Category Archives: Governor’s Academy

February 22, 2013 · 11:25 pm

Governor’s Academy gets past Belmont Hill 65-57 with strong second half in boys basketball

Joe Kuo (19 points) grabs a rebound

Joe Kuo (19 points) grabs a rebound

Eli Earley soars in for two for GA

Eli Earley soars in for two for GA

(Byfield) Governor’s Academy had a very strong second half and defeated Belmont Hill, 65-57, on Friday night in Independent School League action.

The Govs (12-8) trailed by two (32-30) at the half and traded baskets to start the second half.

After that, the home team put on quite a show of offense and defense during the next 8 ½  minutes.  Maybe it was because the GA seniors were honored before the game and plenty of friends and family were on hand. Whatever it was, the Govs put together a 19-2 segment.

That great offense/defense turned a 34-32 deficit into a commanding 51-36 lead with six minutes left.

Maybe it was a coincidence but all of the points for Governor’s were scored by seniors during the game-deciding run.  Stephen Basden (6), Kam Nobles (2), Tate Jozokos (5), Eli Earley (2) and Joe Kuo (4) put the 19-point package together for GA.

Harry Roberson (17 points)

Harry Roberson (17 points)

Belmont Hill (8-16) responded with a 10-2 run of their own featuring two layups and two free throws by Harry Roberson (17 points) to close to seven (53-46) with three minutes to go.

The Hillies would cut the lead to six (59-53) on a Kevin Scarlet (12 points) layup with 1:09 left.  However, GA answered with a breakaway layup by Eli Earley (7 points) and a Joe Kuo (19 points) free throw to elevate the Govs lead to nine and seal the win.

Joe Kuo led all scorers with his nineteen points.  I saw the 6-9 senior get a career-high thirty-eight points against St. Paul’s.  The difference tonight?  Not enough touches for the big guy.  Some pretty active BH defense had a lot to do with it.

The Govs started fast and led 14-10 after 6 ½ minutes.  Then Belmont Hill ran eight unanswered points over the next three minutes to get in front (18-14).  They would maintain the lead into halftime (32-30).

A big part of the BH first-half success was the 3-pointer.  There were two each by Hilal Dahleh and Sultan Olusekun as well as one by Kevin Scarlett.

Harry Roberson (17 points) had twelve of them in the second half helping the Hillies fight back from the 19-2 run GA threw at them.

Sultan Olusekun looks for an opening

Sultan Olusekun looks for an opening

The crowd at GA was sizable and noisy.  Easily the biggest excitement was over a Joe Kuo jam on an inbounds play in the second half.

The tight defense forced turnovers (34 by my count) and plenty of foul shots.

To put it kindly, the foul shooting by both teams was pitiful.

Belmont Hill lost by eight points but they missed twelve free throws including three that were the front end of one-and-one’s.

Governor’s won by eight points despite missing sixteen free throws including two that were the front end of one-and-one’s.

Which shot do you suppose players everywhere practice the most…..layup, free throw or 3-pointer?

Stephen Basden (12 points)

Stephen Basden (12 points)

Stephen Basden (12 points), Tate Jozokos (11 points), and Kam Nobles (10 points) all reached double figures for GA.

Kam went down hard after a layup early in the second half.  He did return to action not too long after that.

I thought maybe BH alum Jonathan Kraft (President of the Patriots) might be in the house but word was that he was trying to find a Denver Boot big enough to fit on Gronk’s leg!

Governor’s Academy Boxscore

Belmont Hill Boxscore

(All of the pictures above and below enlarge if you click on them.)

Kyrief Kelley and Kevin Scarlett

Kyrief Kelley and Kevin Scarlett

Harry Roberson caught in GA traffic

Harry Roberson caught in GA traffic

loose ball

loose ball

Joe Kuo looks for a pass as Jesse Wims defends

Joe Kuo looks for a pass as Jesse Wims defends

Kevin Scarlett (12 points) shoots over Kam Nobles

Kevin Scarlett (12 points) shoots over Kam Nobles

Kam Nobles (10 points) looks for a pass

Kam Nobles (10 points) looks for a pass

Tate Jozokos (11 points)

Tate Jozokos (11 points)

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February 21, 2013 · 12:09 am

Undefeated Nobles (23-0) holds off Governor’s Academy 59-50 in Independent School League girls basketball

Kat Fogarty (27 points) looks to block the shot of Alexandra Maund (15 points)

Kat Fogarty (27 points) looks to block the shot of Alexandra Maund (15 points)

Katie Benzan (16 points) lines up a three

Katie Benzan (16 points) lines up a three

(Byfield)  Noble and Greenough School (23-0) continued on their undefeated ways with a, 59-50, win over Governor’s Academy on Wednesday night in Independent School League action.

The Bulldogs level of dominance in the ISL is mind boggling.  They are a win away (on Friday at Milton Academy) of winning the 13-team league for the tenth straight season.

Their won/loss record in ISL regular-season games during this amazing run?  117-2!

Nobles came close to picking up an “L” against league member Rivers on Friday night.  Rivers made only 13-of-28 free throws and missed two of them with no time on the clock in a 42-41 loss.

Today’s game with GA wasn’t that close at the end.  However, the Govs recovered from a bad start and had a two-point lead (38-36) with 9:40 left.

Governor’s (17-5) were still within one-possession territory at 44-42 (6:23) and 46-44 (5:10).

However, Nobles put a 10-2 segment together over the next 3 ½ minutes to get a commanding ten-point lead (56-46) with 1 ½ minutes left. GA couldn‘t recover.

Kat Fogarty shoots over Kate Kerrigan (14 points)

Kat Fogarty shoots over Kate Kerrigan (14 points)

Kat Fogarty (27 points) put on another remarkable scoring show.  The 6-1 Marist signee was trouble for Nobles every time she had the ball.  Junior Kate Kerrigan was her primary defender and was solely interested in denying Kat the ball.  When Kat did manage to get the ball, other defenders showed up to help Kate out.

Despite this sort of coverage Kat was still able to get twenty-five of her points during the first twenty-seven minutes of the game.  Holding Kat to only two points over the last five minutes of the game was certainly a reason why Nobles is still undefeated.

The visitors from Dedham jumped in front, 14-4, after six minutes.  Two three’s by freshman Katie Benzan (15 points) were big in the fast start.

The Govs put seven straight points together later in the half and got back to within two (18-16) with 5 ½ minutes left in the first half.  Kat Fogarty had three free throws in this run while Jackie Ham assisted on layups by her sister Kendall (10 points) and Isa Berzanski.

Nobles closed the half, 11-5, and led 29-21.

Nobles had been winning games by an average of twenty-eight points so I thought they might take off in the second half.  Didn’t happen that way.

The Govs went down by nine (34-25) before Kat carried the team to a 13-2 collection with eleven points including two 3’s.  Those 4 ½ minutes of excellent offense put the home team in front (38-36) with 9:40 left.

Kate Kerrigan heads for the hoop

Kate Kerrigan heads for the hoop

Down but definitely not out was Nobles.  A drive by Kate Kerrigan (14 points) tied the score.  Then the junior stole the ball and put in another layup for the lead.  A Lauren Dillon free throw was followed by Kate Benzan’s third three.  Nobles was now up by six (44-38).

GA would close to within two (46-44) with five minutes left.  Four free throws by Kat and two by Isa Berzanski provided the points.

Over the next 3 ½ minutes the Govs would get a steal and layin by Kendall Ham but that would be the only scoring they were able to manage.

During those same 3 ½ minutes Nobles registered ten points.  Six of the points came on free throws; two by Hannah Peterson and four by Katie Benzan.  Two of Katie’s free throws were the result of a technical foul called on the GA coach for, according to the referee, “for getting in my face.”

The other four points in the game-deciding minutes came on layups by Kate Kerrigan and Alexandra Maund (15 points).

Lauren Dillon

Lauren Dillon

Alexandra’s layup was well set up by point guard Lauren Dillon.  Lauren got by her defender into the lane and when Kat Fogarty came away from Alexandra to prevent Lauren from getting a layup Lauren’s pass set up Alexandra for a layup.  That play worked several times over the course of the game.

Kat Fogarty not only had twenty-seven points but also had at least four blocks.

Nobles was 25-1 last season and won their first Class A title in twenty-five years.  You’d have to like their chances of doing it again.

Despite all the good players in this game there were still (by my unofficial count) forty-eight turnovers.  Nobles was whistled for twenty-one of them.  However, another key to the win was that only one of the miscues happened in the last four minutes of this game.

Junior Lauren Dillon is an All-ISL selection in basketball and soccer.

Junior Kate Kerrigan was the MVP in the 2012 NEPSAC Class A tournament.

I thought that Nobles grad and Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck might be in the audience but I didn’t see him.  He was probably busy trying to decide if it’s time to trade Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Governor’s Boxscore

Nobles Boxscore

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge if you click on them.)

Alexandra Maund caught between the Ham sisters

Alexandra Maund caught between the Ham sisters

Jackie Ham

Jackie Ham

Katie Benzan shoots technical foul shots

Katie Benzan shoots technical foul shots

loose ball

loose ball

Hayley Newhall and Kate Kerrigan

Hayley Newhall and Kate Kerrigan

Jackie Ham flies to the basket

Jackie Ham flies to the basket

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February 13, 2013 · 8:15 pm

Joe Kuo gets 38 points and takes Governor’s Academy past St. Paul’s 66-50

Joe Kuo (38 points) gets in for two

Joe Kuo (38 points) gets in for two

Joe Kuo (16-for-20 from the foul line)

Joe Kuo (16-for-20 from the foul line)

(Byfield) There was nothing St. Paul’s School could do about Joe Kuo.

The Governor’s Academy 6-9 senior poured thirty-eight points down on St. Paul’s (Concord NH) and led the Govs to a, 66-50, win on Wednesday afternoon in Independent School League action.

GA (10-7) led by only two points (29-27) at halftime but erupted with a 16-2 stretch to start the second half and never looked back.

In the early going St. Paul’s (4-13) had enough offense to stay with GA despite Joe Kuo.  Ethan Schlager (16 points) and David Smith (11 points) made three’s and Jared Neves (15 points) ran seven points in a row by himself.  This collection of offense was part of an attack that put Big Red in front, 23-18, with 3:42 left in the first half.

The next 2 ½ minutes the steady flow of Joe Kuo points kept coming (9 points) but there were no St. Paul’s answers.  Cam Nobles added two free throws and the Govs had an eleven-point run and the lead (29-23) with 1:25 until halftime.

Two free throws by Jackson Gates (8 points) and a layup in heavy traffic narrowed the Govs lead to, 29-27, at halftime.

Jared Neves (15 points) and Stephen Basden (10 points) battle

Jared Neves (15 points) and Stephen Basden (10 points) battle

Who knows what went on in the GA locker-room at halftime but they came out flying in the second half.  In the first five minutes of the second half the visitors had only a David Smith layup.  Meanwhile, the Govs rolled up sixteen points.

Naturally Joe Kuo had points (six) but also involved was Stephen Basden (six) and Tate Jozokos (four).  In the mix was a turnover that Stephen took in for a jam.

This good spell of scoring gave the Govs a, 45-29, advantage.  The rest of the way both teams scored twenty-one points each but the closest Big Red could get was, 56-45, with 4:17 remaining.  Joe Kuo (layup) and Cam Nobles (two free throws and a layup) provided a quick response and any suspense about the outcome departed.

Joe Kuo was very impressive.  His game is not of the highlight-reel variety but he was a big factor at both ends.

Ethan Schlager (16 points) looks for an opening

Ethan Schlager (16 points) looks for an opening

GA was very interested in getting Joe the ball because he was productive.  St. Paul’s had no one who could block his shot and were forced to foul him.  He made sixteen-of-twenty free throws.  He was also able to convert missed shots – he did it four times.

Even tougher for Big Red was that often times they had Joe blocked out but he could reach over players with his size and long arms and get rebounds anyway.  More than a few times the St. Paul’s bench yelled to referees that Joe was going over Big Red backs.

Joe had nineteen points in each half.

Defensively Joe had a number of blocks.  Instead of trying to block shots into the stands Joe blocked them enough so that the Govs could create some quick offense.

The play that raised the most excitement was a jam by fast-moving, 6-6(?) Jared Neves in which he went at and over 5-7 Charles Odei in the first half.  Charles looked for a moment as if he might consider taking a charge but wisely side-stepped Jared just before a bad collision occurred.

David Smith (11 points) and Tate Jozokos

David Smith (11 points) and Tate Jozokos

Tate Jozokos was terrific on defense for Governor’s.

I thought that St. Paul’s alum John Kerry might make this one but apparently he had better things to do.

Governor’s Academy boxscore

St. Paul’s boxscore

(The pictures above and below will enlarge if you click on them.)

Joe Kuo shoots over Jared Neves

Joe Kuo shoots over Jared Neves

Stephen Basden

Stephen Basden

Kam Nobles (10 points) boxed in by David Smith and Josh Ward

Kam Nobles (10 points) boxed in by David Smith and Josh Ward

Jared Neves in the corner with Joe Kuo defending

Jared Neves in the corner with Joe Kuo defending

David Na

David Na

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January 16, 2013 · 10:41 pm

Governor’s Academy hangs on to defeat Tabor Academy 46-44 in prep school girls basketball

Kat Fogarty (25 points) gets above the Tabor defense

Kat Fogarty (25 points) gets above the Tabor defense

loose ball in the last minute

loose ball in the last minute

(Byfield) The Governor’s Academy girls held on down the stretch and eked out a, 46-44, win over Tabor Academy on Wednesday afternoon at GA.

The Govs (7-3) made a 46-44 advantage stand up through three possessions by Tabor (7-4) in the final 1 ½ minutes.

The first two tense possessions ended with Seawolves’ turnovers.  The game-on-the-line last one ended with a missed shot by Tabor’s Sarah Kourtesis with Kat Fogarty running at her. The resulting rebound led to a wild scramble as the final buzzer sounded.

Kat Fogarty (25 points) was terrific for the Govs despite drawing plenty of attention from the Seawolves defenders in a full-game performance.

Kat Fogarty made ten of eleven free throws

Kat Fogarty made ten of eleven free throws

6-1 Kat hit three 3’s and made 10-of-11 free throws.  She will be playing for Division 1 Marist in 2013-14.

Kat’s points were one thing but her rebounding, passing, and shot blocking were eye-catchers as well.  I was equally impressed with her part in finding open spots where she could receive outlet passes during Tabor’s relentless pressure.

What surprised me reviewing the play-by-play from this game was that Kat Fogarty did not score a single point over the final nine minutes of the game!  She made two free throws with nine minutes left to end Tabor’s eight-straight run and give GA a 37-36 edge.

The final nine Govs’ points were produced by the Ham sisters (Jackie and Kendall) and Hayley Newhall.

After a Gia Doonan (nine points) layup, Jackie Ham (nine points) answered with a layup of her own.  Sister Kendall converted a rebound before Aly Griffin answered with a driving layup.  This action put the score at 41-40 in favor of the Govs with five minutes left.

Katie Vareika chases down Jackie Ham

Katie Vareika chases down Jackie Ham

Next we watched the Ham sisters, in reverse order, tally two more baskets.  Kendall’s was a layup in the half court.  Jackie’s was a full-court sprint.  Sarah Kourtesis responded with a layup to make this a 45-42 game with 2:48 to be played.

Hayley Newhall made one of two free throws with 1:46 to go and not long after that Anel Ethenage (seven points) tallied Tabor’s last basket with a jumper in the lane.

To say that the final 1 ½ minutes were hectic is putting it mildly.  Not only did Tabor turn the ball over on their first two possessions but the home team did the same thing.

After the second turnover by the visitors from Marion, Jackie Ham was at the free throw line with 11.7 seconds left with the chance to build on the Govs’ two-point lead.  She missed both and that led to a final shot for Tabor that could have sent this game into overtime.

Kat Fogarty blocks Izzy Nappa

Kat Fogarty blocks Izzy Nappa

The Seawolves held a 6-4 lead after five minutes before Kat Fogarty keyed an 18-1 run over the next seven minutes.  Kat put together twelve straight points in the GA surge of good offense including two 3’s in a row.

Tabor’s lone point came from Lydia Caputi.  The Seawolves registered (by my count) nine turnovers during this segment and found themselves down, 22-7.

Tabor was down but definitely not out…too many good athletes.  Over the next 10 ½ minutes of playing time, stretching into the second half, the Seawolves climbed all the way back outscoring GA, 29-13, and pulled in front, 36-35, to set up an exciting final ten minutes.

Tabor was the Class A New England champion in 2011.

Jackie Ham shoots a free throw

Jackie Ham shoots a free throw

Governor’s Academy was 14-10 last season.

The two teams played at Tabor last year where the Seawolves won, 62-51.

Kat Fogarty has led the ISL (Independent School League) in scoring during the past two seasons.  She reached 1000 points last season.

Covering prep school games can be difficult and this one was especially so.  I have to have names and numbers of players to identify players that turn up in the pictures I take.  Neither school in this game offered any roster help on their websites and neither school had a typed roster at the site to use or at least look at and copy.  I ended up looking at a scorebook that was tough to read on some of the Tabor names.  The retired teacher in me wants to spell names correctly.

Governor’s Academy boxscore

Tabor Academy boxscore

(The pictures above and below enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Hayley Newhall tightly defended by Aly Griffin

Hayley Newhall tightly defended by Aly Griffin

Hayley Newhall puts her shoulder into Katie Vareika

Hayley Newhall puts her shoulder into Katie Vareika

Aly Griffin

Aly Griffin

another loose ball in the last minute

another loose ball in the last minute

Gia Doonan (nine points) shoots over Kendall Ham

Gia Doonan (nine points) shoots over Kendall Ham

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January 25, 2012 · 9:25 pm

Governor’s Academy Buries Kent’s Hill in Boys Basketball 82-40 Led by Duncan Robinson (32 points)

Duncan Robinson poured 32 points on Kents Hill including this early jam.

Eli Roberts had nineteen points for overmatched Kents Hill.

(Byfield) When a private school in Class C plays against a bigger Class B school, you can get a mismatch.

Such was the case as Governor’s Academy (9-3) crushed Kent’s Hill (Maine), 82-40, on Wednesday afternoon.

The vastly undersized Huskies (3-5) had multiple shots maybe two or three times during the entire game.

Meanwhile, the Govs’ eyes lit up as they got to shoot against a zone defense for the full thirty-two minutes……and did they shoot!  How does connecting on eleven 3’s sound?

Duncan Robinson (32 points) scored from just about everywhere and made it look easy.  The 6-6 senior had dunks, jumpers, layups, and 3’s.  The only missing piece was free throws because there just wasn’t enough Huskie defense when the Gov starters were in.

Seldom seen Max George (17 points) connected on five triples.  Stephen Basden had nine points and five assists.

Eli Roberts paced the Huskies with nineteen points.

The Govs jumped off to an 11-1 start in the first 3 ½ minutes and never looked back.  Duncan Robinson set the tone taking the opening tip in for a layup and followed that with a steal that ended with a dunk.

Max George (17 points) came off the bench to nail five triples.

The lead stabilized to 19-8 with Eli Roberts getting all of KH’s points.  The wheels fell off for the visitors over the next 1 ½ minutes as GA ran ten unanswered almost entirely on the inside – so much for a zone defending in close to the basket!

That 29-8 spread was 38-19 at halftime.

GA coach Mike Williams had substituted quickly and liberally in the first half.  He returned the starters to the floor at the outset of the second half and we were treated to The Duncan Robinson Show.

Duncan put together a twelve point run by himself and was assisted on four of the five baskets he made.  We saw two layups, a tip in, a dunk, and a triple.  Quite the show!

That “show” extended the GA lead to, 50-23, with nearly eleven minutes left.

But there was more.  After baskets by O’Shea Bell and Eli Roberts, the Gov put together a 14-1 segment in three minutes.  Duncan had three 3’s during this burst and assisted on Kam Nobles triple.  So now it was 64-28 with nearly nine minutes left.  All reserves the rest of the way to the 82-40 end.

The lighting at Governor’s continues to be a mystery to this amateur photographer.  Stationary shots…..not so bad.  Action shots……work in progress.  I’m quite sure that brighter lights in that place would help.

The number of wide open looks amazed me.  I saw the GA/Andover game and the only open shots were in warm-ups!

Governor’s boxscore

Kent’s Hill boxscore

(The pictures above and below will enlarge if you click on them.)

Duncan Robinson

Joe Kuo defended by Luka Dow

Kam Nobles layup past Eli Roberts

Ethan Feldman defended by Eli Earley

Joe Kuo goes for block against Cam Dow

OShea Bell

Robin Bodin

Stephen Basden layup

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January 18, 2012 · 9:48 pm

Governor’s Academy Wins One-Point Thriller 56-55 Over Phillips Academy (Andover) in Boys Basketball

Joseph Kuo (18 points) puts in the game winner.

Ryan Hartung (21 points) at the foul line

(Byfield)  Phillips Academy (Andover) had three chances to tie or defeat Governor’s Academy in the final seven seconds but failed to do either losing, 56-55, at GA on Wednesday afternoon.

Ryan Hartung (21 points) had two free throws with seven seconds left and Big Blue down by one.  He had made four straight attempts in the game.  Surprisingly, he missed both in crunch time.  In the scramble for the rebound, Brendan O’Connell ended up with a shot in the lane that also missed before the ball rolled out of bounds as the game ended.

That’s how close the Govs came to losing this one.

As it turned out, the winning basket was a layup by Joseph Kuo (18 points) on a feed from Duncan Robinson (11 points) with 1:41 remaining.  As you can guess, there were plenty of “should of’s” and “could of’s” thereafter including the calamity for Andover in the last seven seconds.

GA (7-3) and Andover (5-7), in the first half, went back-and-forth with nine lead changes.  Ryan Hartung (6-5) converted a rebound at the buzzer to give Andover a 28-27 halftime advantage.

Ryan’s late hoop was part of an 11-point Blue run that ended up with them in front, 34-27, early in the second half.

Tate Jozokos (8 points) breakaway

The Govs spent most of the rest of the game closing on the Blue and then falling back.   The Blue lead went to eight (48-40) when Ryan Hartung successfully put back his own miss and later was seven (53-46) when Ryan connected on a triple assisted by Labaron Sylvester.

Ryan’s 3-pointer came with 5:20 to go.  After that?  Almost all downhill for the visitors over the last 5+ minutes.  How does two points sound???

While the Blue offense was set on cool the Govs heated up and put an 8-spot on them.  Inside work by 6-8 Joseph Kuo netted four points, and was followed by a Frank Barba jumper, and then a breakaway layup by Duncan Robinson off a Blue turnover.  Suddenly the Govs had the lead 54-53 with three minutes left.

After two missed free throws (Brendan O’Connell), Sahil Bhaiwala raced off with a breakaway layup to put Phillips Academy on top, 55-54, with two minutes remaining.

This would be PA’s last points and last lead as they suffered a frustrating loss.

Joseph Kuo and Thomas Palleschi battle

Big Thomas Palleschi (6-9/250) tallied twelve for Phillips.  His matchup with Joseph Kuo (6-8/180) was fun to watch.  In my opinion, PA didn’t work hard enough at getting the ball in to Thomas over the last part of the game – maybe Joseph’s defense had a lot to do with that.

Duncan Robinson added eleven points for the Govs and faced plenty of good defense from Ryan Hartung.

Governor’s box score

Phillip’s box score

(All the pictures above and below enlarge when you click on them.)

Ryan Hartung afterwards

Grant OBrien heads for the hoop

Duncan Robinson & Ryan Hartung

Thomas Palleschi & Tate Jozokos

Labaron Sylvester & Cam Nobles

Ryan Hartung drives

Sahil Bhaiwala looks for an opening

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November 12, 2011 · 10:34 pm

Governor’s Academy Routs Belmont Hill School 41-14 in Football to Finish Regular Season Undefeated

Undefeated Governors Academy celebrates win over Belmont Hill School.

First-year coach Jim OLeary with Tate Jozokos

(Byfield) Junior Tate Jozokos scored three touchdowns and passed for another as Governor’s Academy finished their ISL regular season unbeaten with a 41-14 rout over previously unbeaten Belmont Hill on Saturday afternoon.

The Seniors Day crowd had plenty to cheer about as their Govs dominated both sides of the ball.

The only Gov blemishes were a secondary lapse late in the first half that gave the Hillies their first TD, and late-game action, involving reserves, that produced the visitors second score.  Beyond that, the Govs were very impressive.

Their running game was geared inside behind the running of junior Eli Morrissey (127 yards – 2 TDs).  At 5’8”-175, Eli did a pretty good imitation of the Patriots Danny Woodhead in a sea of much larger linemen.

Eli Morrissey (2 TDs) gets blocks from Peter Hines (53) and John Dresser (55).

Belmont Hill entered the game allowing just 6.3 points per game.  Those stats blew up in this one as Govs wore them down with their ground game and were never once denied in the red zone.

The Govs second score, early in the second period (10:53), showed how much trouble the Hillies defense was in.  Down 7-0, BH closed in to stop the run and left their secondary in man-to-man coverage.  Tate faked to Eli and gained plenty of time to find 6’5” Frank Barba flying down the middle of the field with defender 5’9” Alfredo Barros in coverage.  A well-thrown pass and Frank was in for a 41-yard touchdown.

Tate Jozokos finishes the regular season with thirteen touchdowns rushing and ten passing in an undefeated eight-game schedule.  Does the ISL have an MVP??

And the season isn’t over.  The Govs will play again next weekend in one of the NESCAP bowl games.

The Hillies (7-1) may also make one of those bowl games as well.  It would be a fitting end for retiring BH coach Kevin Fleming.  He has already led teams to eight bowl games in his 20+ years of coaching.

The Govs were 4-4 last season.  This is their first ISL title since 2004.

Frank Barba (88) gets past Alfredo Barros (13) for 2nd quarter TD.

Governor’s Academy involved Sammy Davis in some offensive trickery and let’s just say that there’s some work to be done.  One was on an extra points attempt (handoff problem) and the other a second pass attempt after catching a pass (thrown out-of-bounds).

GA did run a very effective end around to Frank Barba for a two-point conversion in the third period.

The Govs led, 19-7, at halftime.  They put up three more scores in 1 ½ periods in the second half for a, 41-7, advantage and allowed reserves to finish off the afternoon.

I was impressed with the discipline of the Governor’s offense.  Tate would get a play from Coach O’Leary and take it to the huddle.  The team would come to the line of scrimmage and wait in formation.  Then Coach O’Leary would tell Tate to change the play or tell him to go ahead with the play already called.  It was obvious that the GA coach was reading the defense when he kept a play or changed it.  While this was going on, the offense didn’t false start which was impressive to me.

(I collect my own information and take my own pictures.  I own any mistakes.)  Clicking on pictures enlarges them.

Kirk Ryder (4)

Frank Barba heads for extra points

Lucas Bombardier (28)

Bug Carper (8)

BH quarterback Conor Murphy

Eli Morrissey

BH coach Kevin Fleming

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November 4, 2011 · 10:07 pm

Governor’s Academy Football Remains Undefeated With 29-10 Win Over Milton Academy

Tate Jozokos (13) follows Eli Morrissey (34) to the end zone on the last play of the first half.

Kirk Ryder rocks Mustang QB Anthony Scurto (4) in the red zone in the 4th quarter

(Byfield)  Governor’s Academy continues undefeated (7-0) downing Milton Academy, 29-10, on a breezy afternoon at GA.

And likewise, Belmont Hill is also undefeated with their, 42-15, rout of Lawrence Academy.

That should make next Saturday’s, regular-season-ending, 1PM matchup between the Govs and the Hillies into the biggest game in this 2011 Independent School League season.  There is something called the NEPSAC bowl after the regular season is over!

Governor’s had great success running the ball, getting all four touchdowns that way.   The big problem for Milton Academy (3-4) was that there wasn’t one back they could key on.

The biggest play of the game was probably the last play of the first half.  It was a play that never should have happened.

The visiting Mustangs trailed only, 8-3, and had the ball at their own 18-yard-line with a minute left in the half.  They were deep in their own territory.  Probably should have been a good time to run off some clock.  But the Mustangs were throwing passes.

None were intercepted but the passes stopped the clock and gave GA time for a play from the Mustang 35.  Quarterback Tate Jozokos swept left and used Eli Morrissey’s block to score as the halftime horn sounded.  GA left with a 14-3 halftime lead.

Drew Jacobs (32) finds the end zone early in the third period.

The Mustang’s last minute fiasco loomed large when they drove 71 yards with the opening kickoff in the second half into the end zone finished off with Drew Jacobs eleven yard run.  Justin Yoon’s kick closed things to 14-10.

Next possession Tate Jozokos was picked by Jack Conway to set MA up at their own 40 early in the third quarter.  You started to think that maybe Milton Academy (3-4) could pull off a major upset.

Not on this day.  The Mustangs final three possessions ended in turnover, red zone squander, and turnover.  The Gov’s, meanwhile, put up two touchdowns and extra points, and ran out the clock on their last possession.

Kirk Ryder was prominent in two of those Mustang stops.  He recovered Drew Jacobs fumble after Eli Morrissey’s tackle forced the loose ball.  Later Kirk put a serious hit on Mustang QB Anthony Scurto on a failed fourth down play at the Gov’s nine just as he was releasing a pass.

Sammy Davis converted a 4th-and-3 late in the third quarter.  Tate Jozokos (three touchdowns/one 2-point conversion) finished the drive with a one yard push up the middle. GA led, 21-10, as the third period ended.

Sammy Davis gets past Sean Sylva (37) and Vaughn Holliday (35) for 7-yard TD in the 4th quarter.

After Milton Academy’s red zone squander in the fourth period, the Govs put together a 91-yard march featuring a 26-yard run by Tate Jozokos and a bizarre 24-yard run by Sammy Davis.  I say “bizarre” because Sammy fumbled the pitch that was supposed to send him left, picked up the fumble and ran right for the yards.  He had the speed to get away with the change of direction.  Sammy went the final seven yards on a sweep left.  Tate scrambled for the 2-point conversion.

Jesse Gwozdz intercepted Anthony Scurto on the Mustangs’ last possession.

Milton Academy got on the board first on freshman Justin Yoon’s 35-yard field goal.  That leg could land him on a D1 college roster four years from now.

Eli Morrissey took the next kickoff all the way to the Mustang 13.  The Govs looked ready to roll into the end zone but Otis Handy picked off Tate Jozokos’ pass at the one.

Eli Morrissey (34) during long first period kickoff return.

On the first play after the interception the Mustangs tried to fake a handoff and have QB Anthony Scurto follow.  The play was way too slow in getting started and Anthony was dropped in the end zone for a safety.

Things stayed 3-2 until late in the second period.  A couple of long runs by Eli Morrissey and Austin Smith set Tate up for a one-yard scoring plunge with one minute until halftime.  This brings us back to MA’s questionable strategy during the final minute of the first half.

The Gov’s tried an end around (Frank Barba) after one touchdown and a fake kick (Colin Smith) on another.  The polish wasn’t on either one of those attempts!

This was my first look at the Governor’s.  They certainly have a running game to be feared especially to the outside.  I also liked the fact that many of the best blocks I saw were thrown by backs.  If I were Belmont Hill, however, I would be wanting to force Governor’s to throw the ball – Tate threw two interceptions.

The Gov’s were very solid on defense.  Bug Carper, Tucker Oniskey, and Kirk Ryder spent a lot of time in the Mustang backfield.  Kirk’s QB hurry on 4th down in the red zone was significant.  If the Mustangs had scored they would have trailed just, 21-17, with most of the final quarter left.

Belmont Hill (7-0) versus Governor’s Academy (7-0) on November 12th (Saturday) at 1PM in Byfield.

(I take my own pictures and draw my own conclusions.  Mistakes are unintentional.)  If you click on any of the pictures they will enlarge to normal size.

Tate Jozokos

Otis Handy

Kirk Ryder

Colin Smith

Anthony Scurto

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February 7, 2011 · 10:00 pm

Shooting Woes Doom Governor’s Versus Rivers 64-57

Plenty of excitement in the last minute of the Governor’s/Rivers game.

James Gomes defends Kyle Reardon.

(Byfield) Governor’s Academy shot poorly and lost to Rivers School (Weston), 64-57, on Monday night in ISL action.

The final seven-point margin suggests a close game but a lot of that “closeness” was a result of Rivers’ coach Andrew Mirken pulling all of his starters at once with a 61-42 lead with 1 ½ minutes left.

Let’s just say that there was a significant dropoff in playing ability and the Gov starters swarmed the newbies relentlessly wracking up fifteen points in the frenzy that was the end of the game. However, that nineteen point margin was more than they could overcome.

The Govs (5-8) started hot (making four of their first five shots) and led 9-4 early.  After that, the looks were there but the consistent accuracy wasn’t.

That poor shooting led to a couple of ten-point runs by the Red Wings.

Frank Barba (14 points) and Nick Lund (13 points)

The first run featured a two-handed dunk by Nick Lund on an inbounds play and ended with the Red Wings leading, 20-13, with 7 ½ to play.

The second run had Kyle Reardon nailing his third 3 of the half and dart-like Carlin Haymon drawing six free throws.

Rivers (9-7) led at the half, 35-21.

Playing at home, the Govs started fast (again) in the second half with the first eight points to close to 35-29.  A steal and layin by Carlin Haymon ended the run but the Govs were still around 39-35 with ten minutes left.

A Rivers timeout was followed by a 9-1 Red Wing stretch over two minutes.  Kyle Reardon had two more 3’s in this segment which put Rivers in front, 48-36, with 7:50 to go.

That cold shooting I referenced before kicked in big-time over the next six minutes.  The Govs could manage just two free throws and two layups while Rivers built their lead to a seemingly comfortable, 61-42, before the end game scramble began.

Freshman Carlin Haymon – Drew fouls and scored 17 points.

Freshman Carlin Haymon and junior Kyle Reardon led all scorers with seventeen each.  Carlin slashed against any defense he saw while Kyle shot over any defense he saw.

Junior Nick Lund ended with thirteen points, several blocks, and plenty of rebounds.  I’m guessing that the junior is at least 6’7”.  He earned plenty of attention from the Gov’s defense.  I did get a shot of one of his pregame dunks.

James Gomes topped the Gov’s with fifteen followed by Frank Barba (14) and Stephen Basden (12).

Last time at GA I saw them lose to Lawrence Academy getting few good looks and very few second chances.  Not so against Rivers. GA had sixteen more shots than Rivers did.  However, they ended up missing 41 shots from the outside (22-for-63) and 10 from the foul line (10-for-20).  Their usually effective long-range game slumped to 2-for-12.

The game was not without its adventures.
(1)It didn’t start on time (5:15PM).  I figured that out when the Rivers bus arrived when I did at 4:55PM.
(2)The 35-second clock wasn’t working so attempts were made to fix the clock before hand to no avail.  So a system was set up so that the referees would be alerted to when the time was getting close.  All that planning was unnecessary as there never was a situation where the 35-second clock would have been a factor.
(3)Rivers had a player who wasn’t listed in the scorebook.  It might not have made a difference except he got called for a foul.  That recognition earned Rivers a technical and added to the excitement in the end game scramble I described earlier.

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January 17, 2011 · 9:44 pm

Lawrence Academy Beats Governor’s Academy 71-47 With a Strong Second Half

Colin Smith (#30) feels some of the tight Lawrence Academy second half defense.

(Byfield) A rousing second half by the visiting Lawrence Academy Spartans sent them past Governor’s Academy, 71-47, on Monday evening.

LA (5-6) had an 18-2 run over six minutes late in the second half and turned a competitive game (53-41) into a blowout (71-43) with 2:15 left.  GA (3-4) scored the last four points of the game but this one, by then, was in the bag for the Spartans.

The last time I saw Lawrence Academy was on March 7th  at Endicott College when they, led by Shabazz Napier (now at Uconn), completed a 29-0 season with a win over St. Mark’s in the Class C New England championships. I learned before today’s game that the stars from that team had moved on.

In this game, the visitors from Groton allowed GA to hang around in the first half (38-32) by being long-range happy (fifteen 3-point attempts).  The Spartans had the slashers and inside presence to do better and they did in the second half.  Their inside game earned them a steady flow of high percentage shots or free throws.  On the other end, the Spartans forced GA into low percentage shots and dominated the boards.

GA had no more easy shots after halftime warm-ups.  They were defensed into a lot of one-and-done’s and were a dismal 6-for-35 on shots attempted (17%) in the second half.

In thirty-four second half possessions the home team had only five second chances.  LA was obviously great on the glass.

James Gomes of Governor’s Academy

Senior James Gomes paced the Govs, as he usually does, with eighteen points.  It is no mystery that he is their main scoring threat.  The 5-11 senior creates his own offense.  He appeared to have some sort of thigh problem in the second half.  He was the only Gov to reach double figures.

The Spartans were led by Johnnie Vassar and Clay Horne.  Both had fifteen points.  Johnnie was a fearless slasher despite his guard size.  Clay was a finisher near the basket.

Clay Horne – two straight dunks in the second half

Clay had consecutive highlight dunks late in the second half.  The first was a one-stepper when a teammate penetrating found him alone in close.  The second was a putback on a missed shot.  I had my camera.  If I’d only known!

The Spartans also had double digit scoring from Marcus Grant (12) and Dan Giovacchini (11).

This game was a far cry from the no-students, Hebron game I last saw at Governor‘s.  Plenty of students around this time.

On-the-scene tidbits: Before the game started a GA authority figure moved a collection of male students from behind the Lawrence bench probably to prevent some unkind verbal exchanges.  Later a collection of female GA students sat behind the Lawrence bench and, doing my eavesdropping best, I heard that one of the Gov players had lost his girlfriend!

(I keep my own stats and take my own pictures.  I avoid interviewing participants.  All conclusions and statistics are subject to unintentional error as a result on my part.)

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