45 years later, Andover High's Chiklis returns to gridiron for 'The Senior'

Until recently, Michael Chiklis hadn’t played football since his senior year at Andover High.

I mean, sure, he’d played tag football with his buddy Tom Brady for charity events over the years. He’d “tossed the rock” with buddies, as he tells me. But the Emmy winner hadn’t been tackled in a game since 1980.

Then came a script — and true story — so good, he suited up.

“The Senior” tells the true story of Mike Flynt, a college football player from Texas who was expelled in his senior year at Sul Ross State University for fighting. After decades of living with regret over letting his team down, Flynt learned at age 59 that he still had a year of playing eligibility. So in 2007, the grandfather tried out for the team. He made it.

Flynt’s feel-good story landed everywhere from CNN to “Good