The Greater Boston Stallions will make their East Coast Football League (ECFL) debut semi-professional football debut this summer and a Chelsea native will be the head coach.
Danny Cooksey, who grew up on Central Avenue in Chelsea before the family moved to Lynn, is the new head coach of the Stallions who will be playing their home games at Harry DellaRusso Stadium in Revere. Danny, 36, is the son of William Cooksey and Kelly Cooksey.
“I attended kindergarten at the Shurtleff School and Saint Rose, grades 1-8,” said Cooksey, who played youth football and baseball in Chelsea, following in the footsteps of other members of his family.
Cooksey graduated in 2003 from Lynn English where he played four years of football as a running back and linebacker in then Coach Gary Molea’s program.
“Those were great days,” said Cooksey. “I learned a lot of football from Coach Molea. My sophomore year we went 8-2. Brent Tarasuik was our quarterback. Unfortunately, I never beat Classical in the Thanksgiving game.”
Cooksey played semi-professional football himself for the North Shore Generals (Lynn) from 2007 to 2014 and later served as linebacker coach and defensive coordinator the Generals for five seasons. The Generals play in the New England Football League (NEFL) while the Stallions are first-year members of the East Coast Football League.
“I’m excited to be the first head coach of the Stallions organization,” said Cooksey. “It’s a new journey for everyone. We’ll have about 60 players on our team.”
Cooksey said he has players on the roster representing several area communities. He couldn’t be happier with the team’s decision to locate its operations in the city of Revere.
“When the option to get this stadium jumped up, I was all over it – I wanted to be in Revere,” said Cooksey. “I just hope everyone in Revere and Chelsea comes out to our games and enjoys the experience. It’s going to be fun and a great family environment.”
Stallions team owner Anthony Collins said he’s very happy to have an experienced coach like Cooksey at the helm of his first-year team.
“Coach Cooksey has played semi-pro football and coached semi-pro football and those experiences made him an outstanding candidate for our head coaching position,” said Collins. “We’re very excited to have him on board as our head coach.”
Cooksey will have former Ohio All-State quarterback Arron “Skooby” Cobbs running the Stallions’ offense. Cobbs, 33, was a highly recruited prospect while leading his high school team to two Ohio state titles. Among the many Division 1 schools recruiting Cobbs was The Ohio State University Buckeyes’ football program.
“I love playing football,” said Cobbs, who is 6-foot 1-inch, and 220 pounds. “I was very happy when the team owner (Anthony Collins) and general manager (Brad Yancey) asked me to come over and play for the Stallions. They’re building something new here and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Cobbs, who should be a crowd favorite with his dynamic passing skills, said the Stallions have assembled a very talented roster.
“It looks very promising,” said Cobbs. “We have a lot of new guys mixed in with some veteran guys, a great coaching staff and I think we’re going to do really well this year.”
Cobbs came away from very impressed by the facilities at Della Russo Stadium.
“This is my first time being here and the stadium is gorgeous,” said Cobbs after the team’s opening night of practice. “I can’t wait to fill the stands and get the community out behind us. It’s going to be really nice.”
The Stallions will play their first home game in Revere on Saturday, June 26 at noon.
Tickets will be $10 per person and free for children 12-and-under.