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FRAMINGHAM – With a new head coach, the Framingham High football program returns to Bowditch Field Saturday afternoon for its season and home opener.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. against Walpole High.
Admission is free for all for this game.
There was no fall season last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Flyers played a mini spring 2021 season.
This year there are about 90 players on varsity, junior varsity and the freshmen teams, under head coach Rob Ferrante.
His goal? “I want to continue moving FHS Football in the right direction by taking a positive, enthusiastic approach while creating a rewarding and memorable Football experience and a program players can be proud of,” said Ferrante.
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Ferrante said “one of the challenges going into this season is getting to know the younger players on the roster. We didn’t play in the Fall and when we did play a shortened season in the Spring, there were Varsity and Sub-Varsity Teams. The Sub-Varsity team made up of Freshmen and Sophomores was separate from the Varsity team of Juniors and Seniors. We did not use Locker rooms and the players were not coming in and out of the coaches room before and after practices like they would during a normal season. This made it difficult to get to know the younger players in the program. This year we are back to the traditional set up and have a Freshman Team and Varsity/JV.”
There are four captains for the 2021 team. They are Cody Coleman, Joe Ferrante, Timmy Sullivan, and Alex Lopez.
Coleman is the starting quarterback.
“Coleman is an “outstanding athlete that has a strong arm and is an elusive runner making him a dual threat with the ball in his hands,” said Ferrante.
Linebacker and wide receiver Ferrante is a “strong two-way player that has good speed, athleticism and plays with a motor,” said the head coach.
Sullivan, also a linebacker and wide receiver, is a “very good, versatile athlete with big play capabilities on both sides of the ball,” said Ferrante.
Guard Lopez is a “strong, Powerful blocker that is technically sound and understands the game,” said Ferrante.
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There are 22 seniors on the team. Besides the captains, they include Andrew Subramaniyam – #16. Andy Lopez – #60, Antonio Rivera – #8, Damerion Perry – #56, Emmanuel Mieses – #51, Ghandi Preval – #85, Gregory Rattray – #40, Griffin Yarmaloff – #50, Jake Quintin – #27, Jason Simon – #52, Jojo Reid – #75, Joseph Balboni – #6, Kevin Rodrigues – #55, Luis Marrero Sierra- #23, Noah Pearlman – #15, Roquib Lawal – #79, Shea Curry – #19, and Zach Semakula – #1
Only 13 players are returning lettermen, with just 5 players returning starters on defense and 4 players returning starters on officense.
Safety Semakula is “one of our top defensive players. … He is a returning starter that is an excellent athlete, understands concepts, picks things up easily and has great defensive awareness,” said Coach Ferrante.
Framingham is playing more Saturday games than Friday nights under the lights at Bowditch this season.
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When asked who will be the toughest competitor this season, Coach Ferrante said “I cannot single out one opponent on our schedule that will be tougher than another. They will all be challenges that we are looking forward to.”
Fans can also look forward to the traditional Thanksgiving rivalry game between Natick & Framingham. The Flyers host this year.
For the complete schedule of all Flyers football games visit the FHS Gridiron Club page.
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