Cohasset's Shane & Chris Haggerty playing football together at Mass. Maritime

September 1, 2016

By William Wassersug, Cohasset Mariner

Having brothers playing on the same team is a pretty common occurence in the sports world, in fact it happens all the time, at least at the high school level.

Right here in Cohasset, there are six sets of brothers playing on the football team right now.

Heading up the sports ladder, the numbers drop dramatically, starting in college.

With that in mind, when brothers are able to play together it can be a special thing.

In football, having a set of brothers playing quarterback and receiver is one of those special things.

For Cohasset’s Shane Haggerty and Chris Haggerty, the upcoming football season will be a special one.

Shane is a star senior receiver at Mass. Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, and his younger brother Chris is a junior who was named the starting quarterback for the new campaign.

This will be the first time the two players are able to get playing time together since they had one season at Cohasset in 2012.

Shane is coming off a fantastic season where he had 41 catches for 666 yards and 6 touchdowns from quarterback Brad Skeffington.

Chris will have big shoes to fill as Skeffington piled up nearly 3,000 yards of offense with 31 touchdowns.

He is feeling ready to do it.

“I’m so excited,” Chris said. “I haven’t really played since my senior year. I am so excited to run this offense. It sounds weird, but its fun to get hit again and tackled. I can’t wait.”

For both players, this should be a special year.

“I was the leading receiver last year,” Shane said. “I want to be the leading receiver this year. When we played in high school together we had a really good season. We have had a strong bond since high school. We both know what the other is going to do. Even mid-route, he’ll look over and know where I am and what I am going to do. There’s an extra connection.”

Shane said his job as a senior receiver is to be a leader.

“It’s my job to try and take charge of the receiving corps,” he said. “People look to me to fix problems and get things going. Chris is going to be a great leader. He is our field general.”

For Shane there is another big motivation to excel.

“On the field this might be the last sport I ever play competitively,” he said. “I would love to finish with a league championship and to make the playoffs.”

He feels that is within reach.

Mass. Maritime won four games last year, and brings back a wealth of experience.

“I think the defense stepped up and the offense did real well last year,” Shane said. “We have a high powered offense. We’re going to be very uptempo. We have a no-huddle offense and try to run 100 plays a game.”

The style of play keeps the team in shape.

“Coach (Jeremy Cameron) keeps us in great shape,” he said. “We do a lot of drills to stay in shape. Our job is to tire out defenses. We have a great time.”

Shane was a multi-sport star in high school, playing basketball, football and baseball, winning two state championships with the baseball team.

Chris also starred in the same three sports and was a freshman on one of Shane’s baseball championship teams.

“Basketball and football are tied for my favorites,” Shane said. “But I decided to play football in college. That’s my passion.”

One thing both players credited for their success was the coaching they got at Cohasset.

“The coaches in high school were great," Shane said. “They really had us prepared for college. I give coach (football and former baseball coach Pete) Afanasiw credit for prepping me for college football, and coach (basketball coach Bo) Ruggiero for setting us up for success.”

Afanasiw had nothing but positives about both players.

“They’re awesome," he said. “As coaches we talk about them with such admiration and appreciation for them. As players they were always prepared and had a passion. They’re also great kids. To see them playing together in college is phenomenal."

When the new college season starts Sept. 9 at Throggs Neck, New York for the Ninth Annual Chowder Bowl at SUNY-Maritime at 7 p.m.

“I have been preparing for this for two years now,” Chris said about getting his chance to start. “I have had to learn a whole new offense. We run a wide open offense in the shotgun. In high school I was under center. It is a whole new style of football. I feel confident this year, a lot more than in my freshman year when it was all new to me. New York is going to be really exciting. We were there two years ago on Sept. 11 and it was something to remember. The entire sky was lit up."

Chris agreed with Shane about a special connection between the two.

“It is awesome to get that connection back,” he said. “Last year when I played he wasn’t in the game. We were never in at the same time. Most plays are designed to read the defense and see who is open. I’m not specifically looking for him, but we have a great connection between us. We work out together all the time. We worked out together all summer.”

When he did play a bit last year, Chris hit 8-of-10 passes for 81 yards.

While football is important to both, getting a top-notch education is the first priority.

“Mass. Maritime is a small school that nobody knows about,” Shane said. “When you graduate they set you up with a job. There’s a really high job placement. My major is Facility Engineering. It’s mechanical engineering with electrical engineering - engineering for power plants. I love it. I’m excited about graduating.”

Chris is taking a different track.

“My brother went there, but I did my research and the school is the best bang for the buck,” he said. “This school is a hidden gem. I’m taking International Maritime Business. It’s all about the business side of the shipping industry. I won’t be on a ship, but will be running the shipping business. It really is fascinating.”

While he doesn’t plan on working on a ship, he has been given that experience.

“In freshman year we went out to sea for a couple of months,” Chris said. “You learn so much. Until you’re out there you don’t realize how much safety is involved. The shipping industry is so different from anything else.”

The home opener will be Saturday Sept. 17 against Maine Maritime Academy at 1 p.m. They will also be at home Saturday Sept. 24 at noon against Worcester State.

For more information and complete schedule, visit www.mmabucs.com