Rams revamp program
AD back as coach to change direction for Framingham State
FRAMINGHAM - The dire situation - four wins over five seasons - mandated a fresh new approach for the Framingham State College football program.
The result? The Rams' roster, numbering 70 strong coming out of preseason camp, features 60 newcomers, 34 of whom are freshmen. Eight new assistant coaches also are on board, under the direction of Tom Kelley, the college's longtime athletic director, who is back on the sidelines for his second tour as head coach. He served as head coach from 1982 to 1984.
Framingham State closed out a 1-8 campaign last fall with barely 30 players. The Rams kicked off their season yesterday afternoon against visiting Nichols College with a much healthier outlook.
"First of all, we had to get our numbers up," said Kelley, noting that fewer than two dozen players attended spring practice.
"You can't run a program at this level starting out with 40 players. We also had to upgrade our coaching staff - and that's not a knock at our previous coaches - and I was very particular. I'm a firm believer that if you surround yourself with good people, and I mean coaches, players, and support staff, good things will happen."
Kelley, who played on the college's first team in 1972, also has the support of college president Timothy Flanagan, whose administration has begun an overall upgrade of the athletic program that also includes the refurbishment of the football team's Maple Street fields to eventually incorporate lighting, additional seats, and a new press box.
It is a season of renewal both on and off the field for Kelley, who underwent surgery and radiation for treatment of prostate cancer that has been in remission for three years.
"I thought long and hard about coming back as head coach and I had to answer some tough questions," said Kelley, who took over the job last November and immediately began recruiting players and coaches. "I remember asking my wife [Jackie] last Halloween about the job and, shockingly enough, she thought it was a great idea."
His revamped coaching staff includes Bob Donovan, the former Natick High and Framingham State standout running back; Wellesley resident Ray Butler; and Kelley's son, Patrick, a former football most valuable player at Milford High.
The Rams' football cast resembles in part that of the 1991 movie, "Necessary Roughness," the story of the mythical Texas State University team that had fallen on hard times, had a new coaching staff and new players, and was booted back to respectability by a female field-goal kicker recruited from the soccer field, played by Kathy Ireland.
On the roster is former Rams women's soccer goalkeeper Ashley Baker, a fifth-year senior from Mansfield who scored three goals last fall on free kicks of 50 yards or more and who has been penciled in by Kelley as the team's extra-point and field-goal kicker.
(According to a spokesman for D3football.com, the first female to score in a college football game was placekicker Elizabeth Heaston of Willamette University in Oregon vs. in-state rival Linfield College in 1997. Heaston was an All-America soccer player.)
"Ashley worked at it all spring and all summer, and I can guarantee you that Ashley is a better placekicker than Kathy Ireland," Kelley said.
Add to the new and eclectic mix 6-foot-6-inch senior wide receiver Rob Scarpato, an All-State track star at Hopkinton High and a starting center on the college's basketball team. Yesterday was the first time that Scarpato suited up for a football game at any level.
"I always wanted to play football but I never did because I didn't want to get injured before basketball, which is my favorite sport," said Scarpato, an integral part of the spread offense. "But I don't want to look back someday and wish I had tried football. I've known the team and they know I'm athletic and can jump, and they've always hinted that I could do it. So this summer, I went to coach Kelley and asked if I could try out. I'm progressing, I think, and I definitely want to help out the program."
The Rams roster also includes freshmen halfbacks Mark Piccioli and Michael Richwein, former teammates at Ashland High who have transferred from Massachusetts Bay Community College; junior tight end Mike Cannistraro, also out of Ashland High; junior lineman Steve DaSilva, a graduate of Kelley's alma mater, Milford High; junior defensive back Sean McDonald, a Marlborough High graduate; and freshman linebacker Brian Peckham out of Natick High.
Kelley, who ran a vigorous opening practice that sent a message to his players, is measuring progress - his own and the team's - one day at a time.
"My health is great and I watch myself closely. I love going to the field. And I'm telling my players and coaches that our goals are short term.
"Right now, we're teaching these kids to practice hard and take pride in what we're doing." 