We are just weeks away from kicking off preseason for the 2015 fall sports teams at Wellesley High School, and one of the teams gearing up for a new campaign is the Raider football team. Recently I had a chance to catch up with head coach Jesse Davis to get his thoughts on the upcoming season. The Raiders are coming off a 6-5 2014 campaign, a season in which they won 6 of their final 7 games after a tough 0-4 start. Davis however is quick to point out that this is a new season, “We don’t really carry over anything from last season. Our offseason focus is on getting ourselves ready to play football for this new season. Once the bus rolls out for our preseason camp we try and keep the focus on this team and what they need to do to get better everyday.”
Despite losing some key talent from last year, the Raiders do bring back a solid core with more than half their starters returning on offense (7) and defense (6), and Davis points out that with those numbers expectations are high not just for the starters but for the entire team, “We have high expectations for all our players, especially those who have experience on both sides of the ball. We are also looking for our sophomore class to play like upperclassmen and compete for positions in all three phases of the game.”
This year’s team will be captained by Jake Mohan and Griffin Morgan who both saw valuable playing time last season. Davis had high praise for his captains work thus far, and their leadership in the offseason, “Jake Mohan and Griffin Morgan have been doing a great job leading the team during the offseason. They have been working on their roles as vocal leaders of the team and we have been impressed with the work they have been doing.” In Mohan’s case not only was he a starter on defense a year ago but also saw valuable time at quarterback with injuries to starter Davis Wall. Davis had high praise for Mohan’s work in the offseason but was quick to point out that nothing is set in stone in terms of starters for this season, “Jake has had as a good an offseason as any player I have seen since my time here in Wellesley. He is physically and mentally ready to go. That being said we don’t name starters before the preseason. Everyone has to show up ready to compete and make our program better.”
The Raiders open their season at home Friday, September 11th vs an unfamiliar foe in Peabody. The Tanners are coming off a 6-1 regular season a year ago and a trip to the Division 1 North Semifinals before losing to Everett. Davis had high praise for his team’s week one opponent but was quick to point out that despite the unfamiliarity his team will treat preparations for this game just like any other game. “Peabody is an excellent football team who is coming off a great season. We prepare for Peabody like we would for any opponent. We will exchange scrimmage film and scout each other, but the focus for us will be much more on what we need to do to make ourselves better each day.”
Once again the Raiders will play a very tough schedule, not only going up against the always tough Bay State Conference, but also in the always challenging Division 2 South bracket, should they make the playoffs this season. Davis pointed out that there are no easy games on their schedule and his team will have to be ready if they want to be successful, “We open up agains two tough D1 football teams (Peabody and Framingham) and then we play teams in the Bay State Conference and then in one of the toughest Divisions in the state in D2 South. Every game is going to take our very best to have success.”
Lastly Davis offered up his opinions on the current playoff format, now entering its third year of existence. The Raiders made the playoffs in the first year, and then came up just short last season falling into the consolation bracket. “I am indifferent on the new system. I did not like breaking up the BSC because I felt that we had something special in our Conference. But I also see the benefit to the new format. It certainly has made our path more competitive.”
Wellesley Sports Blitz 