Part 1 of our Crystal Ball HS football predictions for the '22 season

Sep. 8—It's all back.

The passion, the glory, the enthusiasm, anticipation and intensity. The sounds of helmets and pads crashing into each other. The smells of grilled meat, fresh popcorn and fried dough. The spectacle of bands playing and cheerleaders cheering in the name of school spirit. The crowds, the electricity in the air, the c hase for league supremacy and playoff berths ... it's all back.

High school football has returned, and the games begin for real tonight.

As per their annual tradition, our North Shore high school football experts, executive sports editor Phil Stacey and assistant sports editor Matt Williams, give their thoughts and predictions below by answering six questions today, and another half-dozen tomorrow.

1. Who are your top three picks to lead the North Shore in rushing yardage?

PHIL STACEY

1. Henry Wright, Ipswich. I don't see a lot of true bell cow backs in the region, but Wright absolutely fits that bill. A do-it-all type with pistons for legs and a mentality that won't let him go down on the first (or many times, the second) attempted tackle, is as comfortable knocking defenders back between the tackles as he is beating them with his speed on the outside. I'd say 200-plus carries and 1,250 yards sounds about right.

2. Carson Browne, St. John's Prep. There's a lot of mouths to feed offensively at St. John's Prep, what with a wealth of talent in the receiving corps and quarterbacks who tend to be multi-dimensional (run/throw). But the backfield is unquestionably Browne's, and the Peabody native, now healthy, should take the ball and run with it — literally. A heavy workload is something he embraces.

3. Jason Codispoti, Swampscott. Admittedly, I'm going out on a limb here: Codispoti, a Big Blue captain, is moving into the backfield this season after previously lining up wide and catching passes. Still, his athleticism, ability to hold onto the football and avoid tacklers make his position change not only smart, but will also bear plenty of fruit for Swampscott.

MATT WILLIAMS

1. Carson Browne, St. John's Prep. What can Browne do for you? Feast on light boxes when the Eagles show slot formations ... given the talent at receiver, defenses have to pick their poison, and Browne will be this year's pigskin hemlock.

2. Troy Irizarry, Bishop Fenwick. Moving downhill like a bowling ball, I'd say Irizarry had a chance to double the 571 yards he posted last year. He's that solid.

3. Sam Nadworny, Masconomet. New season, same family toting the mail up in Boxford. Sam's a bit taller than his graduated older brother Mat and may not run with quite as much violence, but he'll still punish tacklers and adds great vision and breakaway speed. He could easily double his 496 yards from '21, too.

2. Who are your top three picks to lead the North Shore in receiving yardage?

PHIL STACEY.

1. Costa Beechin, Bishop Fenwick. Something just tells me he's ready to bust out ... or more accurately, BUST OUT. Fenwick loves to spread it out offensively and get the ball in the hands of their playmakers in space, and the increased workload Beechin will see this season puts him in prime position to not only haul in a boatload of grabs, but pile up yardage and make frequent trips the end zone.

2. Connor Cronin, Marblehead. Unquestionably one of the best athletes you'll see on the gridiron this fall, Cronin can work out of the slot, the backfield, or split out wide to produce when his number is called: 71 catches for 1,049 yards and 11 touchdowns last season drive home that point. The only reason he's not listed first? The Magicians tend to manage his regular season workload before ramping it up in the playoffs.

3. Jesse Ofurie, St. John's Prep. In a crowded group of fleet-footed, sure handed teammates that include Stephon Patrick, Marquese Avery, University of Georgia-bound Joenel Aguero, Santi Quiceno and even tight end Mason McSweeney, Ofurie could wind up as the Eagles' top outside threat. He's got the ups, route-running acumen, and the ability to separate himself from defensive backs.

MATT WILLIAMS

1. Chris Colby, Pingree. Maybe the North Shore's best pure deep threat averaged more than 20 yards per catch last season and will be even more dangerous with a year of experience under his belt. Pingree starts late (Sept. 24) and it'll take him maybe three games, at most, to catch the rest of the area on the weekly leaderboard.

2. Elijah Burns, Swampscott. The Big Blue's leading receiver last year with 659 yards is also a great red zone target, with eight touchdown grabs. With Xaviah Bascon graduated, you've to go assume Swampscott will throw more and Burns has the skillset to make the most of those extra touches.

3. Eli Batista, Peabody. He had one play away from Boston College-bound Everett DB Christian Zamor in a recent scrimmage ... and it was a 50 yard TD catch. There aren't too many Zamor quality cover guys around these parts ... the only thing that might keep Batista from a record breaking season is Peabody's depth at receiver spreading the ball around.

3. Which three quarterbacks will throw for the most yardage?

PHIL STACEY

1. Shea Lynch, Peabody. Blessed with size, a big arm, agile footwork and a mind that scans the defense and checks off his options, Lynch the type of signal caller every coach hopes to land. He gets rid of the ball quickly, rarely forces throws, and is adept at getting the pigskin into windows where only where his intended receiver can get his hands on it.

2. Aidan Driscoll, St. John's Prep. Provided the junior transfer from Austin Prep remains the starter (there were 4 QB candidates in training camp), he should put up big numbers if for no other reason than the resources he has around him. Coach Brian St. Pierre asks for a lot out of his quarterbacks and Driscoll will need to prove himself daily, but should he do so he'll see the end-of-season numbers there.

3. Miles O'Neill, Marblehead. Having served his apprenticeship under the Northeastern Conference's Player of the Year in 2021, the big (6-foot-5) man under center steps into a great situation with the defending Division 3 state champions and possesses what it takes to, in the words of the late Hank Stram, matriculate the ball downfield behind his big arm.

MATT WILLIAMS

1. Miles O'Neill, Marblehead. Check the recent scrimmage video of another Connor Cronin circus catch on Twitter ... an entire season of that should be fun for all Marblehead's opponents. O'Neill has a rocket arm and he'll chuck it deep where only Cronin can get it with great success.

2. Shea Lynch, Peabody. He set every Peabody High passing record for a single game, single season and career as a junior. There's no reason to think he won't be ever better with another year of savvy under his belt, three of his top four wideouts back and dangerous wideout Jayce Dooley transferring in. This has the potential to be the NEC's most buzzworthy passing attack since Swampscott's '02 pinball machine.

3. Travis Voisine, Danvers. Quietly posted more than 1,100 yards last season and will get to take snaps in even more throw-friendly formations this fall. I love what Owen Gasinowski brings to the table as a slot receiver, and defenses will have to deal with Aris Xerras' steaming down the middle ... it all adds up to big potential for Voisine and the Falcons.

4. Name the three teams that will have the stingiest defenses.

PHIL STACEY

1. Marblehead. A question like this is usually best answered by the number of playmakers a team has, and the Magicians have a surplus. Finn Maniaci, Sam Annese, Christian Pacheco, Jack Anashansley, Shane Keough, Eliot Pluss, Nick Whitaker, Aidan Tardie, Zander Danforth, Andy Palmer, Aven Denbow, the above mentioned Cronin and O'Neill ... it's an impressive group.

2. Pingree. All coaches demand effort and execution; head coach Mike Flynn and his defensive coordinator, Paul Swaim, seem to will it out of their players with constant encouragement from the sidelines on every play. The result is the Highlanders are generally quick off the snap, even quicker to the point of attack, and bring down ballcarriers without giving up many chunk plays. Having guys like Chris Colby, Theo Bachelder, Hudson Wideman, Jaylon Richardson, et. al. certainly helps.

3. Danvers. You can't teach toughness, but you can help bring it out of your players by reinforcing the benefits of getting into the weight room and making their natural strength and ability that much better. That's become a staple in Danvers as long as head coach Ryan Nolan has been around. With a revamped and more experienced offense likely to score more points, I think the Falcons' D will continue to do their part.

MATT WILLIAMS

1. Marblehead. I say it every year but, really, until someone scores some points against a Jim Rudloff run defense they have to remain in this spot; their first unit has allowed 20-plus points in a conference game only three times in the last six seasons.

2. Bishop Fenwick. The Crusaders scored so much last year that their defensive prowess got a big overlooked, but they've got playmakers at every level and assistant Dave Dugan is one of the best in the business.

3. Essex Tech. Just a sneaky feeling that the Hawks are going to button up defensively. You have to love what P.J. Norton and Marco Schirripa bring to the table as far as toughness and laying the wood.

5. Name three defensive standouts who could be among the North Shore's leading tacklers this fall.

PHIL STACEY

1. Josh Heath, Essex Tech. The press box spotter at Hawks' home games will be passing along a familiar refrain to the announcer this season: 'Tackle by Heath'. A linebacker with good instincts, Heath thrives on contact — he sees plenty on every play as an offensive lineman — and Commonwealth Athletic Conference foes will bear the brunt of that as he piles up takedowns against them.

2. Henry Wright, Ipswich. For the same reasons that make him so successful lugging the leather out of the backfield, Wright is equally relentless as a heat-seeking linebacker. Rarely (if ever) leaving the playing surface, I'd bet a lot of Thanksgiving turkey that he'll surpass his 130 solo tackles from a year ago.

3. Matt Sopp, Beverly. Analytics have taken over a good chunk of the sports world, but there's still something to the ol' fashioned eye test. My two orbs tell me that Sopp has 'it', that combination of fire, tenacity and grit to win the majority of his 1-on-1 battles to bring ballcarriers down. Whether he's coming off the edge at OLB or dropping back into coverage, I'm envisioning a triple-digit tackle season for the Panther captain.

MATT WILLIAMS

1. Luke Connolly, Bishop Fenwick. There's no question he wants to hit as hard as his older brother, Jake, the Salem News Player of the Year for Fall 2 in 2021. The junior captain will have plenty of opportunities to do so over the next few months.

2. Joenel Aguero, St. John's Prep. It's too hard to lead the way in tac,kles playing safety. Tell that to Minkah Fitzpatrick or Rodney Harrison ... you get a scholarship to the University of Georgia because you're capable of changing the game like those aforementioned All-Pros. Aguero is that good.

3. Henry Wright, Ipswich. Agree with Phil that Wright's encore defensively this fall will be outstanding. A prime candidate for CAL Baker Defensive Player of the Year.

6. Name three players who aren't currently household names, but will be by season's end.

PHIL STACEY

1. John Ertel, Hamilton-Wenham. Because he primarily handed the ball off last autumn, Ertel wasn't one of region's most recognizable signal callers. That should change as he's now a focal point not only for the Generals offensively (where I expect to see him run the ball often as well as throw it), but also in the defensive secondary, where his speed and hands could put him among the INT leaders locally.

2. Quinn Rocco Ryan, Salem. Long-time Salem fans certainly recognize one of the Witch City's most famous surnames (as well as his sobriquet). Now, his sophomore captain — you read that correctly — could be in line for a breakout campaign after showing his dual threat acumen at the skill positions as a freshman on varsity last season.

3. Sam Nadworny, Masconomet. I thought about putting him among the top rushers in the area, where he'll no doubt pile up the yardage alongside fellow RB and team captain Will Shannon. It's natural that more people might be familiar with his older football-playing sibling, Mat; but now that he's graduated the spotlight will be coming for this talented junior.

MATT WILLIAMS

1. Corey Grimes, Salem. I didn't list him as a potential leading passer or rusher because I think he'll split both evenly ... to the delight of Witches fans. Grimes has a huge arm, a tough-to-tackle-build and a toughness that can't be taught. He's in for a big season.

2. Devin Lebron, Essex Tech. Another dual threat who might be too balanced to raid the Crystal Ball leaderboards. His balance will instead lead to touchdowns and a playoff berth for the Hawks ... an all-the-more satisfying result, to be sure.

3. Owen Gasinowski, Danvers. Had over 800 yards from scrimmage as a sophomore and is now physically mature enough to handle the ball more often. He could be the centerpiece of the Falcons' offense in a Where's Waldo? type role, shifting from the slot to the outside to the backfield ... it should be fun to watch. — Check back tomorrow for Part 2 with six more questions and predictions from Stacey and Williams

Contact Phil Stacey

@PhilStacey_SN

Contact Phil Stacey

@PhilStacey_SN