'We're on to a new goal right now': CMass' state champion West Boylston opens by hosting Northbridge
WEST BOYLSTON — West Boylston capped an incredible 2022 season by capturing the Division 7 Super Bowl championship with an impressive performance against St. Bernard’s at Gillette Stadium. The Lions were the only Central Mass. team to win a state football title, and Mike Ross became just the second coach in state history to win a Super Bowl with three schools.
“It was a great feeling and a great accomplishment,” Lions senior running back Jonathan Ruas said after Tuesday’s practice, “but that was last year. We’re on to a new goal right now, and that’s to beat the next team up.”
West Boylston, the top-ranked team in the T&G Fab 15 poll, opens the season at 7 p.m. Friday at home against No. 8 Northbridge in the Hometeam Game of the Week.
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“We’ve been working hard,” Lions junior two-way lineman Jack Smith said. “We’re definitely excited for the season to get started.”
The Rams are looking to bounce back from an atypical 3-8 season. Northbridge has never finished with a losing record in back-to-back seasons under coach Ken LaChapelle, who has led the Rams for 47 years.
“I think we’re looking really solid,” Northbridge senior center Matt Cannon said. “A lot of the younger kids are stepping up, and I think we’re looking a lot better than last year.
“Everyone is excited,” Cannon said, “and we’re the first team that gets to play the team that won the championship in our division last year.”
Under a new, two-year realignment, West Boylston will play in Division 8 this season.
The Lions, who finished 11-2 last year, return a number of standouts, including quarterback Luke Foley and running backs Jamie McNamara and Connor Muldoon, who are all seniors, and the senior trio of Brian Smith, Jackson Caramanica and Jake Arcand, who were among the leaders of the ’22 defense.
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“Mike has things going pretty good over there,” LaChapelle said, “and those kids respond. It’s a tough opener for us, but we’ll see what we can do.”
Northbridge’s excellent 2021 team, which advanced to the Division 7 state semifinals, beat West Boylston twice that year, in the regular season and the playoffs.
The Lions got their revenge with a 37-0 victory over the Rams in the 2022 opener.
“We remember what they did to us last year,” Northbridge senior wide receiver Brady Nicholson said. “They came out and shut us out, and it was a horrible game. That’s been our mindset going into this — ‘Remember what they did to us. Remember how it felt.’ They are a great team. We have to look to come out strong and ready to go.”
Nicholson, Northbridge’s leading returning receiver, underwent offseason surgery. He expects to be back by Week 3.
Sophomore Joel LaChapelle, Ken’s grandson, will take over the starting quarterback duties, and junior David Scichilone, Ken LaChapelle said, has stood out among an array of receivers.
“This year’s team, like last year’s team,” LaChapelle said, “there are a lot of positions we’re still deciding. We have a lot of inexperience. The one good thing, and it has always been a positive for us, is we have good numbers in the program. Right now, it’s at a very competitive state.
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“Last year,” LaChapelle said, “we weren’t capable of making a play when we had to. We would play teams in the past, and it would be a tight game in the first half, and in the second half, we’d kick their butts. Last year, it was fairly tight, and they’d kick our butts. So it’s just trying to find that depth.”
West Boylston graduated Bobby Humphrey’s 811 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, but McNamara, Muldoon and Ruas combined for more than 33 TDs and more than 2,000 rushing yards last season in the Lions’ ground-and-pound offense.
“Their offense they run is very difficult to stop,” LaChapelle said. “We’ve had trouble with that over the years. We’ve done it occasionally, but you have to match strength with strength, and they are strong up front.”
West Boylston and Northbridge first played in 1970, and the Rams lead the all-time series between teams with contrasting offensive styles, 21-4-1.
“I think it’s a great rivalry,” Ross said. “We’re in Division 8 now, and they’re in 7 and we still play, and I think it’s a great thing for football. We’re going to have to play good on defense and get to the ball, because they can do a lot things. We have to be prepared for all of their formations and passes. It’s two different ways of coaching. In that way, I think it’s an interesting game. It’s going to be a tough, tough game.”
Northbridge is 9-0 against the Lions in games played in West Boylston.
West Boylston players aren’t talking about last year’s Super Bowl triumph, but they are still learning from it.
“We learned what it takes to be great,” Jack Smith said, “and how hard you have to work.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Hometeam Game of the Week: CMass' state champion West Boylston hosts Northbridge to open season
