By Jim Stout
MaxPreps.com
For now, anyway, Friday night lights in southeastern Massachusetts are being replaced by mosquito magnets, bug repellants and extreme caution for the opening of the 2006 football season.
Due to three confirmed cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis in the region and the lurking presence of West Nile Virus, a variety Friday night openers scheduled for this weekend have been moved to either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning/afternoon, when the threat of being bitten by a virus-bearing mosquito is less likely.
Southeastern Massachusetts in general - and outdoor enthusiasts in particular - has been badly shaken in recent weeks by the three confirmed cases of EEE, one of which led to the death of nine-year-old John Fontaine of Middleboro. Fontaine collapsed during a youth football practice on Aug. 19 and died last Thursday, Aug. 31.
Middleboro High is now scheduled to open its season at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday - rather than on Friday night at 7 - with a road game against Coyle-Cassidy at Hopewell Park in Taunton. Old Rochester, Greater New Bedford Tech was the first that made plans to alter their home starting times and avoid playing at night, when mosquitoes are more prevalent.
Schools that make the decision to change their home starting times to the day are expected to do so for the first three or four weeks of the season.
"Hopefully we'll get a hard frost by the second week in October so we can start playing Friday night games again,'' said Middleboro coach Dave DeFelice. "I appreciate the caution schools are taking, and as long as EEE looms large, these are prudent measures being taken.''
There is no known cure for either West Nile virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis, the latter of which can cause inflammation of the brain and lead to a coma and death. Even survivors require lengthy hospital stays.
The southeastern region of the state is known for its coastal waters, low-lying marshes and bogs, exactly the kind of environment mosquitoes are mostly likely to breed in.
Unsportsmanlike Messaging
The growing number of Internet sites devoted to high school athletics and the subsequent availability of chat rooms and message posting boards has led to various discussions in the state concerning the need to monitor and possibly control such forums.
The Tri Valley League has been among the leaders in addressing the issue of online taunting, ridicule and intimidation, partly the outgrowth of an incident a year ago involving Medford and Westwood. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) has not formally moved to confront the issue, though it has expressed recognition and concern as the state's primary athletic governing board.
Longmeadow High on Harrison:
Though Longmeadow lost 26 seniors from last season's Division I Super Bowl championship team, the Lancers still feel they can compete for an 11th-straight postseason appearance, thanks in part to the return of running back Ryan Harrison (5-10, 205 pounds). Harrison gained 1,622 yards on 170 carries and scored 20 touchdowns in a Wing-T offense in 2005.
"(Harrison) may be the best back we've had here," veteran Longmeadow coach Alex Rotsko told the Springfield Republican. "Every kid is different and we've had some real good ones. Each has had his own strength. But Ryan is such a good all-around player. He is real strong, with excellent quickness. Some kids have been better at one thing than Ryan, but he ranks pretty high in all (areas). That's the difference.''
St. John's Shorted on Schedule
St. John's High of Shrewsbury found itself a game short to start the season this week after being dropped in the 11th hour by Malden Catholic. St. John's blanked Malden Catholic 36-0 a year ago. There was virtually no time left for St. John's to find a replacement game.
"(Malden Catholic) said they weren't going to play us this year because they said we only had a two-year contract," St. John's athletic director Bob Foley told the Worcester Telegram. "But the thing with football is you automatically play the teams you play the year before, unless someone calls and says we don't want to play anymore. I didn't call any of the 11 schools we played last year; I just assumed it was automatic."
St. John's is a two-time defending state champ in its division.
Cultural Two-a-Days
While Middleboro was the heart-breaking scene of the Eastern Equine Encephalitis infection that led to the death of John Fontaine, it was also where the heart-warming combination workout between Middleboro High and visiting Bridgeport Central (Conn.) took place during the preseason.
This marked the fourth season that Central coach Dave Cadelina has brought his FCIAC-based Hilltoppers to Massachusetts to conduct training camp drills and enjoy a cultural/social exchange with Middleboro, an idyllic suburban town of 20,000.
Bridgeport is the largest city in Connecticut, larger than even the state capital of Hartford.
Cadelina and Middleborough coach Dave DeFelice are former Bridgeport Central colleagues, with DeFelice having served as an assistant under Cadelina in the late 1990s. DeFelice is also a Central graduate.
Points After
St. John's Prep of Lynn, ranked sixth in the Boston Globe's preseason poll, was carrying 105 players during training camp.Weston will welcome back state Hall of Fame coach Bob Desaulniers, who has taken the last six seasons off from football to attend to full-time school administrative duties. Desaulniers recently retired from his career in administration. He replaces coach Rick Brissette at Weston.From the hard-to-believe department: Savio Prep, which won the Eastern Massachusetts Division VI Super Bowl just six years, was considering dropping football at one point late in the summer due to the lack of players in the program.Thayer Academy, which is arguably best known for having produced NHL stars Jeremy Roenick and Tony Amonte - from the same team no less - will take a 12-game unbeaten streak into the regular season as it looks to defend its first New England Prep School Athletic Council football championship since 1991.