The Hollis/Brookline High School football is exploring new ground.
Coming of the program’s first winning season – the Cavaliers were 5-4 overall in 2009 – head coach Milt Robinson had 60 players come out for the team this preseason, setting a record. And just three seasons removed from playing in Division IV, the Cavs, who are now in Division III, will face one of their toughest matchups when they open the season against Division II Merrimack on Saturday.
“It’s exciting,” Robinson said. “Really, this program has evolved. Last year was a tremendous step in the right direction. I feel that the increased numbers out is a tribute to that. We’ve just got to keep taking steps forward and keep the program moving.
“The Merrimack game is a real test as to where we’re at as a program. We were real excited that we drew them because we knew it would be a real challenge for us.”
The Cavs will face a few challenges this year, and not only with their schedule.
On offense, H/B will try to find a way to replace some key players, as running back Justin Shutt, lineman Eric Drazin and receiver Ryan Quigley – all three were first-team all-state in Division III – graduated, as did quarterback Brian Curtis.
But for the first time H/B returns most of its offensive line intact.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had that,” Robinson said. “Usually we’ve had to mix and match. We have some depth, but still not a lot. We’ve got to stay healthy.”
Among those linemen are Zach Migneault, Rob Boivin, George Louzek, Derrick Anderson and Glen Morgan. Behind them in the backfield is returning starter Brian Liamos, who will be joined by senior Taylor Landry and junior Colin Pellerin. Junior Kyle Gervais will open the season at quarterback after starting on junior varsity the last two years.
“He played last, suffered an injury, and he’s really picking the offense up quickly,” Robinson said of Gervais. “He’s got some big shoes to fill. Curtis was a great leader for our team.”
Defensively, the Cavs will be led by inside linebackers Liamos and Louzek, who moves in from the outside position.
One thing that Robinson won’t have to do as much of this season is rely on younger players, despite having 25 freshmen on the roster.
“We’re seeing that the feeder program is working,” the coach said. “This is the first year we took only one freshman to camp. In the past we’ve taken all of them because we needed them. Last year, I think we took six. This year, we took one.”
What all the players have in common is a familiarity of what is going on at practice and what the coaching staff expects of them.
“Things have gone really smoothly,” he said. “With another year in the same system, the kids hit the ground running, which is nice. We’re not adding anything; we run what we run. We’re excited about it. The kids know what they need to do. From the first day on, it’s been great.”
The Cavs begin the 2010 by hosting Merrimack at 2 p.m. on Saturday in a non-division game.