Novans get back to the gridiron
Woonsocket looks to build on last year’s Super Bowl season
WOONSOCKET – For a brief moment, Logan Coles’ mind drifted from the immediate task at hand – concentrating on and running through calisthenics and drills with the rest of his Woonsocket High teammates on Tuesday afternoon, Day 2 of training camp – to Sunday, Nov. 18.
During the early afternoon hours, the Villa Novans executed perhaps their finest collective outing of the season to capture a thrilling 37-13 victory over East Greenwich in the R.I. Division II Super Bowl at Cranston Stadium.
“It was surreal, winning the state championship,” stated Coles, not only a starting running back and defensive end for the Novans but also one of their new quad-captains. “I mean, you dream about that kind of thing forever; you never forget it. As a kid who plays high school football – actually, any football – that’s the ultimate goal, winning it all, and we did.
“It was phenomenal; it seems like yesterday.”
As if snapped from a trance, Coles’ eyes refocused, immediately stating, “But that’s over now. We have to concentrate on being the best team we can be. We need to come to practice each day, do the job you’re given to the best of your ability. We have to practice with intensity; perfect practice makes perfect play, so we’re on to this year. That’s all we’re worried about.”
Chimed in fellow captain Hayden DePault, a guard/ linebacker: “It felt amazing to win the Bowl, and to be one of the leaders of this team, but the only thing I’m worried about is this season. We have very high expectations for this team, but it starts simply: We have to work hard, show up for practice, listen to coaches, try to better our mistakes.
“When we won it all last year, (getting back to such a game) came up every day we all talked about busting our tails to try to win it again. We’re all in; we all have the same goal.”
In 2018, Woonsocket finished with an 11-2 overall record, their lone two blemishes an embarrassing 62-12 league loss to Westerly in Week 3, then a harmless defeat to Thanksgiving rival Cumberland four days after the Bowl triumph.
The good news for WHS: It avenged that defeat with a beyond-satisfying, comefrom-behind 22-21 victory over the Bulldogs in the D-II semifinals.
But, according to head coach Charlie Bibeault, who ironically enough turned 29 on Tuesday, the Novans will not do what the Boston Red Sox apparently did back in spring training – that is, live in the past, or claim everything will pan out when the times comes.
To him, the time is now. “I call that a championship hangover; they thought about that dream season too much, but we don’t have that problem,” he insisted. “We will not have that problem, I can promise you. We take pride in our work ethic, from me to Pete (Antonio, veteran equipment manager/assistant/ historian) to our assistants to the players.
“I think winning a championship made us even hungrier for another one. I think we have turned the page, and I’d say we did that when we were back in the weight room five days after that Thanksgiving loss to Cumberland.”
Bibeault indicated offensive/defensive line and strength and conditioning coach Eddie Ouellette, despite having to make a long commute from Buzzards Bay, Mass. after a work-related move, dedicated himself to teaching the players the proper way to lift weights all winter, spring and summer.
Their assistants, by the way, all are returning, including Brett Coderre (receivers/defensive backs/special teams); former New England Patriots running back Patrick Pass (defensive coordinator); and freshman coaches Milaan Washington and Darren Bergeron.
“I actually think we’re going to be better than last year,” Bibeault said. “It’s Year 2 of the program; last year, all of those seniors who came in and did all that lifting, they came in 20-30 pounds heavier from their junior year, and that made a big difference.
“Our plan is to get back to the playoffs the same way we did last year – playing physical football, and we do that by running the ball and playing gritty defense. The guys spent all that time in the weight room, and they did the same thing this year, so now, the sophomore on this team have had two years in the weight room.
“Let’s put it this way: The year before last, we went 2-9, and that’s because we had no lifting regimen at all,” he continued. “We got one going after that season, and we won a championship last fall, so I feel like now we’re going to be more established because of it.
“Now it’s understood that if you want to win games, you’ve got to spend a lot of time in the weight room.”
If Bibeault sounds confident about the upcoming campaign, he has more reasons. Two former players in the town’s Redskins’ youth program have returned after playing high school ball in Texas. They include junior receiver/safety Eric Agyemang and classmate Jalen Lopez. That tandem played a key role in helping the Novans snare the George Nasuti Memorial Passing League title less than two weeks ago.
Then again, other important cast members were sophomore quarterback Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan and pass catchers Xavier Alvarez and Davonte Wilkerson.
“That’s another way how we turned the page,” Bibeault said. “This team already has tasted some success, and we want to continue to do so.”
Still, the young mentor is adamant about one thing: What neither he nor his fellow coaches will forget is how to deal with difficult moments, as the Novans had more than their fair share last season.
“I remember the celebration on the field afterward, and it was so sweet; it was amazing because of all the (stuff) we went through,” he said. “We had to handle so much adversity, like kids failing off, injuries, kids quitting and what happen to Emmanuel Gomes’ mom. That was unimaginable.”
(On Aug. 31, apparently after Gomes had romped for a lengthy touchdown during Woonsocket’s annual Injury Fund scrimmage, mother Rena collapsed in the stands and could not be revived).
“That’s a day I’ll never forget; none of us will,” Bibeault noted. “To be able to withstand all that and keep your composure, then to go on and win a Super Bowl, it’s impressive. When we get bad stuff this season, we’ll look back on last year with experience. We know how to handle it.
“We’ve developed a winning culture here, and I feel like we can keep this going,” he added. “A lot of the younger guys were able to watch the older ones go out and win the title, so I think these seniors and juniors want to do the same thing. When a senior class wins a Bowl, the incoming senior class wants to finish the same way.
“The work ethic has been there. Now we’ve got to see more of it on the field.”