Old Colony Archives
Old Colony seniors make most of first, last chance
By Sean McCarthy, Standard-Times correspondent
November 15, 2006
Old Colony seniors Miller, Alves make most of first, last chance on football field
Nick Miller and Nick Alves didn't want any regrets.
And so, entering their senior year at Old Colony High School, the two signed up for the football team.
"When they started this summer they couldn't even run half a lap around the track," said Old Colony coach Dave Lamontagne, who has used them as linemen.
"I told them they'd be playing positions that have no glory. I told them they'd get stepped on, kicked, spit on, banged and bruised.
"Then get up and do it again."
Despite the bumps and bruises, they've gotten up every time. They have one more chance to do it again for the Cougars, who play host to Tri-County at 1 p.m. Saturday in their season finale. Both teams are 2-7, with Tri-County winning the first matchup, 20-6, on Sept. 30.
"This was my last chance to play football," said Alves, who's 5-foot-9, 210 pounds. "We had friends on the team who encouraged us. It's been a unique experience. I never thought I was capable of doing this."
"I always wanted to play," said the 5-9, 260-pound Miller. "I thought I would regret it if I didn't do it."
This is the first time either player has joined a sports team.
"They had no idea what the game entailed," Lamontagne said.
"Coach told us that the defense was based around us getting our butts kicked every game," Alves said.
And while they were supported by their friends to put on a uniform, they say that the experience has resulted in making many more friendships.
"We've made a lot of good friends," Miller said. "And it's been a lot of fun."
"These guys hang out with the other seniors all the time," Lamontagne says. "Sometimes they'll be hanging out for an hour or two after practice. I have to tell them to go home."
Alves and Miller credit one player in particular for their decision to join the football ranks – Ryan McAvoy.
"I enjoy playing and I thought they would too," McAvoy said. "They've developed rather quickly and they've inspired me to push myself even harder.
"I wish they'd joined the team earlier."
Alves and Miller had an additional reason to join the team.
Both have Lamontagne as a teacher in science and they knew playing for him would be a blast.
"I have Mr. Lamontagne as a teacher," Alves said. "He's fun to be around and he makes class interesting to say the least. He'll get you to learn something by any way possible. He goes above and beyond just to get you to understand something, and he's like that on the field too.
"He got more out of us than we thought we had in us. We couldn't have done this without our teammates and coaches."
Lamontagne pushed Alves and Miller from the first day of conditioning and they've gone from novices to formidable parts of Old Colony's lines.
"We were tough on these guys right from the summer strength conditioning," Lamontagne said. "We knew they weren't ready from a physical standpoint but they gave it all they could.
"I've been very pleased with their efforts."
Lamontagne describes their football responsibilities as "creating piles on the line of scrmimage so that the linebackers can make tackles."
The two usually combine for about 20 tackles a game.
"They've told me one thing all season," Lamontagne said. "'Whatever it takes coach.'"
Photo: Old Colony senior Nick Alves gets a grip on teamates during a defensive lineman drill. Alves and Nick Miller, who had never played any sport at Old Colony, both came out for the football team this year and have developed into starters.