Lynn Tech defensive coordinator Jason McCuish goes over plays with the starting unit. Photo by Bob Roche
By Katie Morrison
With a strong returning core and some excellent talent in the skill positions, the Lynn Tech football team is looking to claim the Commonwealth Athletic Conference/Small title for the second year in a row.
The Tigers finished 6-5 with a share of the title in 2015 along with Mystic Valley and Greater Lowell. But the Tigers were bounced out of the Division 6 North tournament by Mystic Valley in the quarterfinals.
Tech graduated just six seniors from last year’s squad, but those six are going to be tough to replace. Coach James Runner says that wide receiver Justin Lewis, who is now playing football at Worcester State, “was one of the best Lynn Tech athletes in history.
“His role as a leader, not just an athlete, will be hard to fill,” Runner added.
Devin Phean graduated as the leading tackler in Tech history, leaving another large hole.
“It’s a great group of kids to lose,” Runner said.
But the Tigers look to be in good shape to replace some of those players, and have a very solid core returning.
Running back Steffan Gravely has had quite a career for Tech already, and he’s only a junior. Gravely was named a CAC All-Star in each of his first two years with the Tigers, and finished second in CAC MVP voting last season after rushing for 1,649 yards and 24 touchdowns.
The Tigers also bring back talented quarterback Jamar Johnson, a senior.
“He’s 6-3, has a bomb for an arm and we are looking forward to letting him go off a little bit,” Runner said of his QB.
And while the Tigers lost one Lewis, they have another who is poised for a huge year. Justin’s younger brother Brandon missed all of last season, but he’s back on the field as a senior captain this year, and Runner expects big things from Lewis, who is one of four returning offensive linemen.
“He’s a really important part of our offense,” Runner said.
Another senior captain, Michael Brown, is a three-year starter on both sides of the ball.
“He’s my silent assassin,” Runner said. “He doesn’t say much, he just plays hard. We’re looking for him to let loose this year.”
The Tigers have the luxury of returning a lot of experienced players from last season, and the team’s goal is to get right back to where they were last season, and push farther into the tournament.
“The biggest thing we hope accomplish is executing everything we’ve set out to do,” Runner said. “My coaches have worked extremely hard during the offseason making sure players are where they need to be. We did very well last year, gave great efforts in great games, but there were games we felt we should have won.”
The motto for the Tigers this year is to “finish through the line.”
“Even when we run sprints, we say finish through the line, don’t just finish at the line,” Runner said. “We’re trying to get that message into kids heads.”
The Tigers won’t need any help getting amped up for their season opener. They’ll take on rival Chelsea at home Thursday night.
The schedule is packed with big games for Tech. In week four, they take on Mystic Valley, and they have some unfinished business with their CAC foe after the Eagles topped Tech, 40-6, in the tournament.
“I think whichever team is on the stride right there will take over the lead in the conference,” Runner said.
The Tigers also visit Triton in week two, and Tech hopes to spoil Triton’s home opener on its new field. Finally, though it’s still months away, the Tigers want another shot at Austin Prep on Thanksgiving Eve. The new rivalry was born last season, with the Cougars cruising past Tech, but with the game taking place in Lynn this season, Runner and his squad hope to get some payback.
“We didn’t play our best game against Austin Prep,” Runner said. “My kids really really want that one back. But every single game we play is a big game.”
