By ERIC BENEVIDES

Sports writer

For the players and coaches, it’s nothing more than a dress rehearsal, but for high school football fans, this weekend’s Injury Fund games is a sneak peek into what promises to be another exciting football season this fall.
Fans will head to Pawtucket and Cranston tonight to see their favorite teams in action, and most of them will trek to Pawtucket’s Max Read Field to see a tripleheader that features Lincoln High battling Woonsocket High at 6 p.m., Tolman High playing Cumberland High at 7, and Central Falls High locking horns with host Shea High at 8.
Cranston Stadium, meanwhile, will host four contests, and the first two will feature the area’s Division I teams, as St. Raphael Academy plays Coventry High at 5 and East Providence High takes on Cranston East High at 6. 
Here’s a preview of what to expect from the Pawtucket-area teams this fall:
St. Raphael (Division I)
A year after going undefeated and winning the Division I Super Bowl, the Saints were unable to return to the playoffs and defend their title, but with a surplus of returnees back -- including All-Staters Jean Roussel and Richard Casiello and rifled-armed quarterback Trevor Vasey -- the Saints have their sights set on playing past Thanksgiving.
“I think the playoffs are an attainable goal,” added head coach Mike Sassi, who has 55 players in his program. “God willing, we need to stay healthy, and if we can do that, we can play with anyone in the state.”
Vasey, a 6-foot-6 junior, took over at quarterback midway through the year and proceeded to put up solid numbers in the final five games. He connected on 49 percent of his passes for 1,037 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“Trevor has the making of becoming a very special player,” admitted Sassi. “He throws the ball as well as you see any high school player throw it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we threw the ball more than we ran it.”
Roussel, who scored 12 touchdowns last year and has received a scholarship offer to play at Northeastern University, will team up with senior tri-captain Nael Pierre-Louis as the slot receivers. Both standouts are three-year starters and also play cornerback.
The backfield consists of senior Mike Dolan, Patrick Miranda, and Ricardo Pognon, and three of the split ends are Justin Beaucage, Cory Cotter, and Alex Pavao. When the Saints use a tight end, they will have Jean Charles, and Efrain Greco is another slot receiver.
Casiello, a 285-pound three-year starter who has received interest from Holy Cross, Pennsylvania, and Brown, is back at guard and joined by center Bo Vieira. Cam DeVall, Sean Goodwin, and Tim LaBree are also tackles, and Sean McMahon and Jose Mercado will be the other guard.
Defensively, SRA’s strengths are at linebacker and the secondary. Pognon is the middle linebacker and will be joined by Charles, Dolan, and Miranda at the other spots, and Pavao (free safety) and Cotter (strong) join Roussel and Pierre-Louis in the secondary.
Up front, Casiello is the nose guard, Vieira is a defensive end, and DeVall, Goodwin, and Yeison Sanchez will also see time on the line.
Julian Diaz will also kick the extra points and field goals, Casiello will take care of the kickoffs, and Austin Hill is the punter.

Lincoln (Division II-B)
It’s been five long years since Lincoln High qualified for the playoffs, but with several returnees back from last season’s 3-4 team, including standout junior quarterback Ryan O’Dell and a big offensive line that features senior captains Billy Tower, Anthony Joyce, and Scott Leech, the Lions and their fans are optimistic that they can end that drought.
“We only lost three players on each side of the ball,” added Lincoln coach Dave Waycott. “We took our bumps and bruises last year because we were so young, but we’re a very mature team this year.”
O’Dell, who is a three-year starter, has his share of weapons to work with, such as running backs Alex Tedesco, Anthony Polombo, Anthony Saracina, and freshman Jamal Tavares, wide receivers Noel Amaral and Kyle Jackson, and tight end Eric Creamer, the Lions’ other senior captain.
Protecting O’Dell is one of the division’s best offensive lines, and it features Leech at center, Joyce and Eric Thompson at the tackles, and Tower (who is coming back from a broken foot), Jacob Lisi, and Matt Butler seeing time at guard.
“That’s one of our strong suits,” said Waycott. “From tackle to tackle, they weigh 1,200 pounds.”
On defense, the Lions plan to employ a 3-5-3 with Thompson and Joyce seeing time as the nose tackle, Jordan Nicholas and Brandon Jutras as the other linemen, and a committee of linebackers that include Creamer, David Gibbs, Brendon Dyer, Max Lee, Leach, Polombo, Tedesco, and freshman Osel-lie Saine.
Amaral and Jackson are also cornerbacks, and O’Dell is the safety.
The Lions also added a kicker to their arsenal by picking up Ben Potter, who was a member of the boys’ soccer team last season.         
Last year, the Lions missed the playoffs by losing a head-to-head tiebreaker for the division’s final spot to rival Cumberland High, and Waycott expects the division to be airtight again this season.
“It was close last year and it’s going to be close again this year,” he offered. “The one thing about Division II-B is that it’s a consistent league, and teams like Shea, Cranston East, South Kingstown, and Cumberland are going to be very good again.”
For the first time in its 46-year history, Lincoln will be hosting night games at Ferguson Field, and the first game under the lights will take place Friday, Sept. 18, against Shea.
“It’s been a long time coming,” noted Waycott. “This is going to be great for the community.”

Tolman (Division II-A)
If the Tigers plan to return to the playoffs and try to avenge their loss in last year’s Super Bowl, they may have to do so with one of their fastest teams in recent memory, according to head coach Dave Caito.
“This is the first year we really have some guys with speed,” admitted Caito. “(Shea) always had the burners and I’d see them in phys ed class, but this is the first year that we have some legitimate threats on the outside.”
Tolman boasts a pair of speedy quarterbacks in Jordan Johnson, a three-year starter, and Jahmel Bowman, who was ineligible at the start of the year, but came on strong and shined in last year’s playoffs.
Junior Ousmane Samb is returning as the halfback, and some running backs worth watching are senior Vladimir Alcindor and juniors Anthony Bryson, the brother of former Shea High All-Stater Matt Bryson, and Lance Brown.
How good this fast backfield does will depend on an entirely-new offensive line that features no returning starters, a few players with varsity experience, and aside from two players weighing over 200 pounds, not much size.
Co-captain Mike Cook (center), Kevin Duffy (tackle), and Jeff Gard (guard) are the heart of the defensive line, while the other offensive spots could see the Maynard brothers (Kyle and Joe) and senior John Cotter as receivers and junior Shayne Taylor at tight end.
Defensively, senior Claude Medina is back on the line and joined by Brown, Alcindor, and Jared Johnson. Bowman, Duffy, Samb, Taylor, and Cook are playing linebacker, and Bryson will be a free safety. 

Shea (Division II-B)
The Raiders, like the Lions, just missed out on the final playoff spot as they endured only the third losing season in head coach Dino Campopiano’s 13-year tenure with the Silver and Black. 
But a lot of players from that team are back with a year of experience under their belts, and that bodes well for the Raiders as they set their sights on one of the division’s four playoff spots. 
“I think we have the potential to do well this year,” remarked Campopiano. “Offensively, we have a lot of guys back. We have a slew of running backs and receivers, which is the same old story, and six or seven guys on the line. And defensively, we should be strong. Out of our 11 starters last year, eight are returning and a few others saw a lot of playing time last year.”
One of the big battles in the team’s preseason workouts was for the starting quarterback job, but it appears that job will go to last year’s backup, senior Josh Burgo.
Max Perry, a four-year starter, will be the Raiders’ marquee standout on the offensive and defensive lines, and Dean Wertz and Manny Baptista are two of the Raiders’ top running backs who will also be counted on defensively. Johnny Moavero is also a returning receiver.
The Raiders are going to need to be strong this year because the competition in the division promises to be very tough.
“The division should be very strong,” added Campopiano. “I know Cranston East has 22 seniors coming back, Cumberland has its new coach and almost everyone back, and Lincoln’s going to be very good because they have their quarterback and some other guys back. It’s going to be interesting.”

Central Falls (Division IV)
The No. 1 question for the Warriors during the offseason is who will replace graduated quarterback Cory Cassamas, who threw 27 touchdown passes and 2,095 yards last season and set team records in both departments.
Veteran head coach Mo Jackson think he may have the answer in junior Luis Lubo, who was an offensive guard last season and is one of the top athletic players on the team.
“He wanted to give it a try,” added Jackson, whose crew missed the playoffs by a game last season. “He has a strong arm and he know our plays from his experience as a guard. We’re going to take baby steps with him and see how he does.”
Quarterback is one of the few questions on this year’s team, which is one of the biggest in recent memory (50) and has the formidable tandem of senior wide receivers Antonio Mena (50 catches, 677 yards, 13 touchdowns) and Robert Alers (46-759-11) back for another season.
“We’ll be competitive again,” admitted Jackson. “There are probably five or six teams that are good and we’ll be competing for a playoff spot with them again. We’re young, but we have skill players, and if we can get Robert and Antonio the ball, we’ll be fine.”
The backfield is experienced with senior tailbacks Albert Bello and Jay Juan Carter and fullback Emmanuel Versailles, and the tight end are also veterans in senior Andres Rodriguez and junior Kevin Figueredo.
Senior center Heriberto Colon also returns to a line that has junior left tackle David Kufalski, sophomore left guard Nico Danielson, and two first-year players, junior right tackle Wilber Perez and sophomore right guard Sension Jimenez.
Defensively, the Warriors have plenty of depth on their line with Rodriguez, Figueredo, and junior Alex Londono at the ends and junior Dave Kay, Perez, and Colon at the tackles.  
Mena, Carter, and Versailles are the linebackers, junior first-year player Jose Figueroa and Bello are the cornerbacks, senior Luis Melendez is the strong safety, and Mena is the free safety.
Londono will also be in charge of the kicking duties, and Bello will be one of the backup quarterbacks and could see time behind center when the team runs its Wildcat offense. Sophomore Steven Vasquez and freshman Kristian Interiano are also on the depth chart at quarterback.