We present the 25 best football players in The Item’s coverage area: the 74th Item Football All-Star Team.
This year’s team features players from three teams that advanced to the state championship in their respective divisions: St. John’s in Division 1, Swampscott in Division 5 and Bishop Fenwick in Division 6.
There are four returnees from last year’s team- David Cifuentes of Bishop Fenwick, Mathias Fowler of Lynn English, Graham Inzana of Swampscott and Bobby Hubert of Winthrop.
The Item All-Stars are selected by the Item sports staff with input from coaches of teams covered by The Item.
The team will be honored at Thursday’s Item All-Star Dinner.
Mike Lynch of WCVB-TV, Channel 5, a sportscaster who played at Swampscott High and later at Harvard, is the guest speaker.
The dinner will also honor six major award winners, including the Item/Agganis Foundation Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year and the Special Teams Player of the Year.
Also honored will be the Peter Gamage Coach of the Year, named for the late publisher of The Item, the William F. Connell Student-Athlete Award, named for the late William F. Connell, a businessman who grew up in Lynn, and the Edward H. Cahill Player of the Year Award, named for the late sports editor of The Item.
The all-star team:
Matt Crowley
St. John’s Prep
Senior, 6’1, 200
A 4-year player, he threw for 1,550 yards and 16 TDs this season… also threw for over 2,000 yards last season… helped the Eagles to consecutive Division 1 Super Bowl appearances, including a win over Catholic Memorial last season.
Daniel Gisonno
Lynn Classical
Senior, 6’2, 185
A 3-year player, he set single-season program records for passing yards (2200) and total yards (3534)… threw for 23 TDs and ran for 14 TDs this season… helped Classical to a 7-4 record… capped his Rams career with a 22-9 win over rival English on Thanksgiving.
Clayton Marengi
Lynnfield
Senior, 6’2, 185
A 2-year varsity player, he set program records for career TD passes (39), single-season TD passes (31), single-season passing yards (2,542) and single-game TD passes (4)… ranks second in program history in career passing yards (3,462)… helped the Pioneers to the Division 5 North semifinal.
Joshua Robertson
Marblehead
Sophomore, 5’10, 145
A first-year varsity player, he stepped up at starting quarterback after a few injuries hit the Magicians during the preseason… threw for 1,547 yards and 16 TDs this season… ran for 82 yards and one touchdown… threw the game-winning touchdown pass with seven seconds remaining in a 22-16 win over rival Swampscott on Thanksgiving.
Haidar Bdaiwi
Lynn Tech
Senior, 5’8, 196
A 3-year player, he powered Tech’s run-heavy offense with 861 rushing yards and 12 TDs on 112 carries this season despite missing three games due to injury… helped his defense with 43 tackles, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries at linebacker… voted co-MVP of the CAC Small.
David Cifuentes
Bishop Fenwick
Senior, 5’9, 180
A 3-year player, he helped Fenwick to Saturday’s Division 6 Super Bowl… carried the running game with 810 rushing yards and 16 TDs this season… caught nine passes for 133 yards and two TDs… returned two kickoffs for TDs… kicked two field goals and 34 PATs.
Dylan January
Swampscott
Senior, 6’0, 190
A 4-year varsity player, he helped Swampscott to Saturday’s Division 5 Super Bowl… led the running game with 1,155 rushing yards and 10 TDs this season… helped his defense with 57 tackles, 14 QB hurries, nine tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks and one interception.
Joe Llanos
Revere
Senior, 5’7, 170
A 2-year varsity player, he scored 30 all-purpose touchdowns this season… ran for 27 TDs and a single-season program best 1,960 yards… aided his defense with 67 tackles and six interceptions… returned three interceptions for TDs… helped the Patriots to their first 10-win season and an appearance in the Division 4 North final.
Matt Duchemin
St. John’s
Senior, 5’11, 185
A 3-year varsity player, he caught 31 passes for 744 yards and eight TDs this season… also helped anchor a secondary that logged four shutouts and allowed just 11.1 points per game entering Saturday’s Division 1 Super Bowl… was a starter on last season’s Super Bowl champion team.
Jack Ford
Lynnfield
Junior, 6’1, 175
A 2-year varsity player, he hauled in a team-best 15 TD passes and tallied a program record 908 receiving yards this season despite missing one game due to injury … has 19 career TD receptions… pitched in defensively with three pass deflections and one interception at defensive back … helped the Pioneers to an 8-3 record after a 3-8 season in 2018.
Jonathan Murphy
Revere
Senior, 6’2, 190
A 4-year varsity player, he caught five TD’s this season … broke the team’s starting lineup as a freshman in 2016 … helped the Patriots a program-best 10-1 record and an appearance in the Division 4 North final.
Ryan Dewan
Lynn English
Junior, 6’1, 270
A 2-year varsity player, he anchored an offensive line that helped the Bulldogs average 34 points per game this season … carried the Bulldogs’ defensive line with 52 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and six sacks … helped English to a 6-5 record and a third consecutive Division 3 North tournament bid.
Bobby Hubert
Winthrop
Junior, 5’8, 180
A 3-year varsity player, he ran for 1,069 yards and 12 TDs at fullback this season … also tossed two TDs … caught four passes for 51 yards … also pitched in defensively with 27 tackles and two fumble recoveries at linebacker.
Matt Juneau
Bishop Fenwick
Junior, 6’0, 200
A 2-year varsity player, he anchored an offensive line that helped the Crusaders average 34 points per game this season … graded out at 88 percent … aided his defense with 74 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Mike Brice
KIPP Academy
Junior, 6’1, 265
A 3-year varsity player, he was part of KIPP’s inaugural team in 2017… powered the defensive line with 52 tackles and three sacks this season… also helped an offensive line that allowed just one sack in three Division 8 North state tournament games … guided the Panthers to a program-best 9-3 record.
Dave Filias
KIPP Academy
Junior, 6-1, 235
A 3-year varsity player, he recorded a team-best 103 tackles with nine forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two sacks this season … rushed for 489 yards and seven TDs … caught a TD pass in a 19-8 loss to West Bridgewater in the Division 8 state semifinal.
Manny Guerrero
Lynn Classical
Senior, 6’0, 190
A 2-year varsity player, he logged a team-best nine sacks this season … ranked second on the team with 77 tackles, including 18 tackles for loss … recorded eight QB hurries … helped the Rams to their third consecutive Division 3 North state tournament appearance.
Tim Cronin
Marblehead
Senior, 6’1, 190
A 3-year varsity player, he led the team with 98 tackles this season despite missing two games due to injury … also carried his offense with 1,014 rushing yards and 16 TDs on 193 carries … scored two TDs in a 22-16 win over rival Swampscott on Thanksgiving … guided the Magicians to the Division 4 North state tournament.
Kyle Maglione
Peabody
Junior, 5’11, 210
A 2-year varsity player, he made 57 tackles, including nine for loss despite missing one games due to injury this season … logged five sacks and two forced fumbles … also ran for 280 yards and four TDs on 40 carries … scored two TDs and made seven tackles in a 34-0 win over Gloucester.
George Percy
St. Mary’s
Sophomore, 6’0, 185
A 2-year varsity player, he recorded a team-best 80 tackles this season … also carried his offense with a team-best 770 rushing yards and seven rushing TDs … helped the Spartans to a Division 7 North state tournament appearance.
Chrys Wilson
Bishop Fenwick
Junior 5’10, 185
A 3-year varsity player, he led the team with 115 tackles this season … also had four interceptions, four sacks and one fumble recovery … a 2-way starter he threw for 1,309 yards and 17 TDs at quarterback … rushed for 262 yards and six TDs.
Mathias Fowler
Lynn English
Junior, 5’7, 150
A 3-year varsity player, he made 47 tackles with 13 pass breakups and four interceptions this season as a shutdown defensive back … split time at quarterback and receiver offensively … threw for 939 yards and 10 TDs … ran for 460 yards and nine TDs … caught 21 passes for 314 yards and three TDs.
Graham Inzana
Swampscott
Senior, 6’0, 185
A 3-year varsity player, he made 51 tackles with eight pass breakups, three sacks and two interceptions this season … a 2-way starter, he engineered the offense with 1,769 passing yards and 25 TDs at quarterback … ran for 242 yards and four TDs.
Marvens Jean
Saugus
Senior, 6’1, 185
A 3-year varsity player, he made 87 tackles and forced two fumbles this season … ran for a team-best 1,074 yards and 12 TDs … returned one kickoff for a TD … helped lead the Sachems to wins in two of their final three games.
Zack Palmer
Swampscott
Senior, 5’11, 165
A 2-year varsity player, he starts at receiver, defensive back and returns kicks/punts … returned three kickoffs and two punts for TDs this season … caught a team-best nine TDs … made 36 tackles with 12 pass breakups and three interceptions.
Honorable Mentions:
BISHOP FENWICK: Stefano Fabiano, Jr., Tim Hazard, Sr., Angel Martinez, Jr., Jake Miano, Sr., Joe Rivers, Sr., Andrew Wilson, Jr.; KIPP ACADEMY: Taj King, Jr., Daniel Oluwasuyi, Jr.; LYNN CLASSICAL: Orlando Concepcion, Jr., Aidan Dow, Sr., Nico Galeazzi, Jr., Jeff Hill, Jr., Maurice Sequeira, Sr., Kalvin So, Jr., Brandon Summers, Sr., Kevin Paniaqua, Sr.; LYNN ENGLISH: Tyler Drinan, Sr., Fenix Figueroa, Jr., Thomas Gaylord, Sr., Sam Ofurie, Jr., Anthony Timmons, Jr., Tahj Purter, Jr.; LYNN TECH: Victor Bellamah, Sr., Jermanny Guerrero, Jr., Devin Lewis, Sr., Winnesoda Mah, Sr.; Carlos Mateo, Sr.; Kenny Perez, Sr., Miguel Soto, Sr.; LYNNFIELD: DJ Capachietti, Jr., Liam Farrell, Sr., John Lee, Sr., Aidan McCormack, Sr.; MARBLEHEAD: Ryan Freiberger, Sr., Sean McCarthy, Sr., JT Monahan, Jr., Devin Romain, Sr., Brendan Rowe, Sr., Declan Rudloff, Sr., AJ Russo, Sr., Will Twadell, Sr.; PEABODY: Joe Casey, Sr., Chris Faraca, Jr., Phil Makoci, Sr., Angel Paulino, Sr., Colby Therrien, Sr.; REVERE: Mazur Ali, Sr., Lucas Barbosa, Sr., Jaryd Benson, Sr., Calvin Boudreau, Jr., Josh Laurina, Sr., Zach Furlong, Sr.; SAUGUS: Christian Correia, Sr., Sal Franco, Jr., Javier Martinez, Jr., Kyle Surrette, Jr.; ST. JOHN’S: Mason Davis, Sr., Jackson Delaney, So., Anthony Fagan, Sr., James Guy, So., Cooper Smith, Sr., Collin Taylor, Jr.; ST. MARY’S: Sal Afflitto, Jr., Ali Barry, So., David Brown, Fr.; SWAMPSCOTT: Andrew Augustin, Jr., Tyler Marshall, Sr., Nick Reiser, Sr., Anton Vasquez, Sr., Arturo Vasquez, Sr.; WINTHROP: Bryan Conceicao, Jr., Andre O’Campo, Sr., Stephen Perullo, Jr., Tyler Rockefeller, Jr.