CANTON – Dante Boffi has been looking for an opportunity to lead a team for a while. Over the last decade, he has been an offensive coordinator in Canton, Avon and with Sports Medicine Science Academy’s co-op football team in Hartford.
He’s been part of winning seasons and campaigns that didn’t result in many victories.
Now, he is ready to the lead the Canton High football team this fall. Boffi was named as the 13th coach in school history last spring, replacing Mike Guy, who resigned after one season and a 0-10 record. For Guy, who lives in Salisbury, the daily commute to Canton was just too much.
Boffi is no stranger to the Canton community. He has been the head coach of the Warriors’ boys tennis program since 2008. He was an assistant coach under Graham Martin in 2006 when the school resurrected the football program after a 42-year absence with a club program.
Boffi was the offensive coordinator for Canton’s first four years as a varsity program from 2007-10, including the 2009 campaign when the Warriors went 6-4.

Dante Boffi, who returned to the Canton High coaching staff a year ago after a six-year absence, speaks to QB Dugan Lloyd last November.
He spent three years coaching as an offensive coordinator with Martin at SMSA/University from 2011-13 and was the offensive coordinator at Avon under Jim Caouette in 2014 when the Falcons went 7-4 and scored 384 points – the second highest number of points in a single season in school history.
Boffi returned to the Canton football program last fall as an offensive coordinator.
“I truly loved the offensive coordinator work I did when I was as Sports Science and Avon,” he said. “I enjoyed my time tremendously. It was a great experience but my heart has always been here in Canton. I relished the opportunity to come back here as an assistant (last year).
“When the (head coaching) job opened up, this is where I wanted to be.”
In 2014, Canton had a magical season going 10-1 and winning the Pequot Uncas Division championship – its first pennant since 1958. The Warriors earned their first-ever CIAC Class S tournament berth and fell in a competitive semifinal loss to eventual champion Capital Prep/Achievement First.
Since then, it’s been a very rough road for the Warriors. They haven’t won a game since beating Granby in the final regular season game of the 2014 season. The Warriors went 0-10 under coach Chris Currier in 2015 and didn’t win a game under Guy in 2016.
A year ago, the Warriors were too young, too small and not strong enough to compete at the varsity level. In some games, they were completely outmatched. In one late October game against Valley Regional/Old Lyme, Canton dressed just 18 healthy players.
They had just 25 players on the roster with seven seniors – including one who came out to play at midseason. They had four juniors. The rest were sophomores and freshmen.
Former athletic coordinator Craig DeAngelis reached out to several schools looking for a co-op partner for the Warriors last spring but came up empty.
Guy was convinced that football could succeed in Canton – if they could get someone to help the program grow. “The numbers have got to go up,” Guy said. “It needs someone who is constantly here and constantly on top of it. Can it succeed? Yes. But there has be someone who is on it all the time.”
Boffi wants to be that man.
“I think the most important thing I have tried to get across to the administration and these kids is that I want to win this year but I want to build a program,” he said. Boffi had 30 kids at the start of training camp and hopes to schedule a few junior varsity and freshman games to give his younger players a taste of the sport.
“They had some great years in Canton but it was almost at the expense of the program,” he said. “You can’t just focus on the 11 guys on the field. Now, I have to focus on the seventh and eighth grades. Are we making sure that football in the community is popular? Is it exciting? Is it something everyone wants to do?”
Boffi saw plenty of enthusiasm with the young players at summer youth football camps in town and from his varsity team in weightlifting sessions throughout the summer.
Still, he is realistic about what lies ahead for the Warriors – who have dropped 21 straight games – when play resumes in September.
“The first goal is that we want to compete in every game,” he said. “We can’t promise how many games we win or we’ll have a certain record. But being competitive in every game and having a chance to win is a realistic goal for this team. We will compete.”
Canton should be better than they were a year ago. They’re older, stronger and a bit bigger. Junior QB Dugan Lloyd returns along with sophomore running back Carter Gavin, who set a new single game school record with 235 yards against Morgan last November, and junior tight end Gavin Wood.
Wood had a team-leading 24 receptions for 260 yards and a touchdown. Lloyd started five games at quarterback after Alex Higley turned an ankle against Lewis Mills and had to sit out several contests.
Senior captain Travis Abate worked hard in the offseason and will anchor the offensive and defensive line along with junior guard and defensive tackle Charlie Parchen and junior linebacker Jack Szczepanski. Look for junior running back Brayon Fluckiger do make some noise along with junior Donovan Macklin and his younger brother, Colin, a freshman.
The Warriors open the season at Coginchaug/Hale Ray – a new co-op program – -on Saturday, Sept. 9 in Durham. They follow that with three consecutive home games on the turf at the high school. Canton will host a night game with portable lights against Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby on Friday, Oct. 20, beginning at 6 p.m.
Canton will be playing four games under the lights including the season finale at Granby on Thanksgiving Eve. The Warriors will play newest league member Rockville for the first time on Friday, Nov. 10, in Vernon.
The Warriors return to the Uncas Division this season with three games against Sassacus Division opponents – Coginchaug/Hale Ray, Nonnewaug and SMSA/University/Classical at Dillon Stadium in Hartford.
2017 schedule
Saturday, Sept. 9: at Coginchaug/Hale Ray, 1 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 16: Stafford/East Windsor/Somers, 1 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 23: Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton/Lyman Memorial, 1 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 30: Gilbert/Northwestern, 1 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 7: at Ellington, 1 p.m.
Bye week
Friday, Oct. 20: Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby, 6 p.m.
Sat. Oct. 28: Nonnewaug, noon
Friday, Nov. 3: at SMSA/University/Classical, 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 10: at Rockville, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 22: at Granby, 6:30 p.m.
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 30 years.


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