Redmen Hope To Keep On Rolling Against Central

It's not that isn't thrilled with his team's shocking, It's just that after 15 seasons of coaching the Redmen, Aylward knows that in the Merrimack Valley Conference, you're only as good as what you're going to do this coming weekend.

"I don't think there's a team on our schedule that's going to be impressed with what we did last week," Aylward said as he prepared his team for another huge test against Central Catholic this Saturday. "That's just the way it goes in this league. The minute you start patting yourself on the back, you're in big trouble."

So Aylward and his coaching staff started cracking the whip as early as Monday afternoon this week, reminding the Redmen that Central Catholic (2-1 overall, 1-0 MVC) is coming off just as big a win as Tewksbury is, having beaten perennial Division 2 Super Bowl contender Dracut, 22-14 last weekend.

"We brought them back to reality on Monday," Aylward said. "We've talked a lot this week about whether they want to be defined by one big win or whether they want to keep this thing going."

To keep their momentum going, the Redmen (1-2 overall, 1-1 MVC) will have to figure out how to stop a Central Catholic ground game that simply ran right over Dracut last Friday. Quarterback Matt McDermott and running back Santino Brancato rushed for 115 yards apiece as the Red Raiders shook off some early-season scoring problems and knocked off the previously unbeaten Middies.

"McDermott is very good," Aylward said. "He's done it mostly with his legs so far, but he's got the ability to make some throws. He had a number of real good throws against Dracut. He had a better night than his statistics indicate. His receivers had a few drops."

With inclement weather predicted, however, this game could turn out to be a ground battle, which based on last week's results, would suit the Redmen well. Senior running back Chris Bettano ran for a career-high 249 yards and three touchdowns while running back Dan Altavesta and quarterback Kevin Saunders also had big days carrying the football. Tewksbury totalled over 400 yards rushing against Andover.

Aylward knows he'll have to add a few wrinkles to get Bettano, Altavesta and Saunders the type of running room they had last week though. Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos is regarded as one of the league's top strategists, and his Red Raider defense has allowed just 9.6 points per game so far this year.

"On top of all the (player) talent in this league, the coaching is very good," Aylward said. "Whatever you show you can do, everybody else knows how to gear up and stop it."

The Redmen will try to mix some passes in with their running attack this weekend, and perhaps show Central some different offensive formations.

"We'd like to try to keep them off balance by throwing in some different pass plays," Aylward said. "We want to give our kids similar opportunities, but maybe out of different formations or in different areas of the field."

Whatever happens, Aylward hopes his Redmen can continue to build off what they accomplished last Saturday.

"We told the kids 'We did it against Andover. We own it. No one can take that away from us. But at the same time, let's go get another one,'" Aylward said.

Due to SAT testing Saturday morning, Saturday's kick-off will be pushed back to 2:30 p.m. at Doucette Field.