Longmeadow Football: A Decade of Dominance

Growing up in Texas, high school football reigned supreme. Playing against some of the best competition in the country and playing on a high level, even a national spotlight, sets the stage for some intense rivalries. I was involved in football in Texas only up to middle school but I could see the heavy emphasis on football there. I moved to Longmeadow Massachusetts the summer before my freshman year of high school. I went from moving on to a large 4A school (schools are ranked from 1A to 5A, depending on the student population) in Texas to a measly 1100 person high school. My expectations were presumably low going in.

After I found out about the program in Longmeadow I discovered the program was on the up swing. The Longmeadow Lancers had won back to back Western Mass Super Bowls and had an optimistic outlook for the next season. This was a pleasant surprise to me. My apprehension melted away.

I found out that in the early to mid- nineties Longmeadow had shown a mediocre track record and was far from the power-house I had come to know. The community really got behind the team and Lancer pride was in full swing when my family arrived.
Over the last 10 years, (1997-2007) Longmeadow has not missed one Western Mass/Central Mass. Super Bowl. Although the players have some part in this, most of the success can be attributed to an outstanding coaching staff. The head coach, Alex Rotsko was a Division II coach at the collegiate level prior to his current stint at the helm of the Lancers.

Rotsko brought with him a college type mentality and a playbook to go along with it. Since he began coaching at Longmeadow he has posted an impressive 7-3 record in Super Bowls and it has gone undefeated for the third time in four years. In his 14 seasons he has displayed a passion for the game and a dedication for hard work and discipline.

In one word I can sum up what playing football at Longmeadow means. Tradition. Coach Rotsko states before every season that “Tradition doesn’t graduate” and in many ways he is right. I interviewed some of my former teammates who shared the same sentiment. Jim Pacella, a 2003 graduate and co-captain of the 2002 Super Bowl Championship team, had this to say regarding the program, “When I was in seventh grade I remember going to the Super Bowl because I played for the town and they had not gone to a Super Bowl in a while and seeing the players I though they looked huge but it made me want to be a part of it.” Pacella went on to say, “We went to (the super bowl) all four years I was at Longmeadow and I am proud to be a part of something that special and I feel lucky to have a ring.”

In 10 years the Longmeadow Lancer football team has lost one home game. Prior to the loss, the team had gone 7 years without a loss at home and has not lost since. So much can be attributed to the coaches as well as the community for this feat.
Organizations like the Gridiron Club, (an organization to better the program run by parents and members of the community, also alumni) support the program and work towards the betterment of it. The parents of the program want their children play football at Longmeadow because of the reputation it has built.

Being a juggernaut type program is something members of the community can stand behind. Going back to the beginning of the article, the town of Longmeadow resembles to me a small Texas town. A town that is football crazy and come Friday night revolves around the bright lights of the stadium.
For Thanksgiving, the Lancers play their traditional Turkey Day game against the rival Spartans from East Longmeadow (a completely separate town) and in keeping with tradition typically win. My sophomore year of college I went home and went to the game and they lost. Thanksgiving felt different without a Lancer victory to go with my turkey dinner. I was not alone in my feelings either. Much of the community makes its way out to a great majority of the games and the Thanksgiving Day game especially.

Both of my younger brothers played for the Lancers and my youngest brother is currently attending Longmeadow High School and will be a senior next year. Playing football at LHS has a legacy feel to it. If your older brother plays for Longmeadow you see the games and want to be a part of it. I interviewed both and asked them what they thought about the legacy aspect.

My brother Drew Michael, a 2004 graduate and member of back to back Super Bowl Championship teams said, “Coach Rotsko prepares his teams in a way that makes you want to work hard to be the next team to win one. It’s like you don’t want to be that team that all of a sudden doesn’t make it and I think the expectations of the community are the same. It will be a shock when Longmeadow ends their streak and doesn’t go to the Super Bowl.”

Michael also went on to say that, “With a coach like (Rotsko), his expectation is to have a Super Bowl team every year and I think it really motivates guys when it is almost like we let him and the other coaches down if they don’t make it one year. I think the town is the same way. It means a lot to people when you say, “I played football at Longmeadow”. It goes without saying that you played for a good program.”

In the 2007 season, Longmeadow will try to extend its current unbeaten streak to 58- 0 and accomplish a state record 11 straight Super Bowl berths.

R.K. Michael