Modern day football can be a complicated game. Checks at the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense, making the right reads and anticipating plays are just a few of the mental tasks players face at every snap.
The only way to get better is to do them at full speed. Which is one of the reasons the Swampscott High football team is very optimistic heading into the 2026 season.
The Big Blue return a large and experienced senior class, led by five senior captains who are all returning starters.
Third-year starting quarterback John von Barta is at the top of the list, since there’s simply no substitute for having more than 20 varsity starts under a signal caller’s belt.
“When you’ve seen it at game speed as often as John has, the game starts to slow down,” said Big Blue head coach Peter Bush, who has led his team to back-to-back Northeastern Conference Lynch division titles. “He reads the play very well and understands the concepts.”
Surrounding von Barta are capable pass catches, perhaps none more dangerous than senior captain Doyle Delano. He caught 22 passes last season and just recently committed to play Division 1 college football at Holy Cross.
A powerful 213-pounder, Delano is a versatile weapon who can play inside receiver, tight end, H-back and will impact the game on offense and defense with or without the ball under his arm.
“All Doyle want to do is win,” said Bush. “He’s a very intelligent football player and is going to do a lot of different things for us.”
Delano’s attitude personifies his entire senior class, which includes fellow captains Luke Michigan (WR/LB), John DiLisio (OL/DL) and Jack Duffy (WR/DB). The Big Blue have a lot of pride in their hometown and want to leave their stamp on the program’s legacy that dates back to 1906.
“We’ve been flying around. The goal of the preseason is to make sure we know what we’re doing and get after it,” said Delano.
The biggest question for Swampscott comes at running back, with lead dog Will Bush now playing at Assumption. There are a few candidates like Jamison O’Keefe and Will Ficken who have varsity carries under their belts. Whoever emerges will have the benefit of running behind a veteran line led by DiLisio (a rock at guard) as well as senior John Cogliano, Sam Morse and Dylan Lucas.
“In our league, and for anyone playing in New England, you have to be able to run the football,” Bush noted.
Swampscott was pretty stingy defensively last year, holding every opponent they faced under 30 points and allowing 15.6 ppg. on average. They’d love to continue that and have a ton of experience on that side of the ball led by Duffy (“He played every snap including special teams, in multiple games,” Bush lauded), DiLisio, Michigan and Ollie Riddell.
“You can’t coach the experience that these guys have,” Bush said.
It’s a relatively short training camp for the Big Blue, who open up with St. Mary’s of Lynn on Thursday September 10, just six days after their only official scrimmage. Their seniors can’t wait for it to arrive and know that even successful seasons tend to fly by.
“Cherish every moment is all I can say,” Delano said. “Coach Bush tells us every day to play every moment like it could be your last. As seniors, we know it’s our last time on a field all together and we want to make the most of it.”