SWAMPSCOTT — If there’s one thing the Swampscott football team is full of going into 2019 it’s leadership. The Big Blue roster includes 12 seniors and each one knows the commitment it takes to have a successful season.
“Last year we had six seniors,” Big Blue coach Robert Serino said. “This year, this class going from juniors last year to seniors has been together for a while. They’re a really strong class. They all are familiar and hangout together.
“These guys go to workouts and after workouts they come down to the field and do their own 7-on-7 work without coaches and staff,” Serino said. “Our quarterback Graham Inzana, backup quarterback Cam O’Brien, Dylan January, they all came down for workouts, if they weren’t playing baseball, and then after workouts they work on their own.”
For January, who is entering his second season as a co-captain for the Big Blue, getting extra work in during the offseason is almost second nature with teammates he’s been playing with almost his whole life.
“Some of us have been playing together since as long as I can remember,” January, a wide receiver and linebacker, said. “We all know each other. We see each other everyday and we’re very close friends. It’s a good bond we have as a team. It’s like a family atmosphere.”
That close bond with some of his wide receivers is something that helps make things click for Inzana and the Big Blue offense.
“It helps,” Inzana said. “The team chemistry is a huge part of football. It’s a brotherhood with everybody being together and that helps set everything up for a good season. You have to have friendship and be able to bond together.”
The senior class is also no stranger to success. Last season the Big Blue put together a playoff run before falling in the Division 5 state semifinal to Scituate. That success serves as valuable experience going into this season.
“It gives us motivation,” Inzana said. “The whole year since the season ended we’ve just been saying that that’s not good enough. We want to keep striving forward and this year hopefully we can win that game that we lost.
“Every season is a new season but I think (last year) gives most of the guys some good experience,” January said. “I feel like it’s going to help us a lot. But at the same time you can’t look at last year and try and compare. Last year was last year, this year is this year. It’s a whole new team every season. We all know what we’re getting into heading into the season. We’re just excited and ready to hop back into it.”
Both seniors are excited to get back on the gridiron after a busy offseason, especially for Inzana, who suffered a broken hand during baseball season.
“It’s been a good offseason,” Inzana said. “I broke my hand but throwing in 7-on-7 has been good. I’m good to go. It’s good to get the rust off and to get everyone together on the field again.
“Hopefully it’s not my last year of football but I’m thinking about it like that,” Inzana said. I’m trying to get everything out of it I can, especially because this is the last season with some of my friends I’ve played with a long time growing up.”