The football team has just finished riding the Wave of one of its most successful seasons ever, culminating in an FCIAC title for the first time in 12 years. But now it’s time for the boys to return their jerseys to the storage boxes; hang up their shoulder pad; put away those deep blue helmets until next August. It’s time for the seniors to say goodbye to a football program which has housed them the past four years.

This means it is time to look towards next year’s team. The 2011 varsity football team has big shoes to fill, which will be difficult without this year’s star seniors. “It will be tough to replace the senior class,” sophomore Henry Baldwin said. Baldwin, who acted as second- string varsity quarterback will start next year. “Henry’s a beast,” sophomore running back Ian VanderHorn said . “I feel prepared since I’ve been playing with the varsity team and coaches,” Baldwin added. 

Backing Baldwin up is junior starting receiver Patrick McDonald, whom DHS Head Football Coach Rob Trifone said is a “very athletic kid”. McDonald is one of four new captains. Others include juniors Mike Stovall, Corey Eppley, and Brett O’Donnell.

VanderHorn says that next year’s whole team will have a “junior heavy starting line” including himself and Peter Gesualdi, 2010’s leading rusher and sophomore star. The juniors will dominate "because the senior football class is just smaller,"VanderHorn said. Other important players will probably include current juniors Eppley and Stovall, who are safeties, along with linemen O’Donnell , juniors Max Gunn, Curry Harmon, and punter Chris Smith. Sophomore CJ Raia will be returning as kicker, while his classmate Matty D’Andrea will return to the starting line. Junior wideout Ryan Barthold and junior center Stephen Wildish will both contribute as well.

According to Coach Trifone, “Clay Barker and Matt Forelli will also be back in the line-up.” When asked who would have the biggest impact, Baldwin said that “that’s not important- team effort is what’s important.”

Baldwin did say one significant change from this year to last year is the team’s strength shifting from defense to offense. As for underclassmen talent, Baldwin said the team “isn’t sure” what they’ll see.

The group received high praise from outgoing senior captain Charlie Kunze, who said that, “Next year’s team will be a great group of kids, and I think they have the potential to be a very good team in the league.”

Although the team roster is changing, one important part is staying the same, and that’s the coaching staff. The coaches consist Trifone, defensive coordinator and former NFL player Idris Price, Tom O'Neil, Mitch Ross, Zachary Reding, Rod Saggese, Harry Catanzaro, and Jim Traglia. “We’ve always had the best coaching staff. That’s why we win games, no matter who is playing,” Baldwin said.

       Coach Trifone commented on living up to this year’s success. “Any time you win a championship, the challenge the next year is to repeat. The football team repeated in 1994 and 1995, and no one thought we would do it in ’95. People said, ‘you’re losing him, you’re losing this star player,’ but we did it anyway,” Coach Trifone said.

Although the fall season has come to a close, the team has to practice and work out during the off-season. The usual training includes 7-on-7 games and lots of lifting in the weight room. “We look for commitment to be bigger and stronger,” Coach Trifone said. This hard work is all in hope of repeating this year’s FCIAC title and possibly going even further.

“It’ll be harder,” Baldwin said, “It’s always hard to do it again.” Losing this year’s star seniors, including captains Jake Weil, Peter McDonough, Graham Maybell, Will Weinstock, and Charlie Kunze, as well as Scotty Watters will have a big impact. “We had good captains,” Baldwin said. It will be a challenge to repeat the success of this year, but the 2011 football team should definitely be up to it by next fall.

One dream the team continues to pursue is its own Friday night lights. They would love to see the addition of stadium lighting to the turf field next season. “The team badly wants them,” Baldwin said, yet it doesn’t seem like a possibility. “There’s no chance,” said another team member. To read more see, “Field Lights Spark Debate” by Daniel Campbell.