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Ipswich seniors remain positive heading into Thanksgiving

Thursday, November, 22 By Matt Jenkins
Staff writer

It's hard to blame Alex Lampropoulos from walking away from the Ipswich High School football team during the preseason.

To borrow a line from Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, Lampropoulos | one of just five returning seniors from the Tigers' Division 3A Super Bowl championship team of 2006 | wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today.

Knowing the Tigers would likely be in a rebuilding mode this season | they take an 0-10 record into tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day Game at home with rival Hamilton-Wenham (10 a.m.) | Lampropoulos figured he would end his football career on a high note.

But not everyone agreed with his decision.

"Alex wasn't getting away with that one," Ipswich captain Chris Tolios said. "He's my best friend and I've been playing sports with him forever. I knew that we needed him and I couldn't let him walk away."

Tolios, like a true captain, stood up for his team and pleaded with Lampropoulos to return to the Tigers.

"I'm pretty manipulative. I went on and on, put some wagers on the line, everything I could to get him back," Tolios, an offensive lineman/linebacker, said. "I told him that if he came back, he wouldn't regret it. I don't think he has."

Lampropoulos was a starting defensive back for an Ipswich team that set a school record with 11 wins a year ago.

This season, after sitting out the first two games because of missing some preseason practices, Lampropoulos has reclaimed his spot in the defensive backfield and taken on a more primary offensive role as a split end for a team that heads into its today's game still looking for its first victory. Despite his team's record, Lampropoulos is not disappointed in his decision to put the pads back on for his senior year.

"Chris came to me, and the excitement of the games brought me back," Lampropoulos said. "I went to watch a scrimmage under the lights; it doesn't get any better than that. It was good that I came back."

Lampropoulos and Tolios are the only seniors who played major roles on last year's Tiger team, but Zach Gorrell, Theo Fagan and Harrison Sagris have also played more prominent roles in their senior years.

Fagan is a starter as an offensive tackle, Sagris has made a couple starts at defensive tackle and Gorrell has quietly had a solid year at quarterback.

Gorrell ranks fifth among North Shore quarterbacks with 1,026 yards passing. Of the five leading passers on the North Shore, only Pingree's Carlos O'Donnell and North Shore Tech's David St. Pierre have higher completion percentages than Gorrell's 52 percent.

Lampropoulos wasted little time in getting comfortable with Gorrell. Lampropoulos is the area's fourth-leading receiver with 21 catches for 525 yards and five touchdowns | and could be higher on the list if he didn't miss the first two games.

"I believe he's one of the best quarterbacks around," Lampropoulos said. "I look forward to the passing game each week."

The Ipswich seniors have remained positive, even though the team has fallen short of their expectations.

Tolios wasn't necessarily expecting a return trip to the Super Bowl, but he thought if things fell into place the Tigers might at least contend for the CAL Small title. "Looking at the schedule (at the beginning of the year), I was looking at three to four teams that I thought we could beat and maybe pull out a couple others," Tolios said. "I wasn't expecting to be where we are."

The Ipswich roster is dominated by sophomores. In addition to the five seniors, there are only 10 juniors and 22 sophomores. The game experience the young players are acquiring will be invaluable for the future.

It would be foolish to predict any titles two years down the line, but it will be hard to believe if the Tigers aren't at least contending for the CAL Small in 2009.

The senior class from a year ago got lots of playing time as sophomores in a 3-8 season. As juniors, they helped the Tigers improve to 5-5. By the time senior year came around, the experience they already had helped them to an 11-2 championship season.

"I think they'll be a real good team. I can imagine them playing in two years as seniors with two years already under their belt," Tolios said. "I got beat around as a sophomore and it definitely helped going into junior year. I think in two years they'll be fine."

As for this morning's game, none of the Tigers are counting themselves out against their biggest rivals.

"I think we are (capable of an upset). We've had some tough practices and people are more upbeat," Tolios said. "I don't think anyone wants to finish without a win.

"Hamilton-Wenham probably won't expect us to give them a battle, but from practice I think we're ready to go."