Josh Danella follows dad Jason’s footsteps as MHS QB

Danella, the name hovers over the Methuen football landscape like Montana in San Francisco or Brady in Foxborough. Jason Danella quarterbacked one of the most legendary teams in Merrimack Valley football history, the 1992 Division 2A Super Bowl Champion Methuen Rangers.

That team, coached by the late Larry Klimas and stocked with tough and talented players, left an indelible impression on local football, seemingly never to be duplicated. But as William Shakespeare once penned, “What’s past is prologue.”

This year, Jason Danella’s 16-year-old son Josh has taken the reins in his dad’s old position, quarterback of the Methuen High School Rangers football team. This second-generation, lightning-fast, multitalented signal caller is looking to stake his own claim and make his own mark at Nicholson Stadium. Best of all, he has dad to mentor him.

“The role my father has played in my growth, not only as a football player but as a person, has been massive,” says Josh Danella. “He has been my role model growing up and the person I look to when I need any kind of advice.

“It’s a real blessing to have a figure like that in your life. Every chance we get, we are downstairs watching film. The thing that I admire the most about him is his honesty. He isn’t afraid to carve into me when it comes to film, which is a good thing.”

Says dad Jason, “My advice to Josh is to be a good teammate, first and foremost. When you have the ball on game day, the whole operation in your hands, act accordingly. You have to have the imagination to try and figure out your opponent’s adjustments.

“As different as the game is today, it’s still very much a matter of recognizing what is happening and what you have learned. I used to pay my son Anthony to record the games, so Josh and I have always geeked out on film study.

“Focus on each play and really have no memory about the last, positive or negative. Complete your assignment and get into the next one. Keep playing. Not everyone is able to play this game, so respect it.” 

Sounds like the words of a championship quarterback to me. So, just what did the current junior Ranger quarterback know about his dad’s 1992 football legacy?

He responds, “Oh God, for a while it’s all I would hear about. He is still very close with a lot of those guys from that team, so a lot of the early years of football were spent hearing about that ’92 team.

“It was for good reason though, since it was the last team to ever win a championship for this city. Trust me, I’ve been digging to see what records of his I can beat by the time I walk out of MHS.”

Clearly, the competitive gene has been passed on to Danella QB 2.0, and dad is quite able to assess his son’s current game.

“Josh is just starting to unlock himself physically. He played hurt most of last season, but this past winter he grew, trained and hit the camp circuit hard in the spring and summer.

“He is very athletic and appears to have above-average field awareness. I didn’t expect to see this level of calmness right out of the gate. He missed a read and a throw vs. Lincoln-Sudbury and needs to remember it’s one move and go when running the ball. You keep trying to cut back 2 and 3 times between the hashes, we’re going peel you off the turf with spatula. You’re no Barry Sanders, kid. Get what you can get and avoid train wrecks whenever possible.”

Dad clearly has his finger on the pulse of Josh’s performance, but the young quarterback might just be his own toughest evaluator.

“To be honest, I’m not necessarily satisfied with my performance on the field thus far. My mindset right now is improvement. It starts with every practice, stacking good days on top of one another,” he said. “I know what I am capable of and have the tools to be a good player, but my consistency will dictate whether I’m going to be part of the reason why we, as a team, make it to the big stage at the end of the season.”

The big stage means competing for a championship just like his dad. There are certainly plusses and minuses to following in the footsteps of a quarterbacking legend. Josh talks about the pressure of carrying the name Danella.

“Honestly, I try not to look at it with that particular lens. I know how successful he was when he played and I’m aware that some people’s expectations for me are high because of that but, at the end of the day, I know my game better than anyone else’s. I make sure to not let that idea hang above my head.”

Adds Jason, “I’m sure it has been difficult for him at times. It’s the first thing out of people’s mouth when they meet him. I personally have no idea what that’s like, but my brother-in-law Joe (Celia) couldn’t know it any better.

“Josh’s maternal grandfather (the late Joe Celia) was the original family quarterback legend at Lawrence High School Hall, and young Joe later played QB at LHS. Joe has been great talking with Josh about how he handled his situation. That was great for them to bond together with that.”

There are similarities in the quarterbacking games of Jason and Josh. Both are dual threats at the position, but Jason says that Josh is the far better passer. In Jason’s last year of college football at Bentley, he weighed in at about 190 pounds. Josh is already at 180 as a junior at MHS. At 6 feet, he is officially taller than his 49-year-old father, but what he has learned from his dad stands even taller.

“Every play counts,” says Josh, who also wrestles for MHS. “Even the ones where you have no assignment besides to carry out the fake. He really drilled that into me, as well as telling myself that mistakes are going to happen. It’s about how you respond to those mistakes that matter.

“Being coached by my father was a very tough-love kind of thing. We would butt heads often, but it brought us closer together on so many levels. The more I would listen, the more I learned, and that’s something that goes deeper than just football.”

In addition to following in his dad’s footsteps, Josh is also succeeding one of Methuen‘s best quarterbacks of all time in the recently graduated Drew Eason. He talks about this succession. 

“It’s inevitable that my game is going to be compared to his. While I know how good of a player Drew was, I know that it’s just as important that I show people that I can be just as impactful. A lot of people compare me to him. My mentality is, Drew is Drew, and I’m me. I’ve got my own game, and it’s time that I really come into my own.”

So, what do father and son think of this year’s Ranger team?

Jason responds, “I think Coach Tom Ryan has done a good job getting results and producing playoff appearances and wins. What strikes me is the way they play for each other. This team is as talented and speedy on the outside as any team in the state.”

Adds Josh, “I have a different mentality going this season. Winning a championship is a great goal to have, but it shouldn’t be the only mentality you have. Let’s focus on making our next practice a good one. Let’s make sure we get a good study on this week’s film. If we can have that mentality for everything we do as a team, we can truly accomplish great things.”

The Danella story is definitely about football, but really, it is about family. Mom Katie and brother Anthony, a former track athlete and gifted honors student at MHS, create a support system that results in success both on the field and in the mind and heart.

“We try to do what our parents did for our groups of kids when we were young,” says Jason. “We were fortunate to have involved parents who took an interest in our love of sports and shared in our experiences. Playing football as a kid was a beautiful experience for me and the relationships that came from it are most treasured to me.

“We’ve been blessed to have that same experience as parents now with Josh, and I can only wish it lasts for them in the same ways.”

Josh agrees stating, “My family has always been there with me no matter if I was starting or riding the bench. They have been the true reason I am where I am today. I wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t have them in my life and feel truly blessed to have such loving and supportive parents, not just in football, but in my everyday life.” 

In Memoriam

The area golf scene lost a good friend when Al Thompson passed away at age 89 on Aug. 18. The Lawrence native and U.S. Navy veteran was a fixture at Merrimack Valley Country Club (MVCC) in Methuen for half a century.

Mr. Thompson was a friend to seemingly everyone with whom he crossed paths. He enjoyed the sport of golf to the fullest, and was equally at home fishing, placing a bet or two at the racetrack and, most of all, spending time with friends, family, his wife, children and grandchildren.

“Al was the happiest when he was at MVCC,” says his wife Maureen. “He was there every day. He would take a golf cart, and you could find him picking up debris, fixing the ball marks on the greens, divots in the fairways, and raking the sand traps.”

Indeed, Al was a huge part of MVCC and will always be remembered by the Kattar family owners and all those who call the club home.

“Al did so much at the course,” says Jamie Kattar. “He also gave me a lesson on the old 13th hole when he saw me hit 6 straight balls onto Pond Street and hit a few houses as well!”

Mr. Thompson was a true guy’s guy whose infectious enthusiasm was as much a part of Merrimack as golfers and good times.

Says Maureen, “Al was also a ranger for many years at the golf course, keeping the play moving. Let it be said that Al Thompson was very proud to have spent over 50 years there and become a part of the Kattar family.”

Blitz Bits

Methuen Youth Basketball Boys Grade 4-8 Travel Make-up Tryouts are Saturday, Oct. 5. Boys Grade 3-8 In-House Evaluations will be Saturday, Oct. 19, and Girls Grade 3-8 Make-up Evaluations are Saturday, Oct. 26. Visit methuenbasketball.com for details.

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