LYNN — It’s fair to say that the 72 football players who will suit up one last time in their high school football careers at Thursday’s 58th Agganis All-Star game feel honored to do so. But only two of those earn the honor of wearing jersey No. 33 — the number Harry Agganis wore during his football career at Classical. Fellow Classical graduate Chase Buono has earned that distinction for the South All-Star team.
“Coming from Classical, I know Harry Agganis was a great athlete and a great person,” Buono said. “It’s pretty much a blessing to wear No. 33. I don’t think anybody really deserves to wear his number, so I’m just honored to wear it.”
Agganis Games Director Paul Halloran, with help from Agganis Football Director Matt Durgin, are tasked with finding two players who represent the values Agganis strived for. North Andover’s Jake McElroy will suit up in No. 33 for the North All-Stars.
“We look for a good teammate,” Halloran said. “That was one of the things people said about Agganis. As great a player as he was, he was a better teammate. Those things don’t always correlate.
“It’s not like we wait until right before the game. It’s looking at the players on both teams and seeing who we might want to look into a little further. Matt reached out to the people at Classical. It’s something we take seriously. Some people ask, ‘Why don’t you retire it?’ But I think it’s a bigger tribute to give it to kids who are emblematic of Agganis, who wore it originally.”
Other locals who’ve worn No. 33 in recent Agganis games include English’s Daekwon Shepherd and Peabody’s Doug Santos (2016), Classical’s Matt Luaria and Marblehead’s Justin Faia (2017), and Classical’s Matt Gisonno and St. Mary’s Marlon Scott (2018).
Halloran believes Buono fits in well with that group.
“We do our homework with No. 33,” Halloran said. “Chase had a very good career. He was an Item All-Star. The people at Classical, both in the school and the football program, spoke very highly of him.”
Buono built a solid reputation for himself during his four-year varsity career as one of the top safeties in the Northeastern Conference. A Classical co-captain, he finished his senior season with a team-high 117 tackles (14 for loss), four forced fumbles and two interceptions. He tallied more than 360 career tackles.
“I just wanted to be one of the best defensive players to ever walk into Classical,” Buono said. “Tony Seaforth, one of my mentors, asked me, ‘Chase, what’s your long-term goal in playing at Classical?’ I told him, ‘I just want to be the best safety.’ Personally, I think that I reached that goal. Tony helped me a ton during my career.”
Buono’s leadership played a crucial role in Classical’s success last season. The Rams finished the regular season at 4-3 but missed out on a state tournament berth. Rather than throw the towel on the rest of the year, Buono and his teammates rallied around one another to prove they belonged. Classical won five of its last six games in 2018.
“Adversity does hit everybody at a certain time,” Buono said. “(Classical head) Coach (Brian) Vaughan helped bring this program together through the past few seasons. I think I had a great senior season and I built great friendships along the way.”
The next chapter of Buono’s career leads him to Division III Framingham State, where he’ll continue his football career. He’ll join Classical teammate Nashaun Butler, a wide receiver, at Framingham. Butler will also represent Classical on the South roster at Thursday’s Agganis game.
“It’s going to be pretty cool,” Buono said. “Nashaun came in as a freshman with me and we sort of came up together. It’s almost like I can’t find the right word for it because it’s all going to be so surreal when we play that last high school game Thursday.
“I’m very grateful. When you go into senior year, that’s the game everybody wants to play in. There are so many great players and great coaches involved. It’s just an honor being picked for it.”
Thursday’s game kicks off at 7 p.m. at Manning Field.