LYNN — The English football team has been on a steady rise under the leadership of coach Chris Carroll over the past five years, and the Bulldogs are hoping that the 2019 season will just be another step up on the ladder of success.
“We have high expectations for ourselves this year, just like we do every year,” said Carroll. “We had a team with a lot of senior leadership last year, but this year we’re still returning a lot of starters so there shouldn’t be too much of a drop off.”
English finished 8-3 last season and was the No. 2 seed in the Division 3 North tournament. The season ended in the semifinal with a loss to Danvers.
But now it’s on to 2019, which means the Bulldogs will be without 13 of the seniors who led the way last year. That includes Matt Severance, the leading passer (yards and touchdowns) in English history.
“That was the first class that went through a full four years with me, so it was a very special class to me and to the program,” said Carroll. “And obviously, there were a lot of great players in that group. It’ll be tough to replace them for sure, but with the guys we have in the fold this year I still have a lot of confidence.”
The 2019 squad looks much different from the 2018 version in that there are only six seniors on the roster this year, while there are over 20 juniors. Despite that, there are a lot of returning starters coming back this season including Item All-Star Tahj Purter, senior captain Thomas Gaylord, junior linebackers Anthony Timmons and Fenix Figueroa and junior lineman Ryan Dewan.
Also returning to the starting lineup this year is junior captain Mathias Fowler, although he’ll be at a new position. After playing at wide receiver last season, Fowler was named starting quarterback over the summer and is now at the helm of the offense.
“Mathias is a tremendous athlete and a tremendous leader, so we’re really excited about putting him at quarterback,” Carroll said. “It’s going to be very exciting to see what he can do with the ball in his hands on every play.”
The Bulldogs will open the season with a big test right out of the gate. They’ll travel to Blocksidge Field to take on Swampscott Friday night (7).
“It’s a big game for us, we’re opening up the season against a rival,” said Carroll. “It’s always a great game when English and Swampscott meet up, and we’re expecting no different this year. We’ll go through our preparation and be ready to go Friday night.”
Schedule:
9/13 – at Swampscott (7)
9/21 – at Beverly (1)
9/27 – at Salem (7)
10/4 – vs. Gloucester (7)
10/12 – vs. Revere (1)
10/19 – at Saugus (11)
10/25 – vs. Winthrop (7)
11/28 – vs. Classical (10)