Norton Football Ready For Kick-Off

Following last year’s 5-6 campaign, Norton’s head football coach Ted Currle seems focused on two things: the Lancers depth and last season’s Tri-Valley League Small champion.  

“We talk about Millis every day, we talk about playing in a playoff game every day, we talk about a championship every day, and I believe if you don’t talk about it, they might not believe they can obtain it,” stated Currle.

Currle admitted that while he does dwell on last year’s loss to Millis, he is focused on making sure his team is alert and ready for their first opponent of the year, Carver.

Norton will kickoff their season on the road against the Crusaders tomorrow evening before they return home to host Scituate the following week. Afterward, the Lancers will travel to Millis for their first conference clash of the season. And a win against the Mohawks could go a long way for the Lancers.

“We’ve had Millis on our calendar since last September,” said Currle. “They beat us here in the rain last year, and they finished 4-0 in the league and we were 3-1, so that was the league title and it was week three, so they’ve been marked down and I’ve definitely watched a lot of film on them in the offseason.

“It’s on [my players] minds and we’re using our first two games as two more scrimmage-like-practice things, and that’s our opener. We have to win that to have an opportunity to go to the playoffs, so after [we hopefully] win that one, we’ll worry about the other three opponents in the TVL Small.”    

The Lancers aren’t exactly the biggest group in their division, but they’re athletic and quick, and those traits will be exhibited through their run game, according to Currle.

“We’re more option and we’ll be a lot more run oriented,” explained the head coach.

Excluding their lack of size, Norton does return nine starters on the offensive end.

“Our quarterback is back, both halfbacks, a fullback, three linemen, two receivers, so you would think that’s a pretty strong unit,” said Currle. “We held our own last year with our offense, but we need to take that next step and put up more points.”

Norton will also rely heavily on their quarterback, Mike Ready, along with running back Brad Wry, as well as senior captains Joey Colley, Steve Hudson, Josh Jenkins, James Keating and Matt Butler.

“I think we’ll be a competitive bunch, a tough group and if we play our cards and we beat Millis, we’ll have a chance,” said Currle. “I think that game is going to be huge for the league makeup, but that’ll be a big part of the league title.”

All in all, despite their game against Millis, Currle’s main objectives for the upcoming season is for his team to continue to work hard, get better, but also enjoy the game of football, too.  

“[We want] to get better every single day, and I know that sounds so cliché, but that’s what I want,” said the head coach.  

For more information on the team visit www.nortonlancerfootball.com.

All games take place Fridays at 7 p.m. except 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27 and 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 22.