By Shantae Francis and Gabriel Matnog
The Golden Tornadoes Football team have come a long way since last season, and are looking ahead at a very challenging season. Although the team has had no wins out of their first three games, the Tornadoes refuse to capitulate and want to continue towards what they hope will be a successful season.
This season marks the second year of Head Coach, William Manchester’s stay at Malden High. Last season, the team finished with a record of 5-6 under Manchester, falling shy of qualifying for the playoffs and finishing just below the .500 mark. The team this year hopes to improve upon that record but will face numerous obstacles along the way, including losing a few key starters from last year.
When asked about the season, senior captain Edouard Bazile was very optimistic about the rest of the season and hopes to continue work on the team’s defense. He believes that “the defensive line is what really holds [the] team together”. Bazile also hopes to help each team member improve personally and make sure that everyone achieves their full potential as players. He continued to say that “[the team has] more weapons than last year” while also “[having] two or three more guys that can fill in the role” of key players the team lost from last year.
One of the biggest personal changes the team has experienced this year, is a new starting quarterback in junior, Jose Montiero. Montiero hopes to lead the team to a successful season in his first year as a starter, while taking over for an all-star quarterback. Despite this being Montiero’s first year as a starter, his captain, Bazile praised his performance in the season so far. When asked about him, Bazile mentioned that “[Montiero] is doing great” and that he “needs time” as well as protection from the offensive line, concluding that “once everything slows down for him” he will come on to his own as the starter.
Another big change for the team this year is that after having previously been a part of the Greater Boston League (GBL), this season will be the team’s first experience in their new league, the Northeastern Conference (NEC). This change is expected to produce even more added challenges, in addition to the already competitive schedule.
Despite all the changes the team will experience this year, they also have numerous returning members to the team. One key returning member is junior captain and center Tyler Martineau, who last season was the only sophomore on the team to make the All-Scholastic Football team. When asked about the team’s goals for the season, Martineau expressed the team’s desire “to win the NEC” explaining that “it would be special since [the team] is new” to the conference. In addition he also mentioned their goal of “trying to make it to the playoffs since [they] did not make the playoffs last year.”
The Tornadoes kick off their fourth game of the season this Friday at Danvers High School, against the Falcons.
