Youth no excuse for Xaverian

Despite being a fairly straightforward query, the leaders of the Xaverian football team seemed slightly surprised when asked what the strength of the 2007 squad will be.

Senior captains Paul Asack and Paul Freeman pondered the question for a second before responding that it would likely be the speed of this year's group. Coach Charlie Stevenson thought it over even longer before providing a brutally honest answer.

"We punt and kick the ball very well," Stevenson said with a funny-because-it's-true chuckle.

"Honestly, Asack has a great leg. That's really going to help us because if we go three-and-out on offense, hopefully he can stretch the field out a bit for our opponents. Hey, if we can't maintain possession, at least we can make teams work with longer drives."

And there you have it. At a school typically bursting with talent, this year's squad plans to rely heavily on special teams.

"Well, it's not our intention," added Stevenson. "But it's a nice weapon to have."

First the facts: Xaverian graduated some supreme talent in the offseason, including Eriks Reks (Duke), Kevon Mason (New Hampshire), Greg Hyman (Bucknell), and Luke Chmielinski (Holy Cross).

But let's make one thing perfectly clear: Xaverian will do a lot more than just kick the ball well this fall. While college recruiters might not be flocking to Clapboardtree St. with as much regularity as in recent years (well, not yet anyway), these Hawks will continue to be one of the region's premier teams.

Oh sure, a young Xaverian squad might endure some growing pains given the rigid schedule it plays, but in a year in which the Catholic Conference gushes parity, the Hawks simply cannot be overlooked as title contenders.

Asack has been around the program long enough to confirm as much. Asked about the rumors of Xaverian's demise, he immediately deemed them false.

"We just got back from camp in New Hampshire and I thought this was the best year we've had of the four I've been in the program," said Asack, whose older brother, Zack, quarterbacked the Hawks to much success before taking his talents to Duke.

"Honestly, I think every year we just reload. I know everyone thinks Xaverian is going to be down this year, but we're going to come right back. We know the tradition of the program and we plan on keeping it going."

Those are confident words for a team whose nonleague schedule features four potential top 25 teams (Everett, Brockton, Waltham, and Bridgewater-Raynham) and two out-of-state powers (Salem of New Hampshire and St. Joseph's of New Jersey).

The kids in Westwood will be tested each night out. But, if nothing else, maybe the Hawks can draw from the knowledge of one of those opponents. Brockton entered the 2006 season with the reputation of being "a year away" from competing for a Super Bowl title and the Boxers endured a roller coaster season (one of the highs coming in defeating then-top-ranked Xaverian in Westwood) while qualifying for the postseason with a .500 record.

The Boxers progressed enough to make it to the Division 1 Super Bowl, where they fell to Everett.

Why then, these Hawks wonder, should they temper their own expectations just because of youth? For the veterans on the team, the ones that endured Everett's 31-6 shellacking in the first round of the playoffs last year, the goal is nothing short of the Super Bowl.

"Every person on this team is pushing someone else," said Asack. "We're doing everything possible to take the next step. Everyone here wants a conference championship or a (Super Bowl) title. We've got there before, so we're all just going to keep working to get back there."

And therein lies the theme of this year's team: hard work. It's pretty much the first word out of the mouth of coaches and players when you ask them about the 2007 squad.

The captains and the coach all utter the phrase, "busting our butts," at one point or another while talking about this year's squad. Stevenson nearly drops another word for the posterior before pausing for a second and adding, "We're working hard, okay? We've got a lot of young guys that I think have worked extremely hard. We're still looking to improve day to day, practice to practice, scrimmage to scrimmage, and game to game."

To that extent, Stevenson notes that his squad needs to correct some basic errors it made during Saturday's scrimmage with host Weymouth. He's most disappointed that his Hawks made some mental miscues at the tail end of long drives that prevented them from reaching the end zone.

A bad throw there. An ill-timed false start penalty there.

"That's what young teams do," said Stevenson. "If our young guys can learn from that and we finish those type of drives later in the season, then we'll have learned from it. That's really what our job as coaches is all about."

As he's talking, Stevenson looks up and spots former quarterback Brian Mann talking with three of Xaverian's potential signal-callers. The 16th-year coach jokes that he wants Mann to find some pads so he can sneak him into a game and the '96 grad (who went on to quarterback at Dartmouth College) jokes that he'll shave his goatee to make it happen.

In reality, Xaverian will likely employ a quarterback rotation as it boasts three trusty arms in senior Brian Mellett, junior Anthony Varrichione, and sophomore Alex Phelan. Stevenson said it won't quite be the type of "one-play-and-out" system Everett utilized a couple years back with a trio of quarterbacks, but that each of his young signal-callers bring different strengths to the table.

Mellett and Varrichione shared first-half duties against Weymouth and will likely be the go-to guys on opening night against Malden Catholic.

Easing their move into the starting lineup will be the presence of veteran backs in Freeman and Matt Guay, who shined while spelling Matt Shea a year ago. Anthony Boch can play tailback or fullback for the Hawks, while Asack adds athleticism at wide receiver.

Inexperience lies on the offensive line where four of the six potential starters are underclassmen. Seniors Tony Sullivan (6-0, 209) and Matt Richmond (6-1, 218) will provide the experience up front.

Defensively, it'll be business as usual for the Hawks. Freeman is a quarterback-hunting defensive end, while Asack is a magnet to the ball from his linebacker spot (and should have help around him in Boch and senior Colin Ross).

Freeman prefers to lead by example rather than be vocal with this year's squad. He's already pleased with what he's seen and can't wait to get back on the field.

"I remember the date of the last time we were on the field: Tuesday, November 28," said Freeman, recalling the date of the loss to Everett in the first round of the playoffs. "That's why I was so eager to get out on the field for the first full day of pads. Our guys came out inspired. and ready to hit.

"There's a lot of heart on this team. A lot of guys are ready to step up. A lot of the guys here were backups to seniors last year and their ready for their turn. We're going to be just fine."

Chris Forsberg can be reached at cforsberg@boston.com