The last time Everett High football players Sherwood Jonathas, Jean Bourdeau, Michael Thomas, and Jainyme Da Silveira were together on the field was the Division 1 Super Bowl in December at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
The temperature was about 30 degrees and heavy snow was falling, blanketing the turf field as the Crimson Tide fell short to Xaverian in the championship game.
Cut to Monday night at Manning Field in Lynn and the four Everett players were working out in 95-degree temperatures.
“That’s New England weather for you,” said Jonathas, who is practicing with his teammates for the Harry Agganis All-Star Football Classic that will be held July 14 at Manning Field.
The four players are excited about competing in the Agganis Game, an annual showcase for graduating football players. The game is named is memory of Harry Agganis who starred at Lynn Classical High School and BU and played for the Boston Red Sox. Agganis died unexpectedly at the age of 26 in 1955.
“It’s an honor to be here with my teammates and some of the kids I played against during the year,” said Da Silveira, a 6-2, 275-pound offensive tackle who will attend St. Francis Xavier University in Canada.
Michael Thomas is looking forward to playing one last high school game before heading to UMass/Dartmouth where he will continue his football career.
“It’s an honor to play football with the best players from this area,” said Thomas. “I think it’s going to be fun. It’s an honor to be one of the four players picked from Everett and to represent the school.”
Bourdeau, an All-Scholastic player, will be playing cornerback in the Agganis Classic. That’s the position he’ll be playing at Milford Academy in New York this fall. He hopes to be a cornerback in a Division 1 college program such as UConn or Michigan State.
“I’m happy to be here playing in the Agganis game,” said Bourdeau. “It’s a good experience and it’s fun getting to meet kids from different schools.”
Jonathas, a two-time Greater Boston League All-Star and recipient of the team’s Student-Athlete Award, will start at linebacker for the North squad.
“It’s an honor to be with these student-athletes from around Massachusetts,” said Jonathas, who will be playing football at the University of New Haven this season. “It’s especially meaningful for me to be playing football one more time with my three Everett teammates.”
Jonathas also renewed acquaintances with a few of his former Malden Cyclone Pop Warner teammates who are playing in the game. Jonathas was a standout for the Cyclones ‘A’ team that advanced to the New England finals in 2006.
The Everett foursome has been getting a lot of respect from teammates in the practices, understandable when you consider Everett High’s mantle as the state’s most successful program over the past two decades under head coach John DiBiaso. All four players wore their San Francisco 49er-like pants to practice Monday.
Jonathas said he’s grateful for having played three seasons under DiBiaso.
“He’s an amazing coach – I can’t put it into words everything he does for his players,” said Jonathas. “He helps you out a lot and he’s always there for you.”