'Morale High' for Medfield Football Team Heading into Game with KP

Coming off an 18-0 loss at home to Oliver Ames to open the season, the football team has turned in a strong week at practice as the Warriors prepare for Friday night’s game against King Philip Regional in Wrentham.

“Morale is high,” said Medfield head coach . “The kids know the bar is set high and have responded. This week in practice we focused on tackling, execution, clock management and bettering our pursuit angles.”

Last week, Medfield (0-1, 0-0) lined up against .

This week, Medfield’s defense will be challenged in the running game again as it faces King Philip’s Charles Ruffin.

“Charles Ruffin is a dominant tailback with explosive speed,” said Ormberg. “We will need to contain him and pursue to the ball in order to succeed.”

For Medfield to be successful, Ormberg said it goes beyond containing Ruffin, which is a must.

“We need to tackle better,” Ormberg said. “We need to be more efficient in the red zone on offense. We need to continue to execute on special teams.”

, is a team that Ormberg says has “some younger players in key positions on offense, but they have an aggressive defense with experienced linebackers and a front [defensive line] that gets off the ball.”

Medfield’s Ife Adebayo led the team in tackles last week vs. OA, totaling 11. The captain also recorded a sack. Other defensive highlights included interceptions from both Matt Casieri and Arthur D’Angelo.

Offensively, Medfield quarterback Alex Opiela completed 13 of 23 passes as the team gained 110 total yards of offense.

Ormberg knows facing another Hockomock League team will present similar challenges that came against Oliver Ames.

“[King Philip is] well-coached, athletic and disciplined,” Ormberg said. “They run an efficient offense and possess an aggressive defense. They have an excellent play-action package and they are successful running the back out of the backfield into the flats. They are a seasoned team coming off an 8-2 year. The kids at KP know how to win. It will be a challenge for us, one we look forward to.”

Ormberg, Brian Lee Go Way Back

Ormberg said he is very familiar with King Philip head coach Brian Lee, partly because they both graduated from Walpole High School, but mainly because they have been best friends for decades.

“I graduated from Walpole High in 1989 and Brian Lee, head coach of KP, graduated from Walpole in 1990,” Ormberg said. “Brian and I have been best friends for over 25 years … It'll be an emotional game for us both [Friday].”

Ormberg said he and Lee both played under John Lee, Brian’s father, who is in the Massachusetts Coaches Hall of Fame and that Friday’s game will feature familiarity between not only coaches but its players.

“This game features players on both teams that played in the Norfolk, Millis, Medfield Pop Warner programs, so the coaches of the A team, Bill Crabtree and Andy D'Angelo will see a large contingency of Viking football alums on the field,” Ormberg said.

Kick-off is 7 p.m. at King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham.