Everett High football fans will get their first look at the 2019 Crimson Tide when they play in the opening scrimmage of a three-game jamboree Saturday at 11 a.m. at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Coach Theluxon Pierre’s team will host Haverhill High School, a highly competitive team out of the Merrimack Valley Conference. Somerville plays Portland (Maine) in the second scrimmage of the day followed by Revere versus Malden.
Everett is coming off a solid performance against Thornton Academy, considered the No. 1-ranked team in Maine. The Tide outscored Thornton with quarterback Duke Doherty leading an efficient passing game.
“I was pleased, but as a group, we have a lot of work to do,” said Pierre. “For that scrimmage, it was okay, but we’re hoping to where we need to be.”
The countdown has begun for the season opener against Springfield Central, a western Massachusetts powerhouse that won the Division 3 state title in 2019. Springfield, which has a very explosive offense, is favored to return to Gillette Stadium in December.
It will be interesting the size of the hometown crowd for the Springfield-Everett game. The Tide have annually drawn a huge crowd for the opening game.
“It should be a big crowd – they’re the defending state champions and everyone knows the Everett tradition here,” said Pierre. “People want to see good football. You have the best team in western Massachusetts and one of the best teams in eastern Massachusetts – it should be good competition with a lot of athletes flying around.”
Pierre said he will be following Everett football alumni competing on the college gridiron this weekend, including Mikey Sainristil who will make his debut for Michigan Saturday (7:30 p.m.) versus Middle Tennessee State.
Another team that Pierre will be following is Central Connecticut State University where former Crimson Tide players J.J. Collimon, Theo Zidor, and Duane Binns are likely starters for the 2019 Blue Devils.
“I’ll be watching all of our ex-players do their thing,” said Pierre. “That’s the best feeling, when they leave here and go to college and do big things. They represent our program very well.”