Aug. 29—MANCHESTER — Five things we learned during Friday night’s Queen City Jamboree:
1. Bishop Guertin is better than expected.
It’s dangerous to put too much stock into anything you see during the preseason, but BG looked very good in its 14-0 victory over Goffstown, a team that has as much talent as any program in the state. BG played with good energy, seized the momentum early and never gave it back.
Quarterback Matt Santosuosso and defensive lineman/linebacker Jakob Baker were among the players who stood out for BG. Santosuosso had a TD run and interception when the Grizzlies were down by seven points and driving. Baker recorded a sack and blocked a punt.
“More than anything else, I was probably surprised with the defense,” BG coach John Trisciani said. “How the defense played and the tackling. That’s always what you’re worried about — the tackling.
“We also came into this knowing we have to run the ball. Running the football at BG has been an issue probably for the last 10 years, and we ran it decent at times.”
2. Milford’s Caden Zalenski is one of the best players in Division II.
Zalenski, a 5-foot-11, 225-pound senior running back/linebacker, missed most of last season with an injury, but made his presence felt when he returned the jamboree’s opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown against Pembroke Academy. Milford went on to win that matchup 20-0
“He broke his foot in the first game of the year last year,” Milford coach Keith Jones said. “Against Hollis, he had 17 carries for 198 and three touchdowns on a broken foot. Didn’t get to play the rest of the year. He broke it during practice the Wednesday before the game. When he woke up the next day (after the game) his mother made him go get an X-ray and he had two broken bones in his foot. Tough kid.”
3. Bedford has one of the top quarterbacks in the state.
His name is Joe Mikol, he’s a three-year starter and he looked the part during Bedford’s 21-12 triumph over Salem. Salem led 12-7 before Mikol led the Bulldogs on the game’s final two scoring drives.
“I think he’s just more comfortable with what we’re trying to do, and to be honest I think we’re trying to play some better complementary football,” Bedford coach Zach Matthews said. “We put some real focus into our running game in the offseason. I think we want to run the football better. That forces teams to put more people in the box and that gives him some preferable looks in coverage. If they’re dropping seven all the time it’s tough to throw the football. If you’re able to establish the running game with some physical running, now all of a sudden those safeties and corners are stepping up and you’re getting some bigger windows to throw the football.”
4. A freshman has the keys to the Souhegan offense.
That’s right. Freshman Romy Jain will be directing the Sabers’ offense this fall. Jain ran for two touchdowns and passed for another to help Souhegan defeat Manchester Central 18-13 in the jamboree’s third game.
Austin Jain, Romy’s older brother, was Souhegan’s quarterback last season, and helped the Sabers win the Division II championship.
“Obviously he (Romy) has some physical attributes that allows him to play, but the thing that we’ve been most impressed with since the summer has been his confidence and his leadership and just his command of the huddle — how he treats his teammates,” Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett said. “It’s like he’s been here for a few years. You don’t see that out of a whole lot of freshmen.”
5. Memorial must show more discipline.
The Crusaders are blessed with some outstanding athletes this year, but if they expect to contend for a playoff spot they’ll have to play smarter football. Memorial was hit with multiple unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties during its 16-14 win against Trinity. Penalties like that will be tough to overcome against good Division I teams.
“I thought we had a lot of good energy, good spurts,” Memorial coach Rob Sturgis said. “Offensively, we scored on two out of the four drives and we got down to the 15 on another one of them. Can’t have penalties. Discipline’s a big thing. We’re on the verge of being a good team, but we need to have the discipline to battle through the ups and downs. We still ride the momentum wave way too much.”