Doug Woodworth | McClelland Miscellanea

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December 15, 2015 · 10:05 pm

Pentucket wins Cape Ann League opener in OT 55-52 over Newburyport

Dan Baribeault gets off the possible game-winner at the end of regulation

Nate McGrail (21 points) drives to the basket

(Newburyport) Trust me, Pentucket didn’t win this one at the free throw line!

The Sachems (1-0) missed twenty of twenty-nine free throws yet still managed to get by Newburyport, 55-52, in overtime on Tuesday night.

This game started the Cape Ann League schedule for both teams.

Newburyport (0-1) looked close to victory in the final quarter after senior Dan Baribeault put five points together in a row to push the Clippers ahead, 44-38, with just under four minutes left. But Pentucket, which had six 3’s in the game, clicked on three of them in the final 2:25 to force overtime.

Lucas Chory, Jimmy Cleary, and Ryan DePaolo connected from long distance in the exciting Sachems’ finish. Ryan’s three was with fifteen seconds left.

The Clippers had the final possession is regulation and Dan Baribeault had a good look at the game-winner from the top of the key. On this evening Dan’s shots weren’t falling, he was limited to eight points, and overtime became necessary.

The key to the win? Pentucket’s ability to get to the basket. Granted at times this approach got them to the foul line where they had serious trouble but other times they made layups.

Sophomore Nate McGrail (21 points) had two such layups in overtime and that was enough to get Pentucket the victory.

Nate’s second layup gave the visitors a 53-52 lead with forty-three seconds left. The Clippers had two more possessions to answer back but neither of Quinn Stott’s shots connected. The Sachems responded with two free throws.

Nick Rogers (12 points) connected four times from long range

Jimmy Cleary totaled thirteen points for the Sachems. He also had an important block on Dan Baribeault late in regulation.

Nick Rogers paced Newburyport with twelve points all on 3’s.

The Newburyport student section went straight for the jugular pre-game chanting, “Where is Pat Friermuth?” The remarkable junior transferred to Brooks after leading Pentucket to the D3 state semifinals last year.

Lots of black and orange on display as a reminder of the passing of long-time Ipswich coach Doug Woodworth.

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

Newburyport box

Pentucket box

Season under way

Quinn Stott pressures Conor O’Neil

Ronnie Mwai gets two

Ryan DePaolo (#21) sent the game into OT with a 3-point shot

Jimmy Cleary blocks Dan Baribeault’s shot

Conor O’Neil attempts a free throw in front of the Newburyport student section

Lucas Chory chased by Nick Rogers

Nate McGrail

Jimmy Cleary (13 points)

Danny Baribeault on defense

IHS Coach Makes Sacrifice

What is sacrificial love?

Isn’t it giving up something you enjoy because your enjoyment is interfering with something more important?

Doug Woodworth decided to step away from coaching boys’ basketball at Ipswich High School.

No, this wasn’t some sort of leave-of-absence. The 14-year coach knew that his decision might end forever his chances of standing courtside at the Ipswich Tiger Den or in other Cape Ann League locations.

So why make such a decision?

Simply explained, it was a family decision. But what makes this “family” decision different is that the other members of Doug’s family (wife Maureen, daughter Jena, son Justin) weren’t pushing him to give up coaching. Doug alone felt that he couldn’t wait any longer.

“I decided, after thinking about it for some time, that if I wasn’t coaching basketball I could do a better job of supporting Justin (junior at Salve Regina in Newport, Rhode Island) and Jena (sophomore at Ipswich High School) at their games,” explained Doug.

As it turned out, Justin’s games last season, played all over New England, were logistically the easiest for Doug and his wife to attend. Why? In the Cape Ann League, the girls play a school at one location while the boys play the same school at the other location at the same time. “I hardly ever saw Jena play at all,” he recalled.

That changes in 2008-09. “I have teased her coaches by telling them that I’ll be sitting behind the bench yelling for them to put my kid in,” he said with a smile.

The time commitments deleted by getting away from coaching basketball are significant. “It can be a twelve month job,” he explained. “You have to see kids play and support them and check out their development. Some kids play AAU during the year and there are also leagues that run in the summer.”

No doubt giving up basketball will put in place a lot of winter downtime. “I’ve never had a need to find things to do in the winter for the last fourteen years,” he added. “Maybe now I’ll get to some of the showcase games in the area.”

There are no maybe’s in Doug’s mind regarding who his successor should be. “My assistant coach (Alan LaRoche) would do a great job. I told him early on that I was planning to resign so I got him more involved in running this year’s team. No question, he would be a good choice.”

Returning to coaching basketball after Justin and Jena are no longer playing could be the tricky part. “I make no assumptions that there will be a basketball position for me at Ipswich when I’m ready to return in a year or so,” said Doug.

Would he coach elsewhere if the Ipswich job was filled? “I thought I’d never say I would because I’m a Tiger from the beginning but it is possible,” added Doug. “If something opens I’d take a look at it.”

( Submitted to The Town Common on May 6, 2008 )