CLIPPERS SEASON PREVIEW
Cumberland vows to ‘bring the juice’ this season
CUMBERLAND — According to Cumberland High head coach Josh Lima, his Clippers’ gridders have been and will continue to utilize a key catchphrase this season.
“We call it ‘Bring the juice,’ meaning to play with power, aggression and smarts,” he stated. “They’re ready to go, they’re ready to play football. We’ve finally got to the point where we’re living and breathing football.
“If you’re asking about any potential weaknesses, it’s hard to say because I really like this group. To say we have a weakness, I think it would be a disservice to the kids.”
Cumberland managed only two wins during its seven-game Division I-B campaign last fall, but held many third-quarter leads. As a result, they tied Rogers for fifth place in the league and fell a game shy of playoff con- tention.
“We were extremely young, and were in a lot of tight games, but I think the inexperience – coupled with some injuries – kept us out of reach in the fourth quarter,” he explained. “The guys had never really been in those kinds of situations before, so they didn’t know how to think, ‘Man, we’ve got to finish this game.
“We had so many guys start for us last year, and – now – most of them are back, so that should only help us.”
Lima believes his club is in store for a mighty successful campaign, and you can’t argue with that, considering he’s returning 12 starters and/or those who saw significant varsity playing time. Talented junior signal caller Joe Leonard heads that list.
“To a lot of people, and especially me, if he’s not the best football player in the state, he’s certainly in the top five,” he said. “I’ve coached a lot of great quarterbacks in my career, and I was fortunate enough to play with probably the best in Rhode Island history in Liam Coen (while at La Salle). Liam is now the offensive coordinator at the University of Maine, so that should tell you something.
“I think Joe has the same upside Liam did,” he added. “He’s got the innate knowledge of where to go with the football, the desire to be great. He just makes superb throws; it’s that simple. We also have a terrific stable of wideouts, the only one not returning is Ryan Gaboury. The sky’s the limit for this group.”
Joining Leonard in the “returning starter/player” category are seniors Mike King (RB/DE), Matt Remavich (WR/S), Zack St. Jean (WR/CB), Mark Coppolino (OT/DT) and Luke Colomey (OLB); and juniors Kaream Sangare (TE/DE), Jack Andrews (RB/CB), Michael Nocera (WR), Mason Matos (WR/CB), Jaylen Reynolds (C/OT/DL) and Brad Smith (OLB).
Lima also had the good fortune of landing sophomore back-up quarterback/receiver Dante Aviles-Santos, a transfer from St. Raphael.
“Kaream started for us last year, but broke his ankle in practice before our third game,” he noted. “He’s looked fantastic in training camp. He’s unbelievably athletic with a long reach, and – offensively – has really helped us in the blocking game. Defensively, he just has a nonstop motor.
“We’re going to run the spread offense, which is similar to last season, but we’ve added some wrinkles to it because it fits our personnel. Defensively, we’ll have the same kind of defense, which is multiple as well. We have no set-in-stone ‘D.’ We’ll show multiple fronts and coverages.”
Lima claimed he’s looking at a number of JV standouts who are battling for starting nods on the offensive and defensive fronts or backfields, among them juniors Joey Larocque (OG/DL), Cole Hooper (OG/OT/DL) and Joe Kessler (OG/DT), as well as sophomores Sean Toure (OG), Hayden Lacroix (RB/LB) and Phil Coppolino (ILB).
“For a mere sophomore, Phil is already built like a man; physically, he’s already there,” he stated. “To see a 15-year-old kid look like he does, it’s impressive. I think he’s going to be really special. He can do it all – get through to a quarterback or ball carrier and drop back for the pass.
“I’d say he’s in the same mold of an Andre Bibeault or Nick Giorgio; he’s in the same category.”
As for the kicking department, he’s loaded there, too. Andrews will handle the placekicking duties while senior Chris Choquette will serve as the punter.
“Chris hasn’t played since his freshman year, but I’ve coached him on the indoor and outdoor track teams, and we were always talking football,” he said. “I think he was itching to get back on the field, and he’s a huge addition. Who wouldn’t want to have a state (indoor individual) sprint hurdles champion on his team? We try to get all of the best athletes in the school, so he’s a no-brainer.
“The strength of this team, and you’d never say that youth is one, but in our case it is because with it comes experience,” he added. “All of these guys are hungry. The great thing is they’ve played varsity, so know what to expect.
“If we can, No. 1, stay healthy, and No. 2, keep the energy and emotion we’ve been playing with up to this point, we’ll have a very positive season. We’re looking forward to it, for sure.”
The Clippers will entertain Attleboro in their non-league opener at 7 p.m., Friday night at Tucker Field.