SCITUATE – It was a late, bitter chill evening during the bus ride back to the Irish Riviera on Dec. 1, 2023. The Scituate Sailors were still stinging from a loss to Patriot League rival Duxbury in a Div. 4 Super Bowl rematch.

Later that night, wideout Lawson Foley typed the game’s score – 62-33 – in the group’s message board on the Telegram app, which was soon pinned to the top of the chat.

The Sailors are determined to take things a step further in 2024, and Foley will likely serve as one of the primary catalysts as one of the Commonwealth’s top skill players.

“We’ve been using that (night) as motivation for practices, lifts, when we’re working out together,” Foley said.

“We’ve been talking, almost every single week. Talking about how we are so ready for the season. Ready to come out better than ever. The amount of work we put in throughout these whole months has been tremendous, and again, I cannot wait until we start off the season.”

The team, and its community have high expectations. Scituate lost a few key cogs, most notably quarterback Jackson Belsan. Yet, thanks to a large influx of returning starters, the Sailors are a popular pick to contend for the Div. 4 title after reaching Gillette for the third time in the past five seasons last year.

Some Scituate fans think the school might even improve upon its 8-4 record from 2023, because the program will be welcoming back some top athletes after sustaining multiple injuries during a profound run last fall.

The Sailors now turn to rising quarterback Johnny Donovan. Foley has consistently remained on the field with his new play-caller, regardless of the conditions. Consistently, you could catch the two athletes working together on a day off.

“I’ve been at the field with him almost every day since January,” laughed Foley. “We’ve been working in the cold, in the hot, any type of every element you could think of. I’ve been building that chemistry with him, I’ve been teaching him the plays. He has a notebook on his phone, filled with every single play in our playbook. He’s been studying, studying, studying them every single day, so I know he has a great mindset with the plays we have. I feel like we have a great connection now. His throws are looking good.”

As a junior, Foley corralled 48 receptions for 867 yards and 11 touchdowns overall.

Sailors coach Herb Devine has witnessed just about every type of athlete pass through his program. He has dealt with players of stunning caliber as an assistant and as a former competitor.

Foley ranks near the top of his list. The senior wideout has received college interest from Brown, Marist, Maine, and Merrimack, in addition to a preferred walk-on offer from Boston College. He is still hearing from other schools, and continues to weigh his options.

“I think I’ve been doing this 20 years coaching overall,” said Devine. “He’s probably in the top-two, top-three receivers that I’ve coached. We had a great one in Abel Lopes back in the day, who had a great career at Bentley. But I think Lawson? As a skilled guy, he’s physical, he’s tall, he’s fast. He’s got great hands, he can go up for the ball. He can play with his hand down, he can play as an X-receiver, Z-receiver, (all of it). So he’s a special player.”

Scituate will not have an easy road back to Gillette, with a daunting out-of-conference schedule looming. The Sailors open the season Friday against fellow Div. 4 powerhouse Foxboro, before taking on Patriot League foe Whitman-Hanson the following week. Then, they will round things out with a game against South Shore League heavyweight Norwell on Sept. 19 before entering league play.

“We’re ready to come out,” said Foley. “We’ve got a much better team this year, I’d say, than last year. We’re going to come out that first week, coming strong. Those (battles) with Whitman-Hanson and Norwell, they’re both away games, but I know we will take care of them. Then, we’ll go through our Patriot League (Fisher) schedule. We’ll just keep throwing, passing the ball, and just keep hammering the nail every single day.”