Season Preview

As head coach Rick Marcella closes out his second decade at the helm of the Bridgton Academy football team, he is making sure that the program continues to follow the mission statement of the school in preparing students to succeed both academically and athletically in college and later in life.
This fall Bridgton starts the year with a shorter roster and has installed both a new offense and defense. Coach Marcella, who is closing in on his 100 career victory at Bridgton is quick to point out that despite fewer players this year, “we have the right 50 guys.” Marcella attributes his success not just to the very talented players he has had in the past but also to the coaching staff he surrounds himself with saying, “we have great talent on both sides of the whistle.”
Joining Marcella on the coaching staff are three Bridgton alumni: defensive coordinator Joe Daley ’77, defensive line coach Matt Burgess ’88 and, Patrick Shairs ’02 is the defensive backs coach. Drew Inzer is in charge of the offensive line, and Rick Kramer is the quarterbacks and running backs coach.
The football team started working as soon as they stepped on campus; Coach Marcella gets his players in a routine saying, “we are getting our players ready for college, so we are holding them accountable, starting from day one with preseason.” Marcella added, “ask any recent graduate, if their college football preseason camp was anymore challenging than the one they faced at Bridgton Academy, and they will say they knew exactly what to expect in a college football preseason camp.”
In three of the last four years the football team has finished 5-5, including last season, the only exception came in ’07 when the Wolverines went 8-1. Looking at the schedule Bridgton will once again be tested, as their schedule is composed of college JV teams, with Navy Prep being the only prep school on the slate. Marcella will not look past any team, “all our focus is on the team we are playing that week, we cannot afford to look ahead.”
The Wolverines open up their season on the road against Husson College in Bangor, ME on the 13th. They then travel to Curry College, a team that lost their season opener for the first time in three years, and is a perennial DIII playoff team. Curry is coached by Skip Bandini, a 1977 Bridgton graduate. The following week Bridgton will take on Holy Cross, a D-I AA team, with the Crusaders varsity team having an off week Coach Marcella expects to see many varsity players. The only home game on the schedule will take place on October, 3rd against traditional rival Springfield College. Following Springfield, will be Navy Prep, where Bridgton will look to avenge a loss from last season. Bridgton then takes a road trip to face four Ivy League opponents in Columbia, Brown, Yale, and Dartmouth. Bridgton closes out its season with a game against renewed rival St. Anslem’s and Coach Pat Murphy, who is a Bridgton alum, class of ‘91.
Coach Marcella speaks highly of his squad starting with the offensive line, which he says, “has the potential to be the best ever at Bridgton Academy.” The line includes Viondy Merisma (Waltham, MA), Kyle Empey (Middleboro, MA), Kevin Colon (Lowell, MA), and Jacob Lane (Harrison Valley, PA). The running backs consist of a trio of talented and unselfish players in: Melikke Van Alstyne (Salem, MA), Phil Bigelow (East Orange, NJ) and Nick Finger (Millbrook, NY). The receiving core is made up of: Brett Parenteau (Manchester, NH), Jordan Murphy (Ayer, MA), Keith Williams (Simi Valley, CA), Ethan Barnes (New Bedford, MA) and Scott Benzing (Brookfield, CT). When speaking of the receivers Coach Marcella says they are a very talented group, which catch the ball well. The quarterbacking will be done by Kenny Brock (Burlington, NJ), Coach Marcella says that he mixes a strong arm with solid running ability. Backing up Brock will be Nick Marcella (North Bridgton, ME), who will also see time at wide receiver.
The defensive line is anchored by Brent MacLeod (Winchester, MA), and Andrew Kelley (Pittston, ME). The defensive ends include: Cameron Ziny (Natick, MA), Jack Wright (Forest Hill, FL), and Brian Wilcox (Jericho, VT). Linebackers include: Ryan LaFromboise (Ludlow, MA), Stephen Goniprow (Barrington, RI), and Chris Higgins (Cumberland, ME) who is the third member of his family to attend Bridgton Academy. The secondary is home to Alain Lundi (Ontario, Canada), Brandon Murphy (Branford, CT), Jonathan Balcacer (Peabody, MA), and John Moscatel (Lexington, MA), who is the only two way player on the team. Coach Marcella is quick to point out that there will also be key contributions by others, especially on special teams.