GRAFTON – After dominating their opponents for three weeks, the undefeated Grafton High School football team will be meeting their first big challenge of the 2021 fall season when the Marlboro Panthers invade the Grafton High School field tonight.

So far this season, the Gators have steamrolled over their competition by throttling Nashoba Regional, 41-21; routing Auburn, 49-14; and blanking Westborough, 50-0. However, Gators’ head coach Christopher McMahon expects the Panthers to be a formidable opponent come game time.

“We know this is a very good team, who are extremely well coached,” McMahon said about the 3-0 Panthers and longtime Marlboro coach Sean Mahoney. “Coach Mahoney is one of the best coaches around. We know they’re going to be prepared. They’re going to be physical. And they present us with a huge challenge in all three phases of the game, that’s for sure.”

Although Marlboro has not been as dominant in their wins, they were still able to smash Tantasqua Regional, 27-0; they outscored Shepherd Hill, 27-21; and edged out Doherty Memorial, 21-19. McMahon said winning close games on a consistent basis is an indication of a good team. “They’ve shown the ability … to win those close games,” he said. “That’s the trademark of a good team. That’s the trademark of a team that does not quit. That presents a challenge, too. They’ve been in close games and have found ways to win. They know how to win.”

McMahon said the Gators’ first challenge will be to stop Marlboro’s talented quarterback, Jason Knollenburg, who leads a high-powered option-style offense. Knollenburg, when he decides to hold the ball, averages nearly 15 yards per carry with two rushing touchdowns this season. “Their quarterback is really good,” he said. “He’s a multi-talented player. He can throw it. He can run it. When they have thrown it, they’ve had success. He made some big plays last week against Doherty. He did it a week before against Shepherd Hill. He’s shown a real ability to be a dual threat running the ball and throwing it.”

The Gators will also have to contend with Marlboro’s two talented running backs. Miguel Borges is averaging nine yards per carry for 243 yards and four touchdowns. Nealon Stemple has put up 157 yards and two scores for an average of 5.2 yards a pop. “Miguel Borges, he’s an excellent player,” McMahon said. “He really is. Their whole backfield is really good. Their two backs are excellent. They run hard. And when they get to the second level and into the open field, they have a chance to go the distance. It presents us with a huge challenge, especially with their style of offense, the option.”

In order to stop this vaunted dual option attack, McMahon said each player on defense must play smart “assignment” football. “The option puts a lot of pressure on the kids because they always have to make the right decisions defensively. You know, if one guy doesn’t do their job, Marlboro can make a big play. They did that against us last year. They popped a couple big plays last year.

“When we face the option, we have to play assignment football,” he said. “Everybody has a specific assignment and they have to do it.  If one guy doesn’t do his assignment, that’s when things break down. It’s assignment football this week, probably more than any other week. Playing assignment football is the most important thing, as well as meeting their physicality.”

Grafton looks to match Marlboro’s physicality with size and experience up front, in the linebacker corps and in the secondary. “Defensively, I’d like to think that we’re prepared and we understand what the other team is going to do,” McMahon said. “We always want our kids running and getting to the football. So, that’s a big emphasis of ours. We have three main goals for every game. It’s always to know your assignment; get to the football and make plays. That’s what we always talk about regardless of the opponent.”

Senior captain Doug Landry at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, serves as the quarterback for the defense at middle linebacker. “Doug is a leader and very versatile,” McMahon said. Landry, who is also a wrestler for Grafton in the offseason, provides tremendous athletic agility in the defensive backfield and has a nose for the ball.

Senior Adam Hillerstrom, a 6-foot-2, who also plays basketball, gives the Gators good size at cornerback as well as playing wide receiver. McMahon said he also gets strong defensive contributions from senior John Hamawi, and juniors Mark Kogan and Ryanne Chibani. All three players also play tight end as well. “They give us great athleticism and depth,” McMahon said. “Defensively, I think our players have done a good job playing well in most of the games.”

As for the Gators’ offense, McMahon’s team has an explosive ground attack of their own. “I think we have the ability to make big plays in the running game,” he said. Senior captain Tyler Dimond leads the Gator’s vaunted ground game at the quarterback position averaging 18.8 yards a carry with 451 yards and seven touchdowns. Sophomore Tyson Thomas is close behind with 345 yards for an average of 11.9 yards per rush and seven touchdowns, including five in the first half against Auburn.

“We’ve had some explosive plays this year; some long runs,” McMahon said. “And it’s been pretty consistent. We’ve shown we’ve been able to make big plays when we need to. We’ve shown the ability to maintain drives, which is important. You want to be able to play ball control and make those plays when you need them. Whether that continues, that’s why we play.” 

For any football team, a productive ground game always starts with solid offensive line play. Grafton is no different and McMahon said the strength of the Gators rushing attack starts with his two outstanding tackles, senior captains Ricky Leach and Charlie McMahon. Both Leach at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds and McMahon at 6-foot-2, 230, anchor the Gators’ line with size and experience. Next is junior Cooper Berube at 6-feet, 220, who switched from fullback last season to play guard. Coach McMahon said the move “changed the whole dynamics of our offense. He brings a whole different dimension to our line with his size and athleticism.” Playing the other guard position is senior Nick Flores at 6-feet, 230, who brings two years of experience and strength at that position. McMahon called Flores one of the hardest workers on the team. 

Other important pieces on offense include senior captain Matthew Bittel, who provides versatility at both running back and wide receiver. Other important depth pieces include junior Liam Donagher and senior Jayce Walker at wide receiver. Finally, Landry also serves as the team’s fullback. As lead blocker, with his toughness and ability to make crushing blocks to open holes for ball carriers, McMahon called Landry the “key” to their running game.

“We want to run the ball,” McMahon said. “We have size and athleticism which has helped us through the first three games. We’re going to need that size for sure on Friday.”

Kickoff is tonight at 7 p.m. at the Grafton High School field.

Grafton High School Football

At a Glance

Nickname: Gators

Affiliation: South Worcester County A

Colors: Green and White

2021 Record: 3-0

Coach: Christopher McMahon

Assistants: Rich Paquin, Dave Wooten, 

  Kevin Coonan, JP McGrath, Ryan Jack

Captains: Matthew Bittel, Tyler Dimond, Doug Landry,

  Richard Leach, Charlie McMahon