by Luke Saliga
For fifteen straight years Coach Dan McAnespie has switched out his tie for a whistle and coached the varsity football team with a great passion.
Being a head coach for so long, he has seen crazy things happen, and every year there are different challenges. The first year he coached one of the managers forgot all the balls for the game in the bus, and their bus driver had gone to eat.
These days the Hawks face different challenges. The Hawks have had great success in their football program and have been to the Superbowl the last two years. Those Superbowl teams were led by superstars like Karl Sery and the Wardwell brothers. Those players have graduated.
“Every class is different. None are the same,” said Coach Mac. “It’s going to be tough replacing all the seniors we lost.”
Many people believe that this is a rebuilding year because the Hawks lost so many good seniors. “I don’t believe that we are ever rebuilding,” said Coach Mac. “We are just reloading with this new class. What I mean by reloading is not losing a step with these new guys. I still expect them to win just as many games as last year.”
A big weakness for the team this year is the line; the Hawks lost a lot of good lineman like Dan Mitchell and Randy Carlson. The team will have a lot of holes to fill if they want to protect their new quarterback.
But the team has loads of experience; they have been to the Superbowl the last two years and played in some close games. This will help them later in the season.
“Our defense and special teams are our strong side. We only allowed seven points our first game, and we had a punt return for a touchdown,” said Coach Mac. “Our weak point is our offense. We just need to get clicking, and it’s tough because we lost three starting lineman, so we are hurting.”
Every team needs a motto to fire them up when they are down or beaten this year. The Hawks’ motto is “Ball Security,” which means protecting the ball and trusting your teammates in any situation.
So far the Hawks are off to a good start. They won their first game, 14-7, against the Gardener Wildcats.
“It is always important to win the home opener,” said Coach Mac. “It puts the season on the right path.” The Hawks lost to Gardener last year in the season opener, so last week’s game was sweet revenge.
The next challenge for the Hawks is the defending champions, the Leominster Blue Devils. “We have had a really good practice this week,” said Coach Mac. “The kids are focused and mentally prepared.” The Hawks did beat the Blue Devils last year, but many of the Blue Devils’ key players were sick and the team was right in the middle of a coaching switch.
Coach Mac feels good about the Leominster game. “My team is ready ,” said Coach Mac. “We are prepared.”
