ATHOL — Expectations are high for the team playing its football at O’Brien Field this fall. 

There’s good reason for that. The Athol football team went 5-3 during the regular season and qualified for the MIAA Division 8 state tournament, where it fell to Hoosac Valley in the Round of 16. The Bears followed with a non-playoff win over Chicopee and completed their season sweep over rival Mahar on Thanksgiving to close out the season with a 7-4 overall mark.

Returning its quarterback and group of skill position players, Athol coach Josh Talbot said he has high hopes for his squad as they look to build off the foundation it set last fall.

“We’re not where we want to be right now for a variety of reasons but we’ve made a lot of progress,” Talbot said. “We’re optimistic on what our season can be. The guys are working hard to get better to get to our ultimate goal.”

Those goals? With the talent returning on the Bears roster, winning the Intercounty League North title and getting back to the state playoffs is what Athol is shooting for. 

“I would say a playoff berth and a league title would be a successful season for us,” Talbot said. “I don’t think we’re in a position where we could complain about that. We have some loftier goals — we’d like to host a playoff game — but that starts with winning a league title and getting in the playoffs.”

Winning the Intercounty League North starts with taking down Ware, which was won the league each of the last three years. Ware has not lost a game in league play during that run, going an unblemished 15-0 in a three-year span.

“It’s been a long time since someone besides Ware won that league title,” Talbot added. “It’s been a long time since Athol football won a league title. Obviously, that’s a top priority and goal for us. At this point, I have no idea what Ware has but until someone beats them, Ware is the team to beat.”

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Athol’s offense is led by two talented senior running backs in Sawyer Lefsyk and Hayden Barrieau. Lefsyk hit the 1,000-yard milestone on the ground during his junior year. Both are big, physical backs who opponents will have to plan for this fall.

“It all starts with the run game,” Talbot said. “Between Sawyer and Barrieau, we have two of the best running backs in our league. We should have the ability to run it when we want to.” 

Lefsyk said making a playoff run is the ultimate goal, and he feels they can do that based on the growth the team has shown through the preseason. 

“I’m hoping for a long, good playoff run this year,” Lefsyk said. “I’ve seen all the coaches more locked in on the small details and all the players were working hard and coming to summer workouts to get ready for this season. We want to add a playoff win to the school and win league.”

Barrieau, who along with being a key part of the offense is also a leader on defense, has seen the improvement from his team through the offseason and is also expecting a big senior season. 

“Everyone has been working hard,” Barrieau said. “We have a committed group. Seeing the level we have to get to to go past the first round and continue to play, we all want to be better come that time.

“We have a lot of guys happy to be here," Barrieau added. “There’s good vibes at practice. I want to play in December and go on a playoff run. That’s the main goal. It will take a lot of accountability and everyone realizing we all have to work harder. Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. We just have to hold each other accountable.” 

The Bears will be far from just a running team, however. 

Aidan Melanson returns under center for his senior season and showed last year his ability to put the ball in the air, throwing for over 1,000 yards. After rotating at quarterback the last few years, it’s Melanson’s job this fall and he’s taken full advantage of the opportunity. 

“He’s excited for his opportunity,” Talbot said. “He’s shared the QB duty for the last two years and he has the talent, along with the type of football we want to play, to set some school records this fall.” 

Melanson isn’t short on weapons. His top two targets last year were Raydin Sousa and Aaron Ouellet, both of which went over 500 yards receiving, and both are back in the lineup this season. 

Throw in players like Anthony Lopez-Hippler, Logan Cormier and Dom Pope and the Bears offense should be able to better their 25.5 point-per-game average from last year. 

“We have a ton of experience coming back at the skill positions,” Talbot said. “That group is incredibly confident and talented. They’ve grown up together and are looking to see this thing through. It’s a fun group to watch. We have some skill to make plays and sometimes that makes me look smart as a coach and I’m grateful for that. We have 10-12 skill guys who could start on a lot of teams. There’s only one football so now we as coaches have to figure out how to get them all the ball.” 

The questions come with an inexperienced offensive line. Dom North started at center last year while Dakota Fitzpatrick started on the line due to injuries toward the end of the season, but they are the lone two offensive linemen with experience for the Bears this season. 

“The challenge will be to build up the line play,” Talbot said. “We have a lot of holes to fill and will need some guys to step up. They have big shoes to fill after losing three high caliber high school football players.” 

Defensively, Logan McGrath and Barrieau are expected to be leaders, with Mat Gould a player who has flashed in the offseason at the ‘Mike’ linebacker spot. 

On the coaching side, Kyle Newton — the longtime Mahar defensive coordinator — heads over to Athol, where he’ll run the Bears defense. 

“Excited to have Kyle,” Talbot said. “Super excited with what he’s doing with our kids. He’s bringing us to a new level in his game prep and allowing our offensive guys to focus on offense and our defensive coaches to focus on defense.” 

With a big group of seniors and fresh off a strong season, there’s reason for the optimism with the Bears. Now, it’ll be on them to go out and prove it. 

“We have a lot of talented seniors who are contributing on both sides of the ball,” Talbot said. “I’m really excited to have this experience with this senior group. They’ve put in the work together for the last three years and I can’t wait to see what they do this year.”

Athol opens its 2024 season Friday night when it travels to Murdock at 7 p.m.