named to the All-TVL first team at defensive back, while Rizzo earned that honor at defensive end.

Twitchell, who battled a serious elbow injury the entire season, played on both the offensive and defensive lines as did Ferrini.

The Lancers will also be losing the services of a terrific all-around player in Joe Wilkes, who was a standout this fall at quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and as a punter.

Wilkes was named first team All-Tri Valley League this season at defensive back.

Running back Jon Sicard made his last game a memorable one, earning Team Offensive MVP honors on Thanksgiving with five touches for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

Lineman Colin Ahern, Carlos Silva and Connor Regan will also be graduating after terrific careers. Silva was a first team All-TVL selection this fall.

Chris Hunter (running back/linebacker), Connor O'Sullivan (tight end/defensive end) and Derek Schwartz (split end/linebacker) have also played their final games for Norton.

While they are suffering some key losses, the Lancers will still have a wealth of talent returning next year. Junior running back Zach Schwieger gained over 1,000 yards in his first season with Norton after transferring from Bishop Feehan, earning first team All-TVL honors. Junior running back Scott Coleman will also be returning.

The offensive line will have back such key members as sophomores Steve Hudson and sophomore Josh Jenkins and juniors Pat O'Malley and Luke Potvin. Hudson was a first team All-TVL selection on the offensive line this fall.

But where the Lancers will be hit the hardest by graduation is on defense. Norton will be losing its entire starting secondary as well as an inside linebacker and three-quarters of its defensive line.

There are several players that will look to make an impact on the success of the Lancer defensive unit next fall, including Hudson, O'Malley, Coleman and Schwieger as well as juniors Tyler Durocher and Nick Jenkins and sophomore Joe Colley.

"The seniors will be hard to replace," said Currle. "The biggest void we are going to have to fill is at quarterback. There are a couple of different directions we might go with that and there are a couple of players who are working hard to get that spot for next year.

"We should be fine on offense, but on defense, we will have to fill a lot of holes. I think we can be very strong on the offensive line. We have good size. It is a matter of filling in at receiver and going a certain direction at quarterback. We improved on our win total from last year to this year (seven to eight) and we hope to do that again next season."