By Cary Shuman
On a historic day in Winthrop High School athletics when the town honors one of its greatest athletes and coaches of all time, the Vikings will kick off their 2025 season Friday (6:30 p.m.) at Miller Field at Coach Bob DeFelice Stadium.
Two hours before kickoff time, a ceremony will be held recognizing the late Robert “Bob” DeFelice, who coached the Vikings for 17 seasons.
Winthrop will play its first game on the newly dedicated field against Tewksbury, a perennial state title contender out of the Merrimack Valley League.
“Tewksbury is a very good team, they’re pretty big, and you can just tell they’re well-coached,” said Winthrop High head coach Jon Cadigan after viewing film of the opponent.
Cadigan said his number one priority in the preseason was “trying to get our guys (such as the offensive and lines) as many reps as they can.”
“We are inexperienced on our offensive and defensive lines going into the season and there have been some highs and lows,” said Cadigan.
Starting lineups for Opening Night
Charlie Ferrara will make his first start at quarterback for the Vikings. He will be joined by running backs Nick Milano, Seth Sacco, and Sean Dolen as the leaders of the offense.
“I feel really good about our three running backs,” said Cadigan. “Nick was our starting tight end last season, and we’ve moved him to running back. He’s very tough to tackle one on one. Seth and Sean are returning starters, and they bring a lot of experience. Both players had big junior seasons.”
Up front, Cadigan will call on center Roy Konopaska, guards Riley Moccia and Christopher Beshere Jr., tackles Chris Messina and Jeremy Pena. Michael Ferrara will be the tight end.
Michael D’Ambrosio and Steve Calla will be the rotating, starting wide receivers.
On defense, Cadigan will start with Beshere and Moccio at end and Messina at nose tackles.
The linebackers will be Dom Spinale, Nick Romano, Seth Sacco, Desmond Cassidy and Sean Dolen. Spinale will also handle all placekicking and punting responsibilities.
Michael D’Ambrosio is the starting safety while the cornerback rotation includes Nick Correia, Steven Calla, and Nathan Previte.
“We’re just trying to find a consistency that we need to compete at a high level – that’s where we are right now,” offered Cadigan.
As usual, the Cadigan Contingent is getting respect from the pollsters, with Max Preps predicting that the Vikings will be a playoff-qualifying team.
Winthrop fans will certainly miss Herald sportswriter Dan Ventura’s weekly predictions Sweet 16 poll as “Danny V” has retired after a highly successful 40-year career in journalism.
Romano scores lone TD in
Vikings’ 6-2 win over Manchester
Winthrop defeated the Hornets, 6-2, in three quarters of football. Running back Nick Romano raced 72 yards for a touchdown while Manchester recorded a safety. The Vikings also played well in a scrimmage versus East Boston.
Coaching staff is set
Jon Cadigan’s coaching staff returns with defensive coordinator Mark D’Ambrosio, offensive coordinator Alex Smith, defensive/offensive assistant James Fucillo, offensive line coach Chris Ferrara, defensive line coach Brad Cormier, and assistant Nick McCarthy and Vinny Sparacino as head coaches of the junior varsity team. Assistant coach Derek Brodin, who did an outstanding job during his tenure, is not returning to the program.