In what could be the toughest game they have ever played, the Lancers will be heading to Danvers, Mass. to play St. John’s Prep Eagles, a top team in New England and last year’s Massachusetts Division I runner-up.
The football team, headlined by a huge senior class, are expecting a difficult game, and senior running back Carson Palma said he thinks the Lancers will be in for a “dogfight” come Friday night.
“We know Saint John’s is a great team, possibly one of the best in the New England area,” Palma said. “They’re fast and physical, so I see it as one of our biggest tests of the season.”
Palma reflected on last week’s game and said they will need to start off much faster this week in order to come away with the victory.
“Last week, we started off slow and in order to win this week, we need to be focused and execute from the get go,” Palma said. “There will be no room for error, so our game will have to be sound on all levels.”
Palma said the team will have an advantage if they stay more focused than the Eagles.
“They’ve made it known that they don’t take us seriously and we plan on capitalizing on their lack of focus,” Palma said.
According to Palma, “talent only gets you so far.” He said if the team sticks to what they have practiced they have a good chance to shock the region.
“We will need to execute perfectly on both sides of the ball,” Palma said. “If we trust our coaching and understand the game plan, I truly believe that we can come out on top.”
Along with Palma, senior linebacker Devin Boles also expects a tough matchup going into Saint John’s.
“I expect a very physical, disciplined and mentally prepared team,” Boles said.
For Boles, he looks forward to not being seen as a favorite.
“This is the first game the team has been this much of an underdog,” Boles said.
Boles believes that the team will be ready to face any challenges that appear this week.
“We are prepared to take on adversity at any moment,” Boles said, “And have some of the best coaches N.H. has to offer.”
Similar to Palma, Boles puts an emphasis on executing the game plan, but also focuses on some other parts of the game as well.
“We need to focus on special teams and get some takeaways,” Boles said.
Senior quarterback Sam Ogden has similar expectations as Palma and Boles, he also believes they “play with a lot of energy.”
“They are confident and energetic, as well as big and strong all around,” Ogden said. “They have big lineman and athletic skill guys. We need to have a plan to exploit their weaknesses and take advantage of big opportunities.”
Ogden believes that the play styles of each team will come into play on Friday night.
“Obviously this is an opponent we have never seen before, so they won’t know what to expect when we are out there, but neither will we,” Ogden said. “They don’t know how we play so we can out scheme them, and run most of our regular stuff that we are best at.”
Ogden states that they may be losing at some point, and it’s all about “keeping composure” if it comes to that.
“We need to stay confident,” Ogden said. “It’s important to keep our heads high, but what’s even more important is executing our assignments. It takes all 11 player’s focus to get the job done.”
