D-Y approach perfectly good
DIV. 5 PREVIEW
Dennis-Yarmouth sauntered through the first 12 games this season with a 31-point average margin of victory thanks to an offense that can score in multiple ways and a defense that does not get pushed around. The final opponent in the way for the Dolphins to secure a perfect season will be West Springfield in the Division 5 Super Bowl.
The Terriers (11-1) are poised to give D-Y coach Paul Funk’s team problems with a similarly balanced offensive attack as well as a stingy defense that has produced six shutouts. The 19 seniors on West Springfield coach Chad LaBonte’s roster would like nothing more than to hang up their jerseys for the last time by thwarting the Dolphins’ bid at perfection.
“I believe that there will be points during the game that we will need (everyone),” said LaBonte, who last tasted Super Bowl success in 2009 before the current divisional format. “(D-Y) is a very wellcoached (and) disciplined team that rarely makes a mistake.”
The last time Funk had a team dreaming of Super Bowl sugar plums was back in 2013, when the Dolphins lost to Doherty. Now his 20 seniors have their first shot at championship glory.
“We want the kids to have fun as they have worked so hard to get to this spot, so we just let everyone know that it’s really hard to get to this spot,” Funk said. “We need to play loose and not worry about anything about our offense and defense, what we have done from August to now, and after this — there are no survivors.”
Funk has quarterback Jacob McCarthy leading the prolific offense along with the backfield tandem of Rob Evans and Jonah Arsenault. The sleeper in the group would be Daryan Thompson, who is Funk’s playmaker as a slot receiver.
“I’m sure they have reviewed our film and will exploit any perceived weakness,” LaBonte said.
The last time DennisYarmouth had a chance at an undefeated season was in 2011 when the Dolphins completed the bid with a 13-0 record after a 35-0 shutout of Wakefield.
“Our offense has been (balanced) for years, and we showed that against Watertown (in the state semifinal), as six different people scored touchdowns,” Funk said. “We pride ourselves and want to be as diverse as we can be on offense.”
The Dolphins defense will be tested by the wide-open attack of West Springfield that features Tylor Rocheford at quarterback. Terriers running back Vaunell Hill is 93 total yards away from 2,000 on the season to go along with a whopping 25 touchdowns.
“West Springfield is solid across the board, and being 11-1, they didn’t get here by accident, so they have a lot of weapons,” Funk said.
Sawyer MacDonald has the main assignment of shutting down the Terriers vaunted attack as the heart of the D-Y defense. The middle linebacker leads a triangle of defensive leaders that also features ends Sam Kenny and Adane Atkinson.
“Defensively, they play fast and are disciplined, so every single practice matters leading up to the big game,” LaBonte said.
Dalien Hicks, Anthony Tangredi and Anthony Mineo are the defensive stalwarts for the Terriers.