Whaler football head coach Joe Perry knows his team has plenty of skill, but today at 5 p.m. he is looking for some of his players to step up as leaders against the Nauset Warriors after a difficult 28-6 loss last week to the Mashpee Falcons.
“How are we going to respond to last week?” Perry asked. “Who is the guy who wants the ball? Are we going to play a more physical style? Who is that guy who will lead this team? Is it a senior, a junior, the bench?”
Perry said the offense needs to be more consistent for four quarters compared to what it has shown through the first two games. He said they need to do a better job of getting the ball into the hands of running back Justin Bloise and wide receiver Makai Bodden.
“We have a lot of receivers there is no doubt about that but we need to play more physical football and that is what we have been saying to our guys this week,” Perry said. “The defense we played against Mashpee versus the defense we played against Dennis-Yarmouth was not the same. They didn’t look like the same guys to me. So if the defense comes back on strong we should be okay.”
Perry said his team is still trying to find their swagger after losing last week and is hoping a home game can spark it.
“I told them earlier in the week have we paid our dues to be the big dog on the porch,” Perry said. “Are we doing what it takes on and off the field? Are we doing what teams like Mashpee are doing all summer long and the weeks leading up to games? There are no excuses from those teams. We have to find the football players.”
Warriors head coach Bruce Strunk said the key to slowing down the Whalers is by limiting the big plays and sustaining long drives to keep Nantucket’s offense off the field.
“I am impressed with their team speed,” Strunk said. “They do a great job on the perimeters. Their quarterback is pretty dynamic. They have a couple of very fast running backs and a couple of big receivers. The thing about teams like Nantucket is they are going to get better and better each week. If they played Mashpee later in the season it would be a different game.”
“It will be tough to eliminate the big play but that is what we have to do. Offensively we need to control the ball and keep their defense on the field. It keeps their offense off the field. We need guys to step up. I told our guys Wednesday they need to grow fast. We don’t have one senior on our offense but these guys who we do have are playing varsity football now. The key for us is to grow a little bit each practice, each rep, and each game.”
The Warriors have a young team, with more freshman starters (four) than seniors on the team (three) overall. The Warriors are 0-2 this season. They lost to the Pembroke Titans 42-0 on Sept. 10 and followed it up with a 19-8 loss to the Hopkinton Hillers last week.
“We don’t have a lot of depth. When we played Pembroke they are shuffling guys in and out each series. We had two lineman who didn’t leave the field,” Strunk said. “We grew up a little bit last week. We were beating Hopkinton at halftime. We just ran out of juice. Lack of depth can kill you in the second half.”
The Warriors will lean on 6’4, 195 pound junior quarterback Dillon White (number three) in this game. White is in the midst of his first season as the Warrior’s quarterback and plays free safety for Nauset as well.
“He is growing in his first year as quarterback and his arm strength is developing,” Strunk said. “He throws a good ball. Then he is a solid safety for us. For a big kid, he moves really well.”
Sophomore running back Logan Julien (number 12) will figure to see a bulk of the carries for Nauset and will be running behind a young offensive line anchored by three juniors in Alex Leighton (number 54), Nick Voll (number 65), and Raven Bennett (number 52).
Defensively Strunk says the strength of their unit is the linebackers. Daniel Forsythe (number 23), Duncan Lowery (number 45), and Corey Vendetti (number 17) make up the group.
