McClelland Miscellanea

December 23, 2013 · 11:51 pm

Undefeated Ridgefield gets past Masuk 51-37

Matt Brennan (18 points) launches a three

Bryan Acevedo gets caught in some tight Ridgefield defense

(Monroe CT) The Ridgefield Tigers (3-0) continue undefeated as they defeated the Masuk Panthers, 51-37, on Monday night at Masuk.

The visitors grabbed the lead early in the first quarter and never trailed thereafter.

Masuk (0-3) gave up far too many good looks to Ridgefield and the Tigers were able to run points in a row (ten, eight, seven, and six). The best the Panthers could do was put five points together twice.

The long ball was the primary weapon for the Tigers on this night. Senior Matt Brennan (18 points) connected on four 3’s while teammate Charlie Irwin (12 points) notched two treys.

Patrick Racy (12 points), Matt Brennan, and Matt Saporito sparked the first run as Ridgefield burst ahead, 10-2, halfway through the first quarter.

Ryan Fitzpatrick goes for the block on Charlie Irwin (12 points)

In the second quarter it was two 3’s by Charlie Irwin and a shot in the lane by 6-7 Patrick Racy that had the Tigers in front, 22-11, three minutes into that quarter.

A leaner by Matt Hornak had Masuk within eight (29-21) with two minutes until halftime but over the next three minutes of playing time (stretching into the third quarter) Pat Racy and Matt Brennan combined to give Ridgefield a 36-21 lead.

The final run of six points (Charlie Irwin and Will Brady) to start the final quarter put Ridgefield in front, 51-34, with six minutes left.

The rest of the way, the Tigers effectively ran out the clock despite having five turnovers.

The Tigers impressed me defensively. They kept the Masuk dribblers going sideways most of the night.

Ridgefield was 18-6 last season and looked to me to be a team capable of at least doing as well this time around. In this game their size, defense, and outside shooting was very solid.

Masuk coach Tom Zultowski watches the action

Masuk first-year coach Tom Zultowski has a team with plenty of speed and hustle. The Panthers were 9-12 in 2012-13.

Junior Bryan Acevedo had twenty-four points in Masuk’s first game.

The Panthers next game is home versus Bunnell on Friday (7PM).

Matt Brennan had five 3’s in Ridgefield’s win over Westhill on Friday night.

Ryan Fitzpatrick hurdles a teammate

The Tigers graduated seven players including Kurt Steidl. Kurt is now with Vermont. He averaged 25 PPG in 2012-13 and was the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year.

Ridgefield does not play again until January 3rd when they will travel to St. Joe’s for a 7PM game.

Ridgefield box

Masuk box

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

Matt Brennan hit four treys

Ryan Fitzpatrick and Zach Ward

Kam Kovachik goes for the block

Ridgefield coach Andy McClellan

Pat Racy (12 points) draws heavy coverage

Tom Haughney blocks Matt Simmeth

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December 21, 2013 · 11:54 pm

Notre Dame (Hingham) pins rare loss on Pentucket 36-32

Kendra Delahunt (12 points) looks for an opening between Kelsi McNamara and Riley Holden

Janey Mathisen (8 points) scored the last five points for Notre Dame Academy

(West Newbury MA) The Pentucket girls don’t lose very often. Under Coach John McNamara, the Sachems have an extraordinary 159-21 record.

But on Saturday afternoon Notre Dame Academy (Hingham) rallied to pin one of those losses on the Sachems, 36-32, in a nonleague game.

Both teams had significant roster turnovers and plenty of inexperienced players saw significant minutes. The result? Turnovers and missed shots galore.

Pentucket (1-1) is a team that likes to press their way into points and are usually successful at it. Teams make mistakes in the backcourt and the Sachems run up points in a hurry. That consecutive point thing, however, just never happened against the Cougars (3-0) thanks to the ball-handling/passing skills of Kendra Delahunt (12 points) and Janey Mathisen (8 points).

Most of the NDA miscues, and there were plenty, were in the frontcourt and didn’t lead to breakaway layups.

So with the Pentucket defense not turning up points, there was a need for some good outside shooting. Credit Notre Dame. They played a zone defense that took away most of the open outside shots of the Sachems especially those of Kelsi McNamara. Holding Kelsi to six points with no 3’s was a key to the Notre Dame victory.

Hannah Hollow (#21) tries for a 4th three

But those on hand at Pentucket are muttering as they read, “What about #21 in the fourth quarter?” And they make a great point.

Sophomore Hannah Hollow (#21) almost single-handedly pulled this one out for Pentucket. In the first 3+ minutes of the final quarter, Hannah found a spot on the left side and knocked down three straight 3’s. Suddenly in a game in which points were hard to come by, the Sachems had a bunch of them and actually grabbed the lead, 32-31, with 4:47 left to play.

But Pentucket wouldn’t score again and the Cougars, despite five turnovers the rest of the way, had enough to win with two inside scores by Janey Mathisen. Janey added a free throw with eleven seconds left to ice this one for the visitors.

Ironically, in a game where Pentucket could have used a boost in almost every area of the game, there in the stands were key graduated parts of the 24-2 team of 2012-13……………..Alex Moore, Tess Nogueira, and Coley Viselli. That threesome was great at providing offense and defense.

A trio of Pentucket defenders chase Janey Mathisen

Notre Dame “helped” keep the game close by struggling from the free throw line. The Cougars missed twelve of twenty-three attempts including four of their last five in the final quarter.

Meghan Curtis of NDA was the only senior on either roster.

Interested parties from Hamilton-Wenham and Masco (next two opponents on Pentucket’s schedule) were on hand for this game.

Kayli Hom started for Notre Dame but left due to sickness in that same quarter.

McKenna Kilian (23) and Kelsi McNamara (12)

Pentucket had not played for eight days.

Temperatures in the 50’s were a bit unusual for the first day of winter but I’m not complaining.

Notre Dame was the state Division 2 champions in 2009.

Notre Dame hosts Bishop Fenwick this coming Monday at home (6:30PM). On the same day, Pentucket travels to Hamilton-Wenham for a 5:30PM game.

Notre Dame Academy box

Pentucket box

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

Kelsi McNamara gets double-teamed

Hannah Hollow (9 points) in the corner

Janey Mathisen gives NDA the lead for good in the 4th quarter converting a rebound

opening tip

NDA coach Mike Barrett talks to his team

Taylor Moore (20) heads down the middle

Kendra Delahunt (45) leads a fast break

McKenna Kilian (23) goes for the block

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Tagged as Hannah Hollow, Janey Mathisen, Kendra Delahunt, Pentucket High School

December 21, 2013 · 12:10 am

Joe Bertrand (32 points) guides Saugus past Newburyport 62-48

Joe Bertrand (32 points) shoots a three over Drew Bourdeau

Joe Bertrand

(Newburyport MA) He was just your average Joe for a half.

But then came the third quarter and senior Joe Bertrand of Saugus lit up the Clippers for seventeen points.

Joe’s terrific period gave Saugus separation from Newburyport and the Sachems came away with a, 62-48, win on Friday night in Cape Ann League action.

Newburyport (2-1) hung with Saugus (2-2) for 2+ minutes into the second half. A layup by Dan Baribeault (15 points) on a nice pass from Dillon Guthro (13 points) had the Clippers down just one (31-30).

But the rest of that third quarter……..total disaster for the home team. The Clippers didn’t score a single point in the last 5 1/2 minutes of that quarter.

Meanwhile, Saugus rang up nineteen unanswered points to blow this one wide open (50-30) at the quarter’s end.

6-5 Joe Bertrand (32 points) did most of the damage. He hurt the Clippers from long range (seven 3’s) getting five of them in the 3rd quarter.

Joe Bertrand launches a late three to end the third quarter

It seemed fitting on this night that Joe would end that quarter with a fade-away long one from in front of the excited Sachems’ bench as the buzzer sounded.

It was a credit to Newburyport that after the horrible 3rd quarter they reeled off ten straight to start the next quarter. Three inside moves by Dillon Guthro sparked the comeback.

But the Sachems had another run in them and tallied all the points (eight) in the next two minutes and moved back into a comfortable margin (58-40) with 2 1/2 minutes left in the game. Lamarr Jones, Jack Furey, and Joe Bertrand put up the points in this game-sealing segment.

Dillon Guthro (13 points) shoots over Mike Lichwala

6-1 Drew Bourdeau had the unenviable task of shadowing Joe Bertrand. Drew’s frustration got the best of him in the final period.

Saugus used a zone defense. It worked because Newburyport had little success shooting from long range. However, the Clippers did pass themselves into high percentage shots in close.

Justin Winn ended the first quarter with a three (off the backboard) and Kyle Artilo ended the first half the same way.

The Sachems had seventeen turnovers but only one of them in the third quarter.

This is Saugus’ first year in the Cape Ann League after forty-five years in the Northeast Conference. The reason for the switch is that now Saugus will be able to play more schools their own size.

Two nights ago versus Triton, Joe Bertrand had twenty-five points and ten rebounds.

Dan Baribeault (15 points) breaks ahead

The Sachems next game is on Monday versus Masco on the road.

The Clippers don’t play again until a week from Monday (December 30th) when they host Triton.

Saugus was 12-10 last year.

I saw Saugus lose to Danvers two years ago at the Tsongas Arena in Division 3 tournament play.

Newburyport box

Saugus box

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

Kyle Artilo (22) runs into some strong NHS interior defense

Joe Bertrand blocks the shot of Dan Baribeault

Lamarr Jones tries to get around Mike Shay

Newburyport coach Tom LItalien

Dillon Guthro in for two

Drew Bourdeau

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Tagged as Coach Paul Moran, Coach Tom L'Italien, Dan Baribeault, Dillon Guthro, Joe Bertrand, Newburyport High School, Saugus High School

December 18, 2013 · 10:55 pm

Pingree easily over Berwick 97-47 in Eastern Independent League boys basketball

The trapping defense of Pingree gave Berwick plenty of trouble.

John Spears (4) leads a break

(Hamilton MA) Pingree School routed Berwick Academy, 97-47, on Wednesday night in Eastern Independent League action.

This was a competitive game for two minutes before Pingree racked up fifteen straight points and built on the resulting, 20-6, lead the rest of the way.

In the last four minutes of the half, the Highlanders put a 12-1 run together and had a very comfortable, 52-26, advantage.

Pingree (2-2) had six players reach double figures with the starters getting limited minutes.

Kyle Lentini (13 points) gets a layup

Berwick (2-5) struggled early to handle Pingree’s trapping defenses. The Highlanders were quick to turn first-half Bulldog miscues (11 turnovers) into layups.

This was not a game in which things ever got closer in the second half. Softball has a mercy rule. Just sayin’.

Pingree has all five starters back and have added 6-5 Erik Fyrer (transfer from Ipswich) to the mix. The team was 19-8 last year and you have to think that they could better that in the 2013-14 season.

The Highlanders’ trapping defense was something I never saw last season. But with veteran players with good defensive instincts it makes perfect sense. The successful pressure was a key in the Pingree victory.

Stephen Sherbahn (26 points) gets off a fancy pass

Even in the loss, Berwick’s Stephen Sherbahn (26 points) was impressive. On this evening, the BA senior scored from just about anywhere he found an opening.

A stand-out statistic from the scorebook was that the team from South Berwick, Maine only committed seven fouls in the entire game. Maybe I’m misreading the scorebook? The whistles were few and Pingree never slowed down but that few fouls in a losing effort is hard to imagine.

Kyle Lentini, Connor Reardon, and Erik Fyrer each scored thirteen points. Justin Assad, John Spears, and Reese Fullmer each added eleven points.

The structure you can’t help but see getting built when you come onto the Pingree campus is the $21 million gymnasium. That facility will have three gyms in it. The hope is that construction will be finished before the 2014 part of the Pingree season is over.

Erik Fyrer (13 points) gets off a shot in the lane

Connor Reardon has signed on with Worcester Politech.

John Spears has agreed to play football for D3 Trinity (CT) but that could change if he gets a scholarship offer from a D2 school.

Credit 10-year Pingree coach Steve Gibbs for doing his part to keep the score down in the second half. Besides clearing his bench early, he also was heard at various times telling his team to stop fastbreaking, pressing, and taking three’s.

I expected a better game based on last year’s results between the teams. The Bulldogs lost all three meetings but one of them was only, 46-40, in February. Berwick was 14-12 last season despite the three losses to the Highlanders.

Both Justin Assad and Stephen Sherbahn had dunks in this game.

Thanks to Berwick coach Rory Early for making a team roster available.

Pingree will be playing Bancroft on Friday at Bancroft. Berwick will play on the same day at Middlesex School versus Thayer Academy.

One week until Christmas………but you’re not worried since all your shopping is done.

Pingree boxscore

Berwick boxscore

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

John Spears (11 points)

Justin Assad (11 points)

Thomas Lennon (11) defends Josh DuPont (3)

Erik Fyrer (5) blocks the shot of Luc Linemayr (21)

Reese Fullmer (11 points) in close with Stephen Sherbahn

Griffin Beal (21) drives on Mark Hoyt (4)

Sam Salvati

Kyle Lentini passes ahead

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Tagged as Berwick Academy, Connor Reardon, Erik Fyrer, John Spears, Justin Assad, Kyle Lentini, Pingree School, Stephen Sherbahn

December 13, 2013 · 11:54 pm

Ipswich girls take opener over Amesbury 38-33

McKenzie Cloutier (23) tries to stop driving Abby McCarthy

Ipswich coach Dot Stanley nears first win

(Ipswich MA) The new-look Ipswich girls’ basketball team opened with a, 38-33, win over Amesbury on Friday night in their Cape Ann League openers.

The Tigers (1-0) have a new coach (Dot Stanley) and plenty of inexperienced players. Graduated are Brigid O’Flynn and Julia Davis. Transferred to private schools are Masey Zegarowski and Caroline Soucy. Those four girls were major parts of the 19-4 Tigers of 2012-13.

But on this night the new kids in the Tiger Den had enough to hold off Amesbury. The Indians (0-1) were within two (34-32) with less than two minutes left but couldn’t get shots to fall in crunch time.

The key to the Ipswich victory was their willingness to take the ball to the basket. Their aggressiveness turned up a ton of free throws (34) and also eliminated the Indians’ Amanda Martin during crunch time with five fouls.

Junior Abby McCarthy paced Ipswich with eleven points and was able to get to the free throw line thirteen times.

Amanda Martin (11 points) takes a shot

Junior Amanda Martin led Amesbury with eleven points and also had several steals.

Amesbury was 10-11 last season and qualified for the state tournament.

In this opener the Indians got a three from Amanda Martin in the first 1 1/2 minutes and then scored just one point over the next nine minutes. Ipswich took advantage of the scoring drought, as well as eleven Amesbury turnovers, and built up a 14-4 lead early in the second quarter.

The Ipswich still led, 17-8 with two minutes to go in the second period after a Jenna Gagnon steal and layin.

But Amesbury dominated the rest of the quarter. Steals by Amanda Martin (2) and freshman Madison Napoli all led to scores and the Indians only trailed, 17-16, at the half.

The visitors actually got the lead early in the third period but the Ipswich persistence in going to the rim made the difference the rest of the way.

Freshman Kelsey Daly drives past Abigail Sartori

Amesbury made more baskets (6) than Ipswich (3) in the second half but not free throws. The Tigers canned thirteen while Amesbury connected on five.

There were plenty of turnovers by both teams in this game. Most of them came on ill-advised passes in the front court.

In the first half Ipswich used the give-and-go a number of times to get good looks.

Free throw shooting for both teams should improve……….it needs to! The Tigers missed 15 while making 19. The Indians missed 8 while making 6.

Both teams return to action Tuesday night (6:30PM). Ipswich hosts Rockport while Amesbury hosts Manchester-Essex.

Ipswich boxscore

Amesbury boxscore

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

Jenna Gagnon shoots as Courtney Borkowski defends

Amanda Martin

Abby McCarthy (11 points)

pile up

loose ball

Maddi Hill breaks away

Jordan Morrissey defends Abigail Sartori

opening tip

Madison Napoli breaks away from Jackie Gagnon

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Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich

Tagged as Abby McCarthy, Amanda Martin, Bridget Curran, Coach Dot Stanley, Courtney Borkowski, Jenna Gagnon

December 11, 2013 · 10:14 pm

Jon Siu (20 points) and Aaron Swenson (16 points) lead Middlesex past Governor’s Academy 56-40

Jon Siu (20 points) led all scorers

Aaron Swenson flies to the hoop for Middlesex

(Byfield MA) Middlesex School started fast in each half and defeated Governor’s Academy, 56-40, on Wednesday evening in Independent School League action.

The visitors from Concord (MA) scored the first seven points in the first half and the first eight points in the second half. It wasn’t hard to see where this one got away from the Govs.

Jon Siu (20 points) and Aaron Swenson (16 points) had big games for the Zebras (3-1) as the team won its opening ISL game.

Jon is a terrific leaper and hurt GA from the outside. Aaron might be 5-7 but he could certainly get to the basket which he did six different times.

Jon was responsible for all eight of Middlesex’s fast-start points in the second half.

Matthew Peart (22) blocks Peter Beatty (12)

Governor’s Academy (0-2) had trouble making shots the entire game. Many of the GA attempts were from in close but on this evening just didn’t fall.

The Govs recovered nicely from a 13 turnover first half to commit only five miscues in the second half.

Middlesex had their 13 turnovers in the second half but still outscored the Govs by nine (33-24) in the second half. It’s fair to say that the chances were there for GA but they just didn’t cash in.

Middlesex jumped off 7-0 on two layups by Aaron Swenson and a three by Ben Cherington. The Zebras had a ten-point lead (23-13) before Daniel Healey threw in a prayer at the half-time buzzer.

Jon Siu did all the scoring in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second half and the visitors soared ahead, 31-16. GA got within double figures once (46-37) with 2 1/2 minutes left but couldn’t get closer.

Michael Osarenren (32), Jon Siu (33), and Patrick Davis (15) look for a rebound

Middlesex next plays on Friday night (6:15PM) against BB&N.

The Govs travel to Roxbury Latin on Friday night (7PM) looking for their first win.

The Govs defeated Middlesex, 65-57, at Concord last season.

Aaron Swenson made the All-ISL first team last season. He had an 18PPG average. He scored 42 points in one game and had 15 rebounds in another.

The Zebras were 15-9 in 2012-13.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the GA gym was the new lights. What a pleasant difference. Now if they can just get the lights in the scoreboard fixed!

Charles Odei (4) and Hamza Usman (3)

I saw Governor’s alum Stephen Basden play for Endicott College in their loss to Gordon College. Stephen starts for the Gulls.

Matthew Peart led the GA scorers with nine points. Matthew also blocked a number of Middlesex shots.

Govs boxscore

Middlesex boxscore

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

Aaron Swenson (16 points)

Kam Nobles (5) tries to steal from James McGrath (6)

Khari King gets in for two

midcourt action

Patrick Davis (15) heads for the hoop with Ben Cherington (13) in pursuit

Tyler Harrington

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Filed under Governor's Academy, Middlesex

Tagged as Aaron Swenson, Jon Siu, Matthew Peart

November 28, 2013 · 8:43 pm

Strong first half gets Bethel past Brookfield 20-0 in Class M Thanksgiving Day game

Bethel coach Jason Gill helps raise the Thanksgiving Day trophy for the Wildcats

(Bethel CT) The Bethel Wildcats hit the visiting Brookfield Bobcats three different ways in the first half and that was enough for a 20-0 win on Thanksgiving morning at Bethel High School.

Bethel (9-2) has won nine straight after losing to Joel Barlow and Newtown and will host a Class M playoff game on Tuesday night.

Liam Clancy (22) surrounded by four Bethel Wildcats

Brookfield (9-2) could have moved past Bethel with a win. They will now be a road team in the Class M quarterfinals on Tuesday night.

The sun may have been shining at Bethel but the wind (20+ MPH) made it feel like weather in the teens. A good crowd ended up in attendance but there were very few early birds!

Bethel’s opening drive (77 yards) was so impressive because they went directly into that wind converting 3rd downs and 4th downs in the march. Nick Silva swept right and vaulted over Bobcat Ben Martone for the score at 4:30 of the first period.

Nick Silva heads for touchdown

Nick Silva vaults over Ben Martone into the end zone

The wind that Bethel had rushed against factored into Tom Lempereur’s extra-point attempt and his kick sailed wide. Bethel led 6-0.

Early in the second quarter Bethel did something they haven’t done all year, they blocked a punt. And not only did they block it, but they carried the carom in for a score.

The hero on this one was Andre Hayles. Brookfield got into a 4th down situation at their 20. When Bobcat punter Dane Borges bobbled the snap it gave Andre time to get in clean from the left side nearly catching the ball off Dane’s foot. Andre picked up the ball on the Brookfield 10 and sped into the end zone. This action was with nine minutes left in the second quarter. Tom Lempereur connected on this extra point giving Bethel at 13-0 advantage.

Andre Hayles gets the block

Bethel got the ball back with 45 seconds left until halftime after Austin Allaby nearly blocked a second Brookfield punt. Joe Pietnik scrambled to the Brookfield 40 before his brother (Jared) connected with Sloan Austermann to the Brookfield 20.

There was time for two plays as it turned out. The Wildcats used the same play twice…………throw the ball into the end zone and see what happens.

First time the ball sailed over Cal Daniels and nearly was caught by his brother Will.

The second time QB Jared Pietnik gave his pass a little more loft. This led to a jump ball situation between the Wildcats Will Daniels and the Bobcats Ben Martone. Will outjumped Ben for the ball and Bethel had its third touchdown with only 1.6 seconds left in the half.

Just miss on first pass into the end zone

Will Daniels (6) catches TD pass in front of Ben Martone (20)

Another extra point gave Bethel a 20-0 halftime advantage.

That last-second score didn’t take the wind out of Ralph DeSantis Stadium but it probably took the wind out of Brookfield’s sails.

Bobby Drysdale (9) follows Louie Rodrigues (77)

Despite the deficit Brookfield led off with an impressive drive early in the second half and ended up deep in the Red Zone. Several drops on Brad Westmark passes, however, kept the Bobcats out of the end zone.

Meanwhile, the second half Wildcats were perfectly content to take few chances. They kept the clock running with rush after rush. QB Joe Pietnik was the most frequent ball carrier.

Bethel’s Austin Allaby was injured early in the second half. He left on a stretcher but to the relief of everyone he waved to the crowd on the way out.

The weather was extremely challenging. If I wanted the sun to my back (good photography idea) I had to have the strong wind in my face. Some truly Good Samaritan gave me a hand warmer in the fourth quarter.

Cal Daniels

Cal Daniels of Bethel has a scholarship to Division 1 Stony Brook.

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

Daniel Jackson

Bethel QB Joe Piatnik (2) sets to throw

Bobby Drysdale (9) fumbles after hit by Alec Byrnes (66)

Joe Piatnik

pass heads for Gabe Pompette (25) with Jared Wilsey (44) defending

scarey moment at start of second half

Will Daniels

young Marine recruit

Bobby Drysdale (9) brings down Joe Piatnik

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Tagged as Andre Hayles, Bethel, Bethel coach Jason Gill, Bobby Drysdale, Cal Daniels, Jared Piatnik, Joe Piatnik, Liam Clancy, Nick Silva, Will Daniels

November 23, 2013 · 10:17 pm

Concord 42, Pinkerton Academy 14: That’s a shocker!

Leo Sudieh (8) escapes Isaiah Backels (19) and Riley Cahill (11) for first quarter TD

Seimou Smith lunges into the end zone after catching a pass from QB Rob Law late in the second quarter

(Concord NH) No one in the announced crowd of 5,684 could have imagined it.

Concord 42
Pinkerton Academy 14

It was the October 11th regular-season game between the two schools that threw everyone off. Pinkerton had a 14-6 lead with four minutes left in that game and ended up losing in overtime, 21-14. A rematch figured to be close.

But six week later that game was indeed a distant memory although after a quarter, on this sunny, windy Saturday, the team from Derry led, 7-6.

But oh that second quarter! The Crimson Tide put up twenty-two unanswered points to gain a 28-7 halftime bulge. More than a few folks during the twenty minute halftime session wondered what had happened.

Wally Ndi registers the second Concord score

What happened, in my view, was that Concord unleashed an arsenal of offensive weapons that the Astros (9-3) never figured out how to stop. This will not be a game where people from Derry will say in recall, “If we had only stopped so-and-so we would have won.” On this day, and in that second quarter, they couldn’t stop anyone!

Concord (12-0) showed a passing game as well as a running game. Wally Ndi and Leo Sudieh (missed the first game) both rushed into the end zone and often carried tacklers with them.

The Number One star may well have been junior Will Scharlotte. Will was in the middle of several key plays for Concord. I have pictures of him; keeping Manny Latimore from scoring, deflecting a punt that set up a late second quarter score, and recovering an onsides kick to start the second half.

Will Scharlotte deflects the punt of Kyle Cantalupo.

Pinkerton was hurt by three Matt Madden fumbles. One of them thwarted an early drive and the other set up Concord in great field position in the second quarter.

I started to suspect that it might be Concord’s day late in the first period. Tide QB Rob Law threw a pass intended for Nick Comeau. The ball bounded off Nick’s handed into teammate Walter Szulc’s hands for a long gain into PA territory.

The point separation between the two teams caused “running time” to be used about midway through the third quarter. That may be football’s version of softball’s mercy rule.

The crowd was huge and quite a few of them spent some, if not all, of the first quarter trying to get into the game. You snooze……..you stand in line!

The bands were terrific. I was intrigued by them playing back and forth during the second half. And the trombone player on the unicycle?

Mike Martinoli (87) gets in the face of Concord QB Rob Law (10)

So Concord gets their first ever undefeated, untied, Division 1 championship. They were awesome on this afternoon.

Pinkerton has now been to the championship game nine of the last ten years.

I did not see CHS grads Matt Bonner (San Antonio Spurs) or Brian Sabean (GM of SF Giants) in the house although they’re sure to be pleased when they hear the result.

Astros? Named after Pinkerton Academy grad Alan Shepard (Class of 1940).

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

Wally Ndi (42) recovers Matt Madden (49) fumble

loose ball

Marc Gaudette (right) shows the evidence of his fumble recovery

Manny Latimore pushed out by Will Scharlotte near goal line.

crowd waiting to get in

scoreboard

Leo Sudieh

Marc Gaudet (14) wide open for TD pass

Concord coach Eric Brown

trombone playing made difficult

Brad Rucker (68) joins the Concord band at halftime

Leo Sudieh sails in for a 2-point conversion

Manny Latimore (22) sent flying by Leo Sudieh (8)

Wally Ndi

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Filed under Concord, Pinkerton

Tagged as Concord High School, Leo Sudieh, Manny Latimore, Marc Gaudet, Matt Madden, Pinkerton Academy, Rob Law, Seimou Smith, Wally Ndi, Will Scharlotte

November 9, 2013 · 11:25 pm

Windham soars 3-0 over Bangor for Class A state girls soccer title

Windham – 2013 Maine Class A state girls soccer champions

Windham celebrating begins

(Bath ME) Who saw this coming?

The Windham girls’ soccer team made it look easy in defeating Bangor, 3-0, to get their first Class A title on a cold, sunny Saturday morning at McMann Field in Bath.

It took penalty kicks and overtime for the Eagles (17-0-1) to even get to the title game for the first time.

Meanwhile Bangor (16-2) came in having been in the Class A state finals four straight years……….talk about big game experience!

Grace Morris (15), Tiffany Gray (13), Jenna Soucy (23)

And then there’s that 65-4-2 record the Rams have put together over the past four seasons leading up to this title game.

But Bangor on this morning in Bath never had a chance against Windham. The Eagles controlled the ball with precise short passes and took almost all the shots.

Still this game was a scoreless tie at halftime. That score and Bangor’s track record made me suspect that the second half would be different. I also wondered as a game dragged on if some sort of fluke score might decide it.

Surprisingly, things didn’t change much in the second half. The Eagles continued to control the ball with terrific passing and again took most of the shots. The big difference? Three of their shots got past Bangor goalkeeper Emily Gilmore.

Ciera Berthiaume rips a shot through, and past, several defenders for the first Windham goal

One of trio of goals came quickly. Sophomore Ciera Berthiaume broke into the middle for a long shot. The shot was high enough and hard enough that it got into the net over the head of the Rams goalie at 39:09.

Five minutes later Ciera nearly had a second goal as she was on the heading end of a crossing pass by Lauren Shoemaker from the right. Ciera’s header back was very, very close to going in.

But Bangor hung on and as the minutes went by that one-goal Windham lead was not a comfortable one.

The Rams did get a couple of shots long-range in the second half that reached Windham GK Kate Kneeland but nothing to ooh-and-aah about.

If you’re looking for turning points (I couldn’t resist!), you might consider that Ciera Berthiaume went down at 14:28 appearing to “turn” her ankle.

You know it’s your day when an injury helps! Out went Ciera and in came junior Luisa Sbardella.

1 1/2 minutes later, junior Jenna Soucy broke from right to left occupying most of the Bangor defense. Jenna got off a hard shot in the penalty area as she went flying (diving?). GK Emily Gilmore mishandled the shot and senior Emily Brookings tried to clear the ball away. Replacement Luisa pressured Emily, forced a turnover, and fired a shot into the right corner at 12:59.

Jenna Soucy (23) gets off shot

Shot is mishandled

Emily Brookings (2) tries to clear the ball

Luisa Sbadella steals and shoots what becomes the second Windham goal

A two-goal lead, now that’s a different story with the way Windham was connecting on pass after pass.

Jenna Soucy, in the midst of four Rams, fires the third goal

Less than three minutes later, Jenna Soucy dribbled past, and around, a number of Rams defenders. Five Rams were near her when she finally fired a shot from the middle in close. The Rams GK never had a chance as Windham pushed their lead to, 3-0, with 10:11 to go.

The rest of the game was garbage time although Anna-Maria Dagher headed a corner kick over the net with 7 1/2 minutes left.

Bangor coach Joe Johnson started clearing his bench with 5 1/2 minutes left in the game and plenty of reserves saw action down the stretch for both teams.

Shannon Valente and Kate Kneeland

The shot stats were eye-opening: Windham outshot Bangor 19-2 in the first half and 14-3 in the second half. Windham GK Kate Kneeland had an easy morning with only three saves. Believe me, in the previous tournament games the senior was under fire frequently………. but not this one.

Young Benjamin LeBel (week old?) was on hand for the game.

Coach Deb Lebel of Windham won three state Class B championships at Falmouth during her four years (2005-08) coaching there.

Bangor won the state title in 2011 defeating Scarborough, 4-0, at Falmouth Stadium.

Cordelia Stewart was slated to be the starting goalie for Bangor this year but suffered a knee injury.

Ariana Davidson (11) and Ann-Maria Dagher (9)

The Windham defense was spectacular today. It was their passing that caught my eye. The passes were quick and teammates slide into open spaces. You watch the pregame and one of the things most teams do is play keep away. That game of keep away carried over into the actual game today for the Eagles.

Senior Emily Gilman ended her career today for the Eagles. Emily is tall and tough. She was a difference-maker in the way she limited high-scoring Amanda Arnold in the Thornton Academy game (Western Class A finals).

Bangor’s Tiffany Gray in the reigning Class A triple jump champion. Tiffany missed 2012 for the Rams soccer team getting injured during the 2012 summer playing for a soccer travel team.

The Eagles had players come off their bench to play key roles in their final three games of the 2013 season. Backup GK Liz Mycock was in net for Scarborough’s penalty kicks. Reserve Emily Gorrivan shocked Thornton Academy with her goal in overtime and reserve Luisa Sbardella delivered the breathing-room, second goal in the title game.

Cassie Symonds draws a crowd of Rams

McMann Field was opened in September. I thought that the surface was outstanding………..money well spent. Parking was dicey, however, but not unexpected with four important games running one right after the other.

Bangor and Windham had scrimmaged each other during the pre-season.

Windham will lose some key seniors but they have enough coming back to be in the hunt in 2014 in my opinion.

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

Katerina Dagher (6) and Ciera Berthiaume (15)

Ciera Berthiaume in position for a dangerous header

Emily Gorrivan gets in close

Anna-Maria Dagher (9) heads the ball over the net

Bangor coach Joe Johnson

gold ball

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Filed under Bangor, Windham

Tagged as Anna-Maria Dagher, Cassie Symonds, Ciera Berthiaume, Coach Deb LeBel, Emily Gilman, Jenna Soucy, Kate Knowlton, Luisa Sbardella, Maine Class A state finals girls soccer, McMann Park Bath, Tiffany Gray

November 7, 2013 · 1:35 am

Windham girls take Western Class A title in 4-3 double overtime thriller over Thornton Academy

Emily Gorrivan (4) receives corner kick from Ciera Berthiaume

Emily Gorrivan jumps realizing her shot has gone in

Windham starts celebrating overtime winner

Ciera Berthiaume (2 goals & 1 assist)

(Windham ME) One team separated the Thornton Academy girls’ soccer from a perfect season and a trip to the Class A state finals.

That team was the Windham Eagles.

The #1 seed Eagles (16-0-1) topped #3 seed TA, 4-3, in double overtime to take the Western Class A title on a nice Wednesday night at Windham.

For Thornton Academy (14-2-1), this was the second loss to the Eagles this season.

Windham will now face Bangor (16-1) on Saturday morning (10AM) at McMann Field in Bath.

The Eagles built up a 3-1 lead early in the second half before the visitors rallied back to tie the score with 13 1/2 minutes left in regulation.

Amanda Arnold (12) in close

The Trojans carried the play during the rest of the second half and came very close (Amanda Arnold in the last minute) to taking the Western Class A title in regulation.

I thought that the Eagles dominated the first overtime. Jenna Soucy had an excellent chance in the first minute and ten minutes later teammate Shannon Valente hit the crossbar.

This game was decided in the second overtime.

Sophomore Ciera Berthiaume (2 goals/1 assist) was able to force a corner kick early in the overtime after a run down the left side.

Ciera wasted little time kicking the corner kick and that may have been part of the reason TA wasn’t completely ready for what happened.

“I wanted to bend the kick around to the inside, ” Ciera told me afterwards.

And that she did. Senior Emily Gorrivan and the ball arrived just inside the near post at about the same time. Emily simply redirected the ball into the net…….game, set, match!

Emily Gorrivan

“It was an amazing ball,” recalled Emily regarding her 7th goal, after the game. “I hustled my hardest to get there.”

Eagles coach Deb Lebel on Emily: “She’s not a starter. She plays because she never stops out there and she can finish as she did tonight.”

This was the second straight game that someone unexpected was key to a Windham tournament victory. Backup goalie Liz Mycock had her moment during the penalty kick part of the semifinal win over Scarborough.

What surprised me in this game were the goals and scoring chances both teams had. Thornton Academy came into the game with five straight shutouts and had allowed only seven goals the entire season. Windham had twelve shutouts this seasons and had only given up five goals.

So you would expect some tight defense and probably a 1-0 final score?

But the excellent crowd, from both schools, instead saw goals and plenty of penalty-area defense.

Windham tallied first as Shannon Valente intercepted a clearing pass and quickly set up Ciera Berthiaume (8th goal) wide open in the middle. That goal was at 32:43 of the first half.

Jenna Soucy (23) and Erin Tangney (2)

At 4:51 the Eagles got in close and took a couple of shots that TA goalie Lexi Nason blocked. Jenna Soucy finally put a rebound into the net notching her 22nd goal of the season. Lauren Shoemaker was awarded an assist.

Thornton Academy got an early goal in the second half after a long run by Tori Daigle. Tori got past at least three Eagles on her way to her 12th goal of the season.

Windham was back with an answer less than four minutes later. Once again it was Ciera Berthiaume (9th goal) finishing after a nice pass. Cassie Symonds collected her 10th career assist at 35:15.

Senior Ariana Davidson with Western Class A title plaque

Those thinking a 3-1 lead would be safe were in for a surprise. Five minutes later Amanda Arnold (23rd assist) occupied several defenders and GK Kate Kneeland before sending a pass to her left to teammate Haley DeGraca (14th goal) who faced a wide open net.

Now down 3-2, the team from Saco wasn’t done. Megan Hurrell (4th goal) came out of a scramble in front with the tying goal with 13:28 left.

The Trojans had the better of the chances in the last 13+ minutes but couldn’t turn their comeback into a victory.

The most heralded player in the game was TA’s Amanda Arnold. The talented senior finished her career with over sixty goals and thirty assists. Her pass to teammate Haley DeGraca setting up the second Trojans goal was a classic unselfish play.

Tori Daigle

The key to this win for Windham was limiting the touches Amanda Arnold and speedy Tori Daigle got in the overtimes.

Ariana Davidson disagreed intensely enough with the referee in the second half to get sent off the field. She would later return.

Windham had plenty of terrific players but if I had to choose one it would probably be midfielder Cassie Symonds. Cassie controls a lot of space for the Eagles. The junior is one of the few I’ve seen who can consistently get her head on goal kicks.

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