Longtime Woburn Coach's Swan Song Begins Friday

By Bob Holmes, Patch Correspondent

Woburn hosts North Andover this Friday night to kick off longtime coach Rocky Nelson's final season.

The Tanners hope to send Nelson into retirement with a winning campaign. To do that, Woburn has to get off to a better start after going 0-2 on the road to open the 2015 season. The same two teams -- North Andover and Burlington -- are on the schedule but this time the games are in Woburn.

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North Andover beat Woburn, 27-15, last fall.

Whomever starts for Nelson at quarterback, either senior Jake Bridge or sophomore Ryan Qualey, will be asked to improve an offense that scored just 20.6 points per game last year, a huge drop from 2014 when the Tanners averaged 32.2 ppg.

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Bob Holmes has spent three decades covering high school football in Massachusetts for The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald. Contact him at masspatchfootball@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @robertholmes630