“We’re physically and mentally tough,” said 16-year Natick coach Mark Mortarelli. “We take on the personality of our leaders and they have a blue-collar, tough mindset. They are kids that can handle adversity and those traits are valuable in any sport.”
Bay State All-Conference linebacker/tailback Jack Showstead is back, two-way lineman Mike Whalen (6-4, 295) is a top-tier prospect headed to Buffalo, and Mortarelli’s son, James, is another leader on a first-team defense that has allowed just 7 points in a 3-0 start.
Calling the shots for that elite defense is a former Milford great, defensive coordinator Nick DiAntonio, who is preparing for another trip to his alma mater Friday when the 10th-ranked Scarlet Hawks (3-0) host the No. 5 Redhawks.
“We’ve been really excited about this senior class for some time,” said DiAntonio, the lead linebacker on Milford’s 2006 Super Bowl team and a 12-year assistant at Natick.
“They’ve been playing together since they were little peanuts and now it’s like having more coaches on the field. With [James Mortarelli] or Showstead, if you tell them something once, you know it’s going to be checked appropriately. We run a pretty complex scheme so it’s comforting as a coach to know those guys are going to make the right adjustments.”
While Natick has nearly 100 players in the program, including the nonvarsity ranks, Milford has found success despite relatively low numbers. Head coach Dale Olson and his brother, Dana, have only 32 non-freshmen in the program and just lost star senior Jason Stokes (collarbone) to a season-ending injury.
The Olson brothers coached Millis to tremendous success with consecutive Division 8 Super Bowls in 2016-17, so they’re familiar with managing smaller rosters, and they’ve continued to work their magic since taking over at Milford in 2020.
Returning multiple offensive linemen, including massive tackles Ryan Burns (6-5, 265) and John Raney (6-5, 265), has helped the Scarlet Hawks score tough road wins at Leominster and Wellesley the past two weeks.
Dana Olson coordinates a defense that graduated seven starters after a 5-6 season. He moved defensive ends Dylan Burns and Ethan Charczenko to linebacker and added agile freshman Wellerson Dos Santos to an aggressive defensive line. After defending two pass-heavy teams, the Scarlet Hawks are looking forward to a physical battle Friday.
“This is going to be a totally different animal. It’s going to be an off-tackle game where you can just get downhill and play football,” Dana said. “We told them they’ve kind of been playing a 7-on-7 schedule and now we’re going to play big-boy football.”
Offensively, sophomore quarterback Vince Loscerbo has stepped up with senior Joey McGee (elbow) out for the year. Josh Buentello (6-1, 205) is off to a hot start as the lead back and freshman Ryan Atherton will have to fill the ample shoes of Stokes.
Milford might have flown under the radar in the preseason, but Dale Olson said internal expectations never changed. The seniors believe it’s on them to maintain the success established by the Olson brothers over the past five years.
“You don’t want to be the senior class that messes up the culture,” said Burns, a Middlebury-bound lineman.
“We have great game plans each week no matter what because [the Olsons] watch so much film and prepare us. If they put us in the right spot, as long as we don’t mess it up, we’ll be fine.”
Milford’s tough Hockomock League schedule comes after a Week 5 matchup at No. 12 Barnstable, and Natick takes on No. 4 King Philip next Friday. The goal for both programs is to be healthy, battle-tested, and clicking by the time playoffs kickoff in November.
For the seniors on Natick’s star-studded defense, staying on the same page shouldn’t be a problem.
“There used to be some confusion with our defense. Now we’re really one unit,” said Whalen. “With coach [DiAntonio], we spend so much time mentally preparing that the physical part comes easier. We know what we’re doing at all three levels, and it just comes down to playing football to the best of our ability.”