SALEM, N.H. — For such good friends, Salem juniors Matt Cannone and Joey DiPalma really don't say much at all to each other on game day.
"I'll see him walking off the field and give him a high five or something," said DiPalma, a starting inside linebacker. "He just tells me to make a play and get him and the offense back out on the field."
Now that's tight.
Both Cannone of Windham and DiPalma of Salem, who became buddies through freshmen football, will lace them up with a state championship hanging in the balance as the top-seeded Blue Devils host No. 2 Nashua North Saturday at noon for the New Hampshire Division 1 title.
Each will have a major say in the outcome. DiPalma leads the 10-1 Devils in tackles. Cannone is now in his second year as the starting quarterback.
Both have come virtually out of nowhere to star for coach Jack Gati.
DiPalma hadn't sniffed the varsity a year ago as a sophomore.
"I had an inkling he might be able to do some good things, that was about it," said Gati of his leading tackler. "He filled a giant void for us. And he's got a knack for making plays as a stunting linebacker."
And Cannone had to be the longest of long shots to earn the starting QB nod last year.
Remember, he had no history in town with the Salem Rams youth program. There were no expectations and less hype.
"I was an offensive tackle in fifth and sixth grade then ran cross country in seventh and eighth," explained Cannone. "My dad played QB in high school, and he told me once high school came about it's a different game. He said, 'Give it a shot.' And now, to think I'm starting in the championship game my junior year is pretty exciting."
Cannone defers to his big-play halfbacks Max Jacques and Jerickson Fedrick but has proven to be an able passer as well this fall, clicking on 44 of 90 passes for 730 yards and five touchdowns.
Each saw opportunity knocking, first Cannone a year ago and then DiPalma this summer.
"Midway through my freshman year I got brought up to JV because of injuries and Gati told me if I kept working I had a shot at starting," said Cannone. "I just gave it all I could. When I was named the starter in doubles last summer, I was psyched."
DiPalma bided his time, running scout team in practice and absorbing all he could. He didn't need Gati to toss the carrot his way.
"I knew the spot was wide open (with the graduation of incumbents Jharid Pratt and Anthony Todisco), and I just worked hard to get it," said DiPalma. "I did a good amount of lifting in the summer and all the work in practice helped an awful lot."
These days, at most Salem games, you wonder if the public address announcer is a close relative the way DiPalma's name keeps popping in there, tackle after tackle.
"The coaches prepare me, and I get good reads," said the 5-10, 200-pound DiPalma. "Then all that's left is to fly around and make some plays."
Both are three-sport athletes and built their friendship through sports, despite the fact the Cannone made the varsity hoop team and DiPalma excelled on the JVs.
Saturday afternoon's collision won't be new to these two guys, at least in their minds.
"We spent an awful lot of summer nights at Joey's house on (Arlington Pond) thinking just about a game like this," said Cannone. "To have it happen and to be playing in it together is pretty amazing."
*****
People let me tell you 'bout my best friend
Salem junior quarterback Matt Cannone on his classmate and best friend Joey DiPalma: "I know what he's capable of doing. He's surpassed everyone's expectations. He's always the one on defense to make the big play. He's a difference maker."
DiPalma on Cannone: "He puts a lot of hard work in. He's always throwing the ball. From the moment he's on the practice field to the end of it, he's throwing. He's worked a lot on his arm and his movement and it shows on the field."
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