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Super Bowl champ Ipswich starting from scratch

Tuesday, September, 04 By Mike Grenier
Staff writer

IPSWICH | Every Cape Ann League team on the Ipswich High football schedule will be paying close attention to the Tigers this season.

Every team that plays them will also be going for the jugular.

It's human nature. Ipswich lost virtually everyone from an 11-2 team that won the Division 3A Super Bowl last season; 43 of the 55 players this year are either freshmen or sophomores.

"The Cape Ann League teams," said Ipswich coach Ted Flaherty, "will be licking their chops.

"We're going to have to try to catch teams by surprise. But you'd have to describe us as totally inexperienced."

Flaherty can't be a magician and replace the irreplaceable. Steve Phaneuf, Ryan Gagnon and Alex McCarthy accounted for nearly 3,000 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns last season. And these are just the three (or six, since they all played defense, too) most obvious gaping holes that Flaherty and his staff must fill.

It's going to have to be a complete makeover, which is sometimes necessary at a small school like Ipswich. Here is the entire list of Ipswich's returning starters: Chris Tolios (6-feet, 205 pounds), who will be a guard on offense and a linebacker on defense.

Based on that alone, you have to wonder how the Tigers will be competitive. But Flaherty insists it's not a lost cause and points to the Wing-T offense, which Ipswich has been running for 44 consecutive years.

"Our approach is that we're looking to reach attainable goals," said Flaherty. "We have to look for improvement every day. What's nice for us is that the Wing-T allows small teams to compete. There's deception involved in this offense, it's not all about brute force.

"With Phaneuf in the backfield last season, it was more of a power Wing-T; we just ran him between the tackles. But with this team, we'll go back to a deceptive Wing-T and try to (hide) the ball as often as possible."

Ipswich does have one promising and somewhat proven running back in junior fullback Chad Leonard (5-10, 185), who had over 100 yards rushing in the team's 34-0 semifinal playoff win over Manchester Essex. The quarterback will be senior Zach Gorrelle (5-10, 170), who played for the JV team last season, and Flaherty has been impressed with young running backs Jim Cadogen (5-9, 155-pound junior) and Alex Crecco (5-9, 155-pound sophomore).

"Leonard has a little experience. What I like about him is that he protects the ball and he likes to hit you," said Flaherty. "He's the type who'll try to wear down a defense. And we like Gorrelle at quarterback because he has a strong arm and he's very intelligent and coachable. We may be throwing the ball much more this season."

Neil Berzins, a 270-pound junior who played last season, will be a big presence on an untested defense. Matt Roberts (6-foot, 185), a junior who was a wrestler during the winter season, looms as a starter at defensive end and junior Sean McHugh (5-11, 175) will be the strong safety.

"McHugh was on the look squad last year and got peppered by all the great players we had, but he stood out in those situations," said Flaherty. "He's a classic example of a sophomore JV player who opened the coach's eyes."

The Ipswich starting unit | on both sides of the ball | is still a developing story. If the Tigers get it together quickly enough, Flaherty says he can see his team contending for the CAL small division title against the likes of Hamilton-Wenham, Amesbury and Newburyport.

"This is no time to cry in your soup," said Flaherty. "To win games, we're going to have to be in better shape than our opponents and our young kids have to intelligently carry out their assignments. We also have to be the hammer and not the nail. Being the aggressor will be important for us."

Last year's record: 11-2

Head coach: Ted Flaherty (3rd season, 16-7)

Captain: Chris Tolios

Style of offense: Wing-T

Style of defense: 3-4

Last winning season: Last season

Last league title: 2006 (Won Division 3A Super Bowl)

Did you know?: Ipswich has been running the same Wing T offense since 1963 ... When all was said and done last season, Ipswich received the highest percentage of votes (24 percent) as the best defense in the state in an Internet poll. The Tigers had seven shutouts and allowed just 5.8 points per game.