OVFL PREVIEW: Ravens hope to match lofty expectations

Photo courtesy Paul James

Last year start:
Varsity: 2-1
Junior Varsity: 1-2

Last year finish:
Varsity: League champions
Junior Varsity: Missed playoffs

Players to watch:

OL Jeremy Veres
DB Dave Nadin
DT Nick Simone
RB Eli Fera

Varsity

Essex Ravens varsity head coach Glen Mills isn’t taking the team’s status as reigning league champions lightly.

“We actually worked even harder this year. We started a month earlier in the off season … because we are the OVFL champions and we want to maintain that level of play,” he said.

Mills says the team, a season removed from beating the Cumberland Panthers in overtime for the title, is athletic, physical and full of returning players.

One area the coach says the Ravens are well-endowed is offensive line, stacked with 280-pound, six footers. Every member of last year’s line is returning.

Mills says the focal point of the O-line is former offensive rookie of the year Jeremy Veres. The coach says Veres is so dominant that sometimes it hurts his game.

“Sometimes (Veres) can be lazy and still dominate people but he needs to be in the mind frame …that you have to come here to be the best player you can be every single night,” Mills said. “That’s something I told him that we’re going to make sure he does. He will be the best player every single night he comes and that’s the expectation we have of him. “

On Defense, Mills says the team has a very talented backfield with 14 players returning from last year’s championship team.

One of those returners is Dave Nadin, a former OVFL defensive rookie of the year. Nain had 2 interceptions an 20 tackles last season.

Coach Mills is a staple in Essex. He played football for Essex High school and began coaching there in 1997. He became the varsity head coach of the Ravens in 1998 and has been at the helm ever since. During his tenure, Mills has led the team to five championship appearances and three titles.

He says Essex is a strong football community that expects success.

“It’s a great atmosphere to play here … the expectation is very high here,” he said. “We went 5-3 in the regular season last year and they were upset and I can understand that because the expectation is very high.”

This season, the Ravens start with Cambridge, a team they’re 10-0 against all-time. However, Mills emphasizes the parity of the OVFL.

“I’ll be honest, in this league nobody is an easy win. Any team at any time can take a game from you if you don’t come prepared to play,” he said. “It’s hard to keep (our players) from being cocky and arrogant and, at times, we need a good kick in the ass to understand that we’re not as good as we think we are and I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Mills adds that the expectation that Essex will have a good team spreads past the county limits.

“Everybody loves to beat the Ravens and sometimes our kids don’t understand how badly people want to beat the Ravens,” he said. “And it’s my job as head coach and our coaching staff’s to make sure our guys understand that we’ve got to come in here prepared for every team.”

Junior varsity

On the varsity side, head coach Chris Moore says he is already thinking the team has the makeup of a contender.

“We really improved our coaching staff and the depth of the kids is much stronger this year,” he said. “We have a bunch of different packages. We’re going to be awfully hard to scheme against because we can do many different things.

A good batch of returning players coupled with a strong pee wee contingent makes Moore think his team will make some noise in JV.

Most of his returning players are on the defensive side of the ball, which Moore expects will, to some extent, carry the team early on. Highlighting the defense is defensive tackle/end hybrid Nick Simone

“He’s back and definitely is a force in the middle. Simone’s a very powerful guy, plays all over the field and he can do a bunch of different things for us,” Moore said.

As for offense, like their varsity counterparts, Moore says the JV team has a big offensive line. They’ll be trusted with protecting returning back Eli Fera.

Fera had 2 touchdowns and 597 yards rushing last season and added another touchdown receiving. According to Moore, the back grew 3 inches and gained 15 pounds during the off season.

“He’s definitely going to be a force this year. Last year he ran for about 600 yards as a grade 9. We predict he’ll probably go over 1000 yards this year,” the coach added.

The JV Ravens start the season against the Cambridge Lions. The Lions lost in the championship game last season and Moore says they’ll prove a good test.

“We’ll find out exactly where we stand off the bat playing a team that got all the way to the finals last year and from all accounts they’re a pretty strong team again this year.”