It may not look like quite like the big-screen version, but Medford is set to have its own rendition of Friday Night Lights.
As its 10-month offseason finally comes to a close, the football team returns to action tonight with a scrimmage at home against conference foe Bowdoin. The Jumbos' lone preseason game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. under the lights at Bello Field.
While the game doesn't count toward either team's official record for 2007, there's definitely a hint of competitiveness in this year's Jumbos, who are still feeling the sting of losing four of their last five last season. The skid sunk the Jumbos to a 4-4 final record after a promising 3-0 start.
"We definitely want to go out and try to win," said senior quarterback Matt Russo, who returns this season to play out his final year of eligibility. "But we're really just trying to get a look at our game plan, and to stay healthy, which is also really important. We haven't really watched any film of Bowdoin, and we haven't talked about them much - we're just going to go out and do our thing."
On Russo's side of the ball, the Jumbos look to be in excellent shape. Along with the return of the second-year quarterback, who made his debut as a senior last year and returns in '07 one credit short of graduation and with his eligibility intact, several other skill players are back to energize the offense.
Most notably, the Jumbos return two of the NESCAC's top 10 rushers. Senior Brendan Georges picked up 463 yards on the ground for Tufts as a junior, sixth in the league, while junior Will Forde had a 329-yard season, good for tenth.
"Our core skill players are still there," Russo said. "We've got a couple running backs, and a couple fullbacks. Those guys are working hard and they're ready. I think our offense will be better - I think we'll be smarter and more ready to go."
Russo himself turned in a 92.3 passer rating, the NESCAC's sixth-best, in his first season at the helm of the Tufts offense. He struggled with his accuracy at times, throwing for six touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but showed improvement as the season went on, as he began to find his comfort zone in the system.
"I have full faith that Russo will do the job for us at quarterback," said junior David Halas, who caught four of Russo's six touchdowns last season. "He was good for us last year, and he's only going to get better with more experience. He has everything we need to compete and be successful."
If the Jumbos are to find success this season, it all starts tonight, with Tufts facing a Bowdoin team that they dismantled last year. The Jumbo offense ran wild over the Polar Bear's defense in last season's Oct. 7 matchup, picking up 246 yards on the ground. Forde gained 70 yards and Georges added 61, as Tufts prevailed 16-6. Even though tonight is just a scrimmage, the Jumbos would love to recreate that success.
"The first goal of every game is to get the win," Halas said. "We want to set the tone for the season, and it's good to start that tone with a win. Everything we do, whether it's a practice, a scrimmage or a game, we're out there to do the best we can."
After this weekend, the Jumbos begin their regular season, and they're set to start off with the same three teams as last season - Hamilton, Bates, and then a rematch with Bowdoin. Tufts started 3-0 against that opening slate last season before struggling in the last five games. While the outlook looks good for the season's first three weeks, Russo and the Jumbos are not about to get carried away.
"Really the goal is just to go out and win every week," Russo said. "When we're done, if we're 8-0, that's great. But we don't want to get ahead of ourselves and talk about going undefeated and winning a league championship. The first goal is to get a win against Hamilton next Saturday, and after that, it's a long season. We just take them one at a time."
