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CARVER – One might yawn and miss the Town of Carver on a trip down Route 58 from Plymouth to Wareham along the Southeastern corridor of Massachusetts.
But quarterback Tyler Lennox is slowly putting the tiny town and his Crusaders on the map this season in Div. 8.
With only two winning seasons in the past 20 years, Lennox has Carver (4-0) positioned for a postseason run this time as they face Cohasset (2-2) in their home and South Shore League opener Friday night.
Lennox was anointed a starter midway through his sophomore season and has shattered most school passing and touchdown records four games into his senior season.
Coming into this week, Lennox has 4,561 yards in his career with 48 passing touchdowns and 53 total end zone trips. Lennox is just getting started this season with 12 touchdowns, two more on the ground, on only two interceptions on the season.
Lennox still has three quarters of the season left after surpassing all the Carver passing records held since 1991 by Jared Helms, who now has new nephews on the current roster.
Lennox has starred in three sports – basketball, baseball, and football – but parked his baseball career to focus on his love for the gridiron. Lennox talked about the mental aspect of the game and what he can do to improve.
“I thrive on the mental preparation during the week. I watch a ton of film, seeing what defenses have lined up, see what formations they blitz in, what formations they don’t and (defensive) coverages,” said Lennox, who is being recruited by a number of college programs.
“But my weakness would be my speed. Honestly, I’m pretty slow, but I can get out a little, and I could certainly get better at crossing the line of scrimmage and using my legs more.”
After 2 ½ seasons under center, Lennox is unquestionably the leader in the locker room. The town talk has Old Colony Youth Football League kids looking to follow in Lennox’s footsteps and riding the winning wave as he tries to get Carver close to their Gillette Stadium dreams this season.
James Callahan, a fellow senior captain, spoke highly of Lennox’s vocal leadership and getting over the hump with a winning record this season after so many years of futility, including last season’s 3-8 finish.
“He’s been our best leader for two years; we like to rely on him a lot and we know he is really good and can put the ball wherever. If we can give him three seconds, he’s going to make some plays,” said Callahan, who protects Lennox as his left tackle. “Winning is a big chip on our shoulder, and we want to turn it around and Tyler is a big part.”
Turning it around has already started but the big test is the Skippers coming to town; Carver has not beaten Cohasset in 17 years.
“Coming into each week, eliminating my mistakes, and being smart with the ball is what it takes. We now have guys that prepare and want to win as much as I do,” said Lennox. “We go week-by-week, but it’s hard to ignore. You can see the buzz around the team, people know we are legit, but keep our focus week to week and try not to look ahead.”
Cohasset is by far the toughest test for the Crusaders in the first five weeks as the Skippers took North Quincy, a tough Div. 2 team, down to the wire in a 20-14 loss last week. But Carver is firing on all cylinders, averaging 48.5 points per game while yielding an average of 4.5 points on defense.
The run game has improved, the new summer workout program is providing dividends, new coaches on the defensive side of the ball, and it’s finally all coming together as a team with Lennox comfortable at the helm and the huddle.
Head coach Ben Shuffain has taken over the program the past two years after moving his family from Mansfield to embed himself in the Carver culture.
“It’s one big family,” said Shuffain. “Tyler was a junior captain and a leader from Day 1 based on the leadership aspect and his high character shown on the field. He proved it last year, we have a great group of seniors, and Tyler is the voice of the team. The team goes as he goes.”
NAME: Tyler Lennox
SCHOOL: Carver High School
AGE: 17
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’0’’; 180 pounds
POSITION: Quarterback – three-year starter
NICKNAME: Ty
FAMILY: Jill (mom), Scott (dad), Matt (brother), Agnes (nana)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: South Shore League All-Star last two seasons for varsity basketball; South Shore League All-Star last year for football. Honorable Mention All-State (football) as a junior.
FAVORITE PERSONAL MOMENT IN SPORTS: Winning the South Shore League Championship in basketball in 2022-23. (co-champs with Rockland)
FAVORITE COURSE IN SCHOOL: Gym
LEAST FAVORITE COURSE IN SCHOOL: Math
FAVORITE PIGOUT FOOD: Pepperoni Pizza – I’m a pizza guy.
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Chicago P.D.
FAVORITE MOVIE: The Longest Yard (original; 1974)
FAVORITE MUSICIAN: Drake
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: NBA 2K
FAVORITE SMARTPHONE APP: NBA 2K
FAVORITE TWITTER ACCOUNT TO FOLLOW: Carver Crusaders Football – @CarverFootball
FAVORITE PRO TEAM: New England Patriots
FAVORITE ATHLETE: Patrick Mahomes
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A GAME: Watch a ton of film, eliminate mistakes in practice, getting everyone ready to play as a team.
IF YOU COULD BE SOMEONE ELSE FOR A DAY, WHO WOULD IT BE: Coach Shuffain – so I could yell at these guys!
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