Rookie Quarterback Leads the Rams

DUDLEY – There are some significant firsts on the horizon for the Shepherd Hill Regional High School football team this fall.

First-year head coach David Buchanan will look to first-year starting quarterback Nolan Legere to lead his 2021 Rams this season. “(Senior) Nolan Legere (5-11, 165) is coming in as our new starting QB and he’s done a great job in the offseason,” Buchanan said. “We are so excited to see what he can accomplish.”

Buchanan is not the only person eager to see what Legere can do behind center.

“I’m expecting big things,” Legere said after a recent practice. “I want to lead. I definitely need to work on that. I want to bring this team together. I think I bring energy and leadership, too. We need to just bring everybody together. We’ve got some good guys on this team and good talent. We just need to bring them together.”

During the MIAA’s pandemic-prompted Fall II season from late February to mid-April earlier this year, the Rams went 2-3. Despite this result, Buchanan expects improvement come September.

“We expect to have a solid football team this year,” Buchanan said. “We’ve got a great group that has worked hard all summer.”

Legere said his outlook for the team this season is high. “I’m expecting over five hundred, hopefully,” he said. “Our strengths are definitely more of an outside finesse offensive game. Some passing and some outside stuff. We have energy, togetherness, and a whole lot of finesse on offense. We’re definitely more run heavy, but we’re definitely going to mix that outside passing in for this year.”

The Rams have a solid core of returning players into the fold. Junior Romeo Holland (5-10, 205), senior Zach Christenson (5-11, 180), and senior Alexander Siwik (5-11,175) are all key returners for Shepherd Hill on offense and will be the team’s primary ball carriers. Senior Justin Generella will lead a young offensive line, Buchanan said he is “a key piece for us on defense.”

From this core group, Holland returned as an all-star last season. “Romeo is a special player, with great speed and physicality,” Buchanan said. “He plays football the right way and will be a leader for us on offense and defense.”

Speaking of the defense, Christianson, a starting linebacker for the Rams, said they will be a tough defense to play against.

“Just overall, the Shepherd Hill culture is to be tough,” said Christianson, who is also one of the team’s standout running backs. “We’re a physical defense and our goal is to stop the run game. What makes us tough on the run is our guys in the box. They just keep everything shut down. Runs up the middle and stuff like that.”

Like Legere, Christianson wants to get better as a leader and to win more games than last season. “I want to improve on what I did last season. I want to help get our young guys better and that means I have to get better as a leader. I just want to have a good season as a team as a whole.”

Buchanan expects a number of underclassmen to emerge as major contributors to the team this season. “We expect some big things out of Aidan Watson and Jaden Mello in our defensive backfield, while Niall Keegan, JD Robson, and Charles Karp should all be key pieces for us up front on offense and defense. Nicholas Dell’Ovo and Brady Gelineau also have the potential to be two more in a long line of great linemen for us.”

Buchanan is backed by an experienced coaching staff that will help the Rams get over the .500 mark this season. His assistants are Scott Holland at defensive coordinator, Tyson Bailey as outside linebackers and running backs coach, former Worcester State standout, Josh Ponce De Leon coaches the offensive and defensive lines, Brian Gelineau coaches the tight ends and defensive line and Jordan Kierman will be working with the quarterbacks and the defensive backs.

Buchanan has not named team captains, but plans to use game captains at least to start the season. Perhaps Legere and Christianson could eventually grow into those roles. Time will tell.

The Rams will play Westborough, Marlborough, North Middlesex, Leominster, Algonquin, Wachusett, Shrewsbury, Grafton, and Tantasqua in MIAA Division 4. The schedule is to be announced. A full roster will be announced after the coaching staff issues game shirts after numbers and positions are determined. The final depth chart will be ironed out following the team’s preseason.

Shepherd Hill Regional High School Football

At a Glance

Nickname: Rams

Affiliation: Midland Wachusett Division A

Colors: Maroon, Vegas Gold

2020 (Fall II) Record: 2-3 (2-2 league)

Home Field: Carmignani Memorial Field

Coach: David Buchanan (first year)

Assistants: Scott Holland, Tyson Bailey,

Josh Ponce De Leon, Brian Gelineau, Jordan Kierman.

Captains: None (game captains)

Schedule