The Triton Vikings Football team has turned overa a new leaf this year. So far, they have lost only two teams in the league, and their head Coach, Paul Sobolewski, along with his brother and assistant coach, Bob Sobolewski have been collaborating to give the players the gameplans they need to succeed.
The team prepared all summer in the off-season and their hard work is paying off. This has been proven by the amount of strength gained ing the weight room and the aggression displayed upon the gridiron.
Triton football has been on a rollercoaster for several years with ups and downs and new coaches building up a new team, but the Vikings have accomplished many things this year. While playing against Amesbury they took home a win against their rivals for the first time in seven years as part of what was a 3-0 start with wins against other teams.
The team has been putting in all of the work and the hard work is paying off. The Vikes take on Newburyport tonight for a game that is very important to the program. There are also some star players who have made it into the Daily News at least once a week, Running back Jayden Tores, kicker and wide receiver Liam Friis, tight end Carl Lucy, and left end Anthony Navaroli as well as the veteran line have been stars.
But what is the team doing differently this year to accomplish this record?
“I didn’t get here until mid-July last year. Everyone was just trying to get the program established and we had a rocky start,” said head coach Paul Sobolewski. “But in the off-season everyone was committed to the weight room. And as a team we have gotten so much stronger, and with strength builds confidence.”
Senior player Anthony Navaroli agrees.
“I think we improved as a team by strength training and dedicating work outside of the sport to personal development. The most valuable skill for a team’s success is mental grit and passion,”
The Vikings’ first game of the season was a home opener against Hamilton-Wenham where the offensive line proved that they were the strongest point on the field helping end the game with a 37 to 6 win
The team’s first away game was one of the most important of the season as they were determined to lift a curse. After a nail-biting game against cross-river rivals Amesbury, the final score was 30 to 22 with Jayden Toress putting the nail in the coffin with the final touchdown in the last minutes.
After the Amesbury game, Triton was gifted with a well deserved bye week in preparation for Manchester-Essex. During the break, some players and coaches decided to scout out Manchester in person on Friday night. They were met with a student section predicting that Triton would lose by over 40 pints, with Manchester-Essex players taunting Triton coaches. Triton was more than happy to prove them wrong and scored 16 points while only allowing eight.
The two following games were met with heartbreaking defeats against North Reading and Lynnfield, but seniors kept this in the back of their minds going into the game against Ipswich this past Friday
“After a tough loss like Lynnfield we keep the team motivated by showing them the improvement that we have had this year and by becoming a family,” said Sobolewski. “We lift each other up.”
Ipswich suffered a crushing defeat, 36-6, which gave Triton confidence going into tonight’s game against super-rivals Newburyport.
