Mike Donovan didn’t know a lot in regards to the Weymouth crew he was inheriting when he took over in March.
It didn’t take him lengthy to seek out out.
The Wildcats have proven some resolve in going 3-0 heading into Friday’s Bay State Conference showdown in opposition to Milton. For Donovan, who arrived at Weymouth after a stint as assistant coach at Brown University, it was just about what he had hoped for.
“I grew up in Stoughton and wanted to be coaching in a large public school,” Donovan stated. “I saw a lot of positive characteristics in Weymouth and I could tell right away that we have great kids, kids who work really hard and it started in the summer with the workouts.”
Weymouth’s fast begin out of the gate has caught the attention of Milton coach Steve Dembowski. He’s been impressed with the best way Weymouth has responded in shut video games (three wins by a mixed 24 factors).
“I think coach Donovan has done a good job,” Dembowski stated. “Their receivers can fly, they can pound the ball with two backs, their RPO (run-pass option) is good, they’ve played good situational football and showed the ability to pull away in the fourth quarter. Obviously, they are a work in progress under a first-year coach, but so far you have to give (Donovan) an A-plus.”
Milton has been the dominant program within the Bay State Conference since Dembowski took over in 2015. As good because the Wildcats have been, some anticipated a possible dropoff as they graduated the core from a squad which superior to the Div. 3 state championship sport. Good luck discovering the decline as Milton is 3-0 and have cracked the 40-point mark in every of its three triumphs.
“I would say I am pleasantly surprised. We’ve had a lot of kids really step up,” Dembowski stated. “We’ve been really solid in all three phases of the game, we’re probably more balanced this year. We have a lot of kids who only play one way, we’ve been good defensively and our kicking game has been great. Aidan Rowley is 19-for-19 on extra points, his kickoffs have been good and his punting has been great.”
Donovan has seen sufficient of Milton to know that it’ll take their greatest efficiency thus far to knock off the highly-touted Wildcats.
“Milton is an excellent team, they do everything well and are very well-coached,” Donovan stated. “They have tremendous talent, a lot of speed – they are impressive to watch. We have to be able to compete the full (48 minutes) in order to have a shot to beat them.”
Elsewhere on Friday evening, three of the higher video games south of town characteristic Dennis-Yarmouth at Barnstable, Hanover at Plymouth South and Abington at Norwell. An enormous sport within the Merrimack Valley Conference pits Andover and Methuen, whereas a big Hockomock League showdown looms as North Attleboro visists Franklin.
BC High seems to stay undefeated when it travels to Everett, whereas Central Catholic is hoping to get again on monitor when it hosts Xaverian.
On Saturday, the large sport within the Catholic Central League is Archbishop Williams at Bishop Feehan. Two enormous video games spotlight the ISL slate as Milton Academy travels to Lawrence Academy, whereas St. Sebastian’s hosts Noble and Greenough.
