Toscano looking to help get Bedford football back to top of D1

Ryan Toscano remembers what he felt like at the end of the last two season for the Bedford High School football team.

At the end of his sophomore year, it was jubilation, as the Bulldogs won the  program's first championship, beating Exeter 7-0 in the Division I title game and celebrating on the field at the University of New Hampshire.

Last year was a different story. Instead of joy, there was heartbreak, as Bedford saw its dreams of a repeat end in an one-point loss to Winnacunnet in overtime in the quarterfinals. 

This story appears in the Football Prospectus. Click to order. 

With his senior season about to get underway, Toscano feels good about getting to experience both outcomes at the end of a season.

"My overall goal is to win the 2018 championship, but if I can finish my high school career on a win, I think that would cap off what this program has become," he said. "I think sophomore year was a great opportunity to see that and what it felt like. And last year, losing pretty early, it was good to see both sides."

As he has for the last three years, Toscano expects to see both sides of the ball on the field for Bedford. While he's remained a running back throughout, he shared time with other talented runners, including last year, getting carries behind Thomas Norfleet and Demetri Anagnost.

This season, Toscano opens as the first guy in line.

"Ryan has been a great football player for this program for many years," Bedford coach Derek Stank said. "He’s finally a senior and I think this year, he’s going to get the credit he deserves.

"He shared the reps with two other running backs. That can diminish or hide some of the skill set you have. This year, as the sole starting back, and we have other backs behind him who are also very good, but he should be getting the majority of those reps."

The biggest change for Toscano this season will be on defense, although the change is back to a position he's more familiar playing.

After playing at linebacker from the time he started football, the Bulldogs had a plethora of players at that position, so Toscano was moved to free safety last season.

"We didn’t need him to play linebacker," Stank said. "When you’re playing Exeter and Winnacunnet, having Ryan as a free safety is good because they’re going to run the ball a lot. If it’s a passing team, a lot of times, his size and strength couldn’t come into play because his eyes were on the backfield, covering. Moving him back down into the box is going to allow him to use some of that physical ability that he has."

With Bedford and the rest of the D1 North Conference crossing over with the West Conference this year, the Bulldogs will be facing more pass-first offenses. Toscano believes the experience he gained at safety will make him a better linebacker this season.

"I think it helped me a lot," he said. "It gave me a different perspective of where the quarterback is throwing, how the linebackers are affected.

"It was similar because all the teams we played were run-heavy, but having played that kind of pass defense makes me more versatile. I’m excited to go back to linebacker. It gives me more perspective of how the safety and the corners and the linebackers work with each other."

That different vantage point should help Toscano, who has played linebacker since he started playing football in third grade. He's also played varsity lacrosse for Bedford the last two years, and hopes that he might have the opportunity to play both in college.

"I know people say it’s a lot, but I’m up for that schedule," Toscano said. "I want to make the most of it. Depending what level I’m able to play, and what coaches are interested, hopefully I’ll be able to play as much as I can."