Captains Jesse Gagliardi, Mike Wayland, Jack Showstead, Jonathan Chase, and Jimmy Mortarelli (Photo by Max Cogliano)Natick High School’s five football captains and their coaches say they’re looking to build on last season’s success while compensating for some significant senior losses.
Teams from Natick and other communities shared their outlooks at Recruiting Board’s recent Massachusetts High School Football Media Day held at Needham High School.
Coming off a 9-2 last season, the Natick High football team’s focus is on maintaining its trajectory rather than making sweeping changes. Coach Mark Mortarelli said their season goal is just “to get better every week… If we’re doing that, we’re taking point.”
For Jimmy Mortarelli, one of Natick’s five captains, the goal is winning a playoff game, something he, a senior, hasn’t seen the team do yet.
While things may be looking up for the Redhawks, the team did lose to graduation excellent players such as Sam Hubbarb, who finished his Natick football career with over 1,000 yards and nearly 20 touchdown (he will soon play for Endicott College). “We definitely had a great senior class—Sam obviously leading it as the MVP of the league.,” Jimmy Mortarelli said. “He really held down our offense, and when we needed him to play defense, he really dominated.”
But for Coach Mortarelli, students graduating is just part of the game. “We can’t replace Sam,” he said, but the team will count on new faces and returning ones to make their own marks. Natick High’s Varsity and JV teams have been practicing together to build chemistry and prepare younger players for the next step.
Jimmy expects the team will be led mostly by the seniors, but he said he’s excited to see what juniors Marco Mariano and Colin Bubonovich will do with more playing time than they got last season. Coach Mortarelli said he is looking forward to Jack Showstead and Jesse Gagliardi running the ball.
One thing the Redhawks are emphasizing is avoiding mistakes on he field.
“We’re a run-first team and we can’t turn the ball over. If we’re losing the field position game, those are the games we’re gonna lose.” Jimmy Mortarelli said. A key will be getting quarterbacks and receivers on the same page “as early as possible,” he said.
Coach Mortarelli echoed concerns about turning over the ball—citing that as a prime issue in the team’s loss to Needham last season. This season will be about getting more consistent on offense, cutting down on penalties, and ironing out “mental mistakes.”
The team has been prepping over the summer at its workout camp Monday through Thursday mornings, and through a passing league every Tuesday and Thursday at Framingham.
Natick’s team looks forward to taking on rivals like Walpole and Wellesley this season, and would love to avenge its loss last season to Needham—that was the team’s only regular-season defeat.
Of all the team’s successes, Coach Mortarelli says he’s most proud of their locker room culture and leadership—qualities he believes they have again this year. For Jimmy, he and his fellow captains are good friends, and when asked if this season would be as good as last year, he said, “Definitely, if not better.”
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