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Hornets making most of extra practice week before Thanksgiving showdown

Friday, November, 16 By Nick Curcuru
Correspondent

It all comes down to one game.

After 10 weeks of the high school football season, the Commonwealth Athletic Conference Small title has come down to a Thanksgiving day matchup between Manchester Essex (8-2, 3-1 CAC) and Georgetown (8-1, 4-0 CAC). The winner of this rivalry will move on to the Division 4 playoffs to face the Boston City League South champion Brighton. The loser will see their season come to an end.

With an extra week of preparation and a brand new turf practice field being put to use, the Hornets like the way they are shaping up.

"Our preparation has been going well," said Hornets head coach Mike Athanas, whose team went to the postseason last year despite losing to Georgetown on Turkey Day. "We have been watching film and we have had a good week of practice. Plus our new practice field has given us a boost, the players have been excited to practice on it."

The Hornets new practice field on Brooks Street is the third field they have practiced on this season. The team spent most of the season practicing at Memorial field in Essex before moving to Sweeney Park in Manchester.

Even with the change of venue it is business as usual for the Hornets.

"We are going about the week like a normal week of practice, and we will start the cycle over again next week," said Hornets senior captain Scott Forsythe, who has eight catches for 164 yards and a touchdown this season. "But we all know that we are preparing for a big game. The cycle may be the same but it has been a little more intense."

Forsythe also pointed out that the team still remains loose and is still having a good time, but the aura of a big game is still present.

Both the Hornets and Royals get an extra week to prepare for the game, a situation that could pose a problem for some teams derailing their focus and rhythm. The Hornets, however, do not see this as a problem.

"The extra week is something that we have got used to, especially the older kids," Athanas said. "We haven't had any problems keeping an even keel, we are focused and ready to go."

Not only are the Hornets accustomed to the extra week of practice before Thanksgiving, they are using the extra practice time to their advantage.

"We have got more time to fine tune our game plan," Forsythe said. "This week we are spending a lot of time on strategy. Next week we will put it all together and go full tilt. We will be more physical."

One advantage that the Hornets have is the ability to win close games, The Hornets have won five games this season by seven points or less and believe that the close game experience will help them greatly.

"We have a lot of big game experience from both this season and last season which is big," Athanas said. "We are prepared and we are working hard every day."

The Hornets close game success has them feeling confident because they know that their matchup against the Royals will be a close one.

"We are feeling optimistic right now," Forsythe said. "This is a big game and it should be a close game. We know that we can win close ones and because of that we are very confident."

All in all, Athanas is excited that his team is playing in the biggest Commonwealth Conference game this season, and he is even more excited that it is taking place on Thanksgiving day.

"This is what Thanksgiving football is all about," Athanas said. "Two good teams going at it in a win or go home situation. It doesn't get any more exciting."