The Chelsea High football team will open the 2011 season this Friday evening, September 9, at home against Lynn Tech. Kick off is slated for 7:00.
The Red Devils played impressively in their only scrimmage of the pre-season this past Friday evening against Minuteman Regional on the local field. (A previously scheduled scrimmage with Georgetown was canceled in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.) Chelsea came away with a 20-0 victory and showed signs of good things to come on both sides of the ball.
“The team gave a great effort,” said CHS head coach Mike Stellato. “It was the first chance for them to hit against somebody else instead of each other and they played very well.”
Stellato noted the efforts of senior running backs Hector Rivera and Whitney Fantil, both of whom scored touchdowns. The coach also was pleased with the performance of junior quarterback Steven Dwyer, who will be stepping into the starting lineup this season after seeing limited action in 2010. “Steve played only in spots last year,” noted Stellato, “but he did a nice job running the offense against Minuteman.
“Our offensive line is young, but they opened up some nice holes for our running backs,” continued Stellato, who in particular cited junior center David Roque and senior Otoniel Suero for their efforts.
Defensively, Stellato lauded the performances of linebackers Jojo Saez, a senior, and Raul Flores, a junior. He also cited senior defensive end Rony Gomez for his fine effort.
“We’re excited to get the season underway, and playing under the lights at home adds even more to the anticipation,” said Stellato. “Lynn Tech is a good team with a lot of returning starters, but we’ll be prepared to give it our best.”
The 2011 edition of the Red Devils will be led by a quartet of captains: Senior Joseph Saez, a running back and linebacker; senior Hector Rivera, a running back and defensive back; senior Rony Gomez, a defensive end and tight end; and junior Raul Flores, a running back and linebacker. The foursome were chosen to lead their teammates at last season’s break up banquet.
Chelsea will play a 10 game schedule in ’11, including a Thanksgiving Day game against non league rival Matignon High in Somerville. The Devils’ other non league foe this season will be Trinity Catholic.
There was a minor shakeup in the alignment of the Large and Small Divisions of the Commonwealth Athletic Conference for 2011, with Northeast Regional Vocation School moving up to the large division and Greater Lowell moving down.
The Small Division will be comprised of Chelsea, Greater Lowell, Mystic Valley, and No. Shore Tech. The Large Division will consist of defending Division 4 Super Bowl champion Shawsheen Tech, defending Division 4A Super Bowl champion N.E. Regional, Greater Lawrence, Whittier Tech, and Lynn Tech.
The winner of each division will qualify for the post season playoffs and a shot at a Super Bowl berth.
CHS football schedule:
Friday 9/9
Lynn Tech 7:00pm
Friday 9/16
Trinity Catholic 7:00pm
Friday 9/23
Gr Lawrence 7:00pm
Saturday 10/8
@Shawsheen 1:30pm
Friday 10/14
Gr Lowell 7:00pm
Saturday 10/22
@ Whittier 10:30am
Friday 10/28
Mystic Valley 7:00pm
Friday 11/4
Northeast 7:00pm
Saturday 11/12
@North Shore 1:30pm
Thursday 11/24
@Matignon 10:15am
CHS soccer team
ready for new season
The Chelsea High boy soccer team was set to kick off its 2011 campaign against non league foe Swampscott of the Northeastern Conference yesterday (Wednesday afternoon). Coach Mick Milutinovic’s squad will be back in action Tuesday when the Red Devils travel to archrival Northeast Regional.
Chelsea is coming off a fine season that saw the Red Devils capture the championship of the Large Division of the Commonwealth Conference in a race for the title that came down to the final game of the season with Northeast.
However, many of those Red Devils, including CAC Player of the Year Carlos Cruz, are nor returning this year, which means that 2011 will see a lot of new faces in the CHS lineup.
“We’ll definitely be leaning on our younger guys, especially at forward,” said CHS Asst. Coach Evan Protasowicki. “We’ll be counting upon them to earn some experience quickly and to give us a lot of minutes every game.”
A pleasant surprise for the Red Devils has been the emergence of senior Jimmy Funes at the all important goalkeeper position. Funes had been a player in the field throughout his career, but stepped into the breach and is handling his new position quite well.
“Jimmy went to some instructional programs over the summer and looks ready and confident,” said Protasowicki. “He’s looked very sharp in the pre season.”
Milutinovic’s squad will be led by senior Captain Carlos Martinez, a four year player, who also served as a captain last season.
“We have a tough schedule in the early part of the season against some strong teams,” noted Protasowicki. “We’ll have to come together as a team quickly.”
The Red Devils will enjoy a team bonding experience this Saturday evening when Milutinovic and his crew travel to Gillette Stadium as guests of the New England Revolution. Chelsea was chosen as the high school team of the game, which means that they’ll be on the field during the pre game warmups and will have an up close view of the game.
CHS sports schedule
Wednesday, September 7
4:00″ Boys soccer vs. Swampscott
Thursday, September 8
3:30: Girls soccer vs. No. Shore Tech
4:00: Volleyball vs. Mystic Valley
Friday, September 9
3:30: Volleyball vs. No. Shore Tech
7:00: Football vs. Lynn Tech
Monday, September 12
3:30: Girls soccer vs. Gr. Lawrence
Tuesday, September 13
3:30: Boys soccer at N.E. Regional
3:30: Volleyball at Gr. Lawrence