Hawks football looks to build on last season’s experience in 2026

The fall of 2025 was a trying one at times for the Waltham High School football team.

However, there are plenty of silver linings to draw inspiration from. The upside of having underclassmen forced into roles of high responsibility is the accumulation of experience, which will serve them well throughout their football careers. 

Hawks who would not have seen the field in a normal season of good health now have the confidence that they can go out and make life tough for the opposition.

This is what head coach Sean Brackett and his troops will rely on as the 2026 campaign gets underway.

“Clearly, we are returning many players that got significant varsity experience last year,” Brackett said. “Last year served as a sort of rebuilding year for us, as we battled numerous injuries to starters and played a lot of freshmen. We are hoping that experience leads to a large leap for us this year, as the majority of our team is returning, healthy, bigger, faster and stronger after an offseason in our workout program.”

The Hawks return 80% of their offensive line from last season, with Servituer Vincent, Jack Speakman, Stevie Rando and Nate Bakyayita manning the trenches, while newcomer Calum Pratt rounds out the unit. Vincent is the anchor of this group. He received honorable mention DCL Honors last year as a junior and recently received an offer from Bentley University, giving him the opportunity to remain in Waltham for college.

The skill positions boast loads of experience as well, with running backs Austin Lucente and Jake Recine having received the bulk of the carries last year while wideouts Julius Genece, Ryan Ranucci and Bobby Mendez led the wide receiver corps. Mendez even netted DCL Large All-Star honors in 2025 and proved his ability to be a game-breaker on the field.

This veteran-laden cast will be the perfect support system for freshman starting quarterback Titan Haywood. Judging by the newcomer’s eighth-grade film and offseason workouts, he boasts a big arm, strong decision-making prowess and effectiveness taking off and running. Brackett is excited to see what Haywood can do with the Hawks offense.

Waltham’s familiarity extends to the defensive side of the ball as well.

“Defensively, we return the majority of our starters from last year and will show a variety of looks,” Brackett said. “We have a lot of depth on the defensive line and have talent and experience on the second level.”

The Hawks begin the season with three consecutive home games, including the chance to avenge last year’s blowout defeat to Newton North High School on Sep. 10 at 6:00 p.m. Homecoming will be the following Saturday afternoon against Chelsea High School.

“Overall, we are very excited about this year,” Brackett said. “We are looking forward to coming together as a team during training camp and facing the challenges throughout the season as a unified brotherhood.”