Dugan blends expectation, inspiration for MHS football

Do not let the warm weather and traffic to Salisbury Beach fool you. Autumn is coming, and with it, another football season for the Methuen High School Rangers. Last season, MHS continued its winning ways under interim head coach Ryan Dugan.

The team went 8-3 and won its second consecutive Merrimack Valley Conference (MVC) title for the first time ever. They also beat Central Catholic for the first time in 15 years and gave a talented Lowell team all it could handle before losing in the MIAA playoffs 29-21.

Thanks to former head coach and now MHS athletic director Tom Ryan, the Rangers have had 10-straight winning seasons and are the second winningest public school in Massachusetts over the past 5 years.

Now the permanent head coach, Dugan, 38, has played a huge role in turning the Rangers into an elite program. He has been with the team since 2009 moving up the staff ladder from running backs coach to wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator to head coach. He talks about his 2025 baptism under fire and the difference as permanent head coach this year.

“Last season, I was nervous calling offensive plays from the field versus the booth, but it wasn’t as challenging as I thought. I’ve always been an extremely organized person, so I think that helped me in a lot of ways. As the head coach, I have to address every single kid, every single day,” he said. “I would say the biggest difference for me last season was taking a larger role in the defense. It was like a new puzzle and took a lot more time on the weekends to do both. Thank God I have a supportive wife in Kirstie and my amazing kids Carter and Callie who allow me to do it. They are the reason a lot of good things happen for Methuen High School football.”

Tom Ryan, the architect of Methuen’s transformation into a perennial power, talks about what Dugan brings to the field and film room each day: “As an assistant, Ryan played a huge role in the resurgence of the Methuen football program over the past decade. He is an incredible offensive mind with a tremendous work ethic.

“As a resident of Methuen and teacher in the building, he understands the mindset of the modern Methuen athlete and, therefore, can get them to play hard. He is the perfect person to lead the Ranger football team into the future.”

Dugan is Ranger Blue through and through for sure. He played wide receiver and defensive back for the team from 2001-2005 and is currently an MHS math teacher, a gig that is in line with his love of numbers and the finer points of football. His assessment and goals for the 2026 Rangers are clear-cut.

“We have about 7 or 8 returning starters, a good mix of lineman versus skill there. Every season, we will have 5 to 10 returning starters and bunch of new faces that need to step up. Our goals? Have a team GPA of over 3.0 for Quarter 1, have a winning season, win the MVC League Title, win a playoff game and win a state championship.

“I expect our kids to have 100% attendance when football begins and to be consistent, urgent and tough. Sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do. I expect our team to be resilient and do what’s best for the team even if it’s not what may not be best for them in the moment.”

The Rangers not only have consistency in performance, but also in the coaching staff. This season, the only change sees former Ranger star Seth Pare replacing Bryan Szetella as wide receivers coach.

“Bryan is taking the year off after having a new baby,” says Dugan. “Seth played for us from 2015-2018 and also coached in 2024. He did not coach last season because he was deployed and serving our country. He is a First Lieutenant in the Army and a math teacher at Methuen High School. He has great leadership qualities and serves as a great asset to our staff.”

As for returning players to watch, Dugan mentions senior captains Caiden Hartley-DiDio, a versatile quarterback, running back, wide receiver and defensive back, and Cole Smith, a wide receiver and defensive back. Along the offensive line, keep an eye on senior captain Jayden Dinicola, senior Deyvian Rios and junior Jayden Guzman.

When I asked Dugan what type of offense we will see from the Rangers this season, he responded, “Whatever offense is needed to get first downs.”

The answer made me smile and think of the late and legendary MHS head football coach Larry Klimas who always had a sly quip in response to such a question.

Dugan went on to say, “We could be 90% pass in one game and 90% run in the next. We plan based on the players we have and the teams we play.”

As for team strengths heading into the 2026 season, it starts with the interior linemen on both sides of the ball.

Says Dugan, “Our offensive and defensive lines should be our strengths. It needs to be. We have a lot of bodies to rotate in those areas, we just need to find the right combinations.

“We need to replace most of the back eight on defense. We graduated a lot of team speed in that area, so we need to make that a top priority. On offense, we have some new faces at skill positions that need to learn the offense. We do have 5 returning starters out of 11, so we have some continuity there.”

Dugan has every quality needed to be a true difference-maker in the lives of his players – passion, commitment, intelligence, experience and a motivational gene that puts Tony Robbins and David Goggins to shame. He is a leader, and expects that same quality in his senior players. He also gave me perhaps the best ending line in my 26 years of writing sports columns.

“The best teams are player-led,” says Dugan, “I expect them to lead the group with their actions and voices. It has to be both of those things. It can’t be one or the other.

“We have elite standards. The kids know that. We are confident we can beat anyone, but humble enough to know anyone can beat us. This season is a blank slate. A ship doesn’t sail on yesterday’s wind.”

John Molori is an author, columnist, and a 2011 inductee into the Methuen Athletic Hall of Fame. Facebook: John Molori, Twitter @MoloriMedia. Email molorimedia@gmail.com.