RallyNorth.net

Unbeaten, unscored upon Salem freshmen football rolling along

Thursday, November, 01 By Jean DePlacido
Correspondent

There are no stars on the unbeaten, unscored upon Salem High freshmen football team.

Rather, said head coach Deni Gaito, they're just a bunch of hard working players who are having a lot of fun and accomplishing an incredible feat.

Through the first seven games, the L'il Witches have put 195 points on the scoreboard | and allowed none.

"We're not too big and not very fast, but we play well together," said Gato, who has been coaching with the Salem High program for four years, the last two as head coach. "We keep preaching about everybody getting to the ball quickly. These kids practice hard every day and play hard.

"We don't go out there thinking we will shut out every team, but with each one I can see the team's confidence growing. It is not realistic in a 10-game season to think you're going to shut out every team you face. The main priority is to play well and put everybody in position to make the plays."

John Robinson assists Gato with the team's offense, while former Salem High star tailback Matt Horgan is the club's defensive coordinator. Anthony Silva is another coach who aids the team in all phases of the game. Gato gives his three assistants a lot of credit for the L'il Witches' success.

"It's good to see our freshmen playing so well," said varsity head coach Scott Connolly, who is looking forward to coaching this group in the future. "There are 30 kids on the team and the coaches play everybody.

"This is the first freshman team I've seen really click. They came together as a team early on, and they respect each other. Everybody is having fun and doing a terrific job." Nobody is looking ahead to a perfect season just yet, especially Gato. But this group has accomplished something no other Salem High squad has ever done at any level.

The team's final three games are at Lynn Classical this Friday, home vs. Gloucester on Friday, Nov. 9 and at Beverly on Saturday morning, Nov. 17.

"We have a very tough schedule ahead against very good teams," said Gato. "We try to keep everything in prospective. It all starts on Monday when they start preparing for the next game. We tell the kids 'Don't let this be your only success.' There is a lot of work to do in the offseason before they go up to the varsity level. They have to be willing to put in time in the gym to get bigger and stronger.

"There is not one guy on this team that is looking for glory. Any accomplishments belong to the whole group. In every game, we've had different people step up and contribute. It's been a lot of fun, and we're really happy to see these kids playing so well."