MILTON — The best football teams are the ones which can endure all conditions, no matter how untenable.
Despite scorching temperatures Sunday, Kyle Coffin and his teammates were able to accomplish history. The junior fired four touchdown passes in the championship game, as Barnstable captured its first-ever Northeast 7-on-7 title with a 26-8 win over Abington during the Small School Divisional tournament.
“We’re very confident with our group,” Barnstable coach Ross Jatkola said. “I think we’ve got a lot of kids returning, but it’s really how hard they’re working. Since November, all the way up to now, it’s been nonstop work in the weight room. Conditioning, speed work, this group is completely all-in on everything we’re doing right now.”
In a field filled with some of the premier schools from Eastern Massachusetts and some out-of-state heavyweights, it was hard to pinpoint just who would emerge from its ranks at the top. The Redhawks used gritty play to knock off two solid teams in pool play with wins over Norwood and Walpole. However, they took things to a new level once the playoffs began as other programs began to wilt under the sun’s potent heat.
Facing one of the top teams of the day in Foxboro, Coffin connected with Isaiah Chisum for a walk-off touchdown at the final horn, sending his group to the title game with a 14-8 victory.
Then, during the championship with Abington, the Redhawks put the pedal to the metal, scoring three unanswered touchdowns to pull away early with a 20-0 lead. They would cruise from there.
With only a few weeks to go before the start of the regular season, fans down the Cape are starting to grow excited with anticipation. Jatkola and his staff may have an improved weapon with Coffin now under center, having changed positions just last year.
“I’m really excited,” Coffin said. “Especially with the work that we’ve all put in as a whole. From last year to this year at this time, the progress that we’ve all made as a group (is unmatched). Everybody is committed. There isn’t a single person who doesn’t have the same goals, and doesn’t want it. Everybody wants to get to Gillette this year. Everybody wants to win it, and we’re all invested in it.”
Meanwhile, Abington is looking to continue its winning tradition, with a few new faces leading the charge. It certainly helps when the latest member of the Reilly group joins the fold. After seeing his older brothers Eddie and Michael lead the Green Wave offense in past years, Jack Reilly now has his turn at quarterback, hoping to carry on his family’s legacy.
“I’m going to play some ball, have some fun,” Reilly said. “My brothers know that I’m better than them. In the backyard, I showed that. I don’t think there’s pressure. I’m just going to have fun with my boys on the field.”
As the showcase progressed, the Green Wave registered big wins over programs such as Sharon in pool play, before toppling Xaverian (school’s second team) and Wellesley in their playoff run.
Jack Reilly’s father, Ed Reilly, is now in his second year as head coach at Abington. He is keeping an open mind as his young group looks to return to the forefront of the South Shore League.
“I think every time we come into a season, everything is brand new,” Reilly said. “I feel like Coach (Jim) Kelliher has built this tradition where we are expecting to have a good season. Obviously you have that cliche – you take it one game at a time, but we’d certainly like to make as deep of a playoff run as possible with the ultimate goal of getting to Gillette.”
