By Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett Indians split their final two regular season games last week, losing in overtime to the Southbridge Pioneers 86-79 on the road and blasting Worcester North at home 84-50 last Wednesday on seniors’ night.

The Southbridge contest was an all out war that featured a raucous crowd, gritty basketball, and an extra stanza to resolve. It was a classic encounter between the two rivals.

Both teams came out firing from the start.  Indians co-captains Nick Kobel and DJ Kirby-Thomas paced the visitors with 10 and 8 points respectively as they went to head to head with the Pioneers in an 18-18 first quarter.

The hungry Pioneers continued their hot shooting and outscored the Indians, taking a 41-33 for a half time lead. Junior Akeem Belnavis kept the Indians close with some great all-around play and a seven-point quarter.

The third quarter was all offense. Both teams battled, but the Pioneers were able to open a 15-point lead behind the overall outstanding play of Enrique Ortiz, who sparked his team all night. 
Sophomore Alex Givens-Perry was a force on both ends of the court, helping to spark a huge Indian comeback in the fourth quarter.  Both Belnavis and Matt Huberdault also pitched in with some big three-pointers and the Indians fought all the way back.

Kobel connected on a deep three-pointer with just over two minutes left and the Indians had come all the way back to take a 79-78 lead.
 
The final two minutes were frantic.  Both teams had chances to win, especially the Indians, who could not capitalize in the final 17 seconds after Belnavis made a great defensive play which led to a rebound basket by Kirby-Thomas to tie the game at 84 a piece.

The Pioneers dominated the overtime and got the season split that they desperately wanted. For them there were no playoff appearances at 9-9 but the satisfaction of beating their rivals in one of the final games at the old Southbridge high school gym, which is in its final season.
 
Kirby-Thomas led the Indians with a monster game finishing with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Kobel was equally impressive with 23 points and 9 assists, while Belnavis finished with 22 points and 6 rebounds.Givens-Perry, who fouled out but was a huge factor in the Indian comeback, also played well with 13 points and 11 rebounds
.
The Pioneers took the junior varsity game 69-52. Anthony Higbie led the Indians with 15, while Jacob Simonis added 13 points in defeat.

Belnavis and Indians trounce NorthAkeem Belnavis sparked the Indians in their final regular season game as the Indians dominated Worcester North and capped a 12-7 regular season with a 34-point win.

Belnavis, who finished with 16 points, brought the house to its feet twice with a pair of rim shaking dunks.  The two dunks made it a total of four slams on the season for the high-flying junior and was just an indication that the best is yet to come
.
Nick Kobel led the Indians with 21 points, while Matt Huberdault pitched in 12 points, including a pair of long-range three-point bombs. Kirby-Thomas also scored 12 points in the last home game of his spectacular career as an Indian.

Before the game the Indians honored its seniors Kobel, Kirby-Thomas, and Andrew Meloche. Kobel was also presented with a ball honoring his 1000-point career.
 
Higbie exploded for 25 points and led the Indians’ junior varsity by North 66-54.  Simonis added 11 points while Neil Flanagan contributed 9 points to the win and final game for the junior squad.
 
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By Steev Riccardo

“As I have told all the college coaches that are recruiting him right now, he is probably the best person that I have coached in my 20-year career—maybe not the best player—but he has been the best person. He does so much for our team, so much for our school, so much for our community. I can’t say enough about him. If something needs to get done, he gets it done.” --Bartlett Head Basketball Coach Tony Paranto

Those are some pretty impressive words coming from Coach Paranto, the man who has probably been the closest to Nick Kobel besides his immediate family since he started high school.
 
The three-sport star and four- year basketball captain made Bartlett High School history last Wednesday night at Quaboag Regional when he became the tenth player in school history to reach 1000 points in his career.

In an incredible and touching moment following the three-point basket that put him in the 1000-point club, Kobel took the game ball and went into the stands and presented the ball to his parents. The large Bartlett crowd that traveled out to Warren to see it all happen went crazy.  It was a tremendous moment for the Kobels, the players and coaches, and the fans.
The senior reflected on his beginning season, “I remember starting my first game as a freshman—it took me a little while to learn the system. There were older guys that showed me the way, so when I learned the system I was able to play my game.”
 
Quick to credit some of the guys that before him, he added, “Guys like Jessie Bond and Bobby Mitchell made me feel comfortable. They helped me and showed me the way”.
 
He also remembers watching players like Kyle Nadeau and Brian Henderson who played before him, crediting their leadership as a sort of guiding light.

This basketball upbringing was one of the reasons he was named captain as a freshman (a rarity) and why he has remained a leader and captain all four of his years on the team. 
Paranto had no problem promoting him as a leader at a young age and remains a member of his admiration club. “Getting the 1000 points is another feather in his cap in his high school career.  The quality of kid he is makes him number one in my book.”

Kobel has mutual admiration and respect for his coach, who along with Nick’s family is helping the senior make a decision on which school he will attend in the fall, “He loves us and we love him. We will do anything for him and vice versa, so when he yells at me I look at it like he is just trying to get the best out of me. He would run through a wall for us.”

As far as the joining the elite club, Kobel said “It’s one of the only individual goals you can accomplish basketball- wise because it’s such a team sport.”
 
He was a little tight early in the game, but as they game went on he started taking more shots and looking to score. “I knew a lot of my family was there, but I wasn’t going to try and force anything early. If the shot was there, I was going take it. In the second half it seemed to flow a little better for me.”
 
He was relieved when he hit the shot and was anxious to get back to the game. “When I hit the shot I had to get right back out there because it was such a close game.” 
On presenting the ball to his family he said this, “My Mom has always supported me so it was nice to give her some type of recognition when that happened. She has been excited for me and I just wanted to give her something.”

Paranto also enjoyed the moment, ““I think it was a spur of the moment decision, and it shows you what kind of a kid he is. He knows how to put everything into perspective; he knows where his roots are.”

His teammates were also happy for him.  “I was proud of him, he is a very hard worker; he puts his time in,” said Junior Akeem Belnavis, who thought it was the “best thing ever” when he went up in the stands.
 
Fellow co-captain and senior DJ Kirby-Thomas also praised Kobel, “He’s worked hard for it and he deserves it; he’s always the first one at practice and the last one to leave.”

Paranto had this to add, “He is very respectful, a lot of kids look up to him. He is like the model basketball student player for us right now.  He is a quality kid.”

Nick Kobel has been giving to a lot of people during his career at Bartlett, and you get the feeling that the giving is not going to end when he reaches his next destination in the fall.

Nick joins these players
in The Bartlett High School 1000 point club:

Tim Bazinet (1974-77) 1262
Brad Smith  (1978-81) 1294
Gino Manzi(1981-84)  1328
Edward Grezembski (1983-87) 1548
Jason Mglionico (1984-88) 1355
Todd Daskowski (1990-94) 1086
Matthew Bielik (1994-97) 1059
Kyle Nadeau (2002-2007) 1440
Brian Henderson (2004-07) 1093

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Kobel reaches 1000 

By Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett Indians once again failed to solve the Quaboag Cougars dynamic duo of junior Thomas Jankins and freshmen sensation Jake Wlsniewski and dropped a tough Southern Worcester County League contest 58-49 in Warren last Wednesday night.

Despite the loss, the Indians senior co-captain Nick Kobel added to his legendary Bartlett sports career by reaching the 1000-point plateau with 4:47 left in the game. With the feat, he joins a very elite club, becoming only the twelfth boys’ player in Bartlett history to do so.

The Indians jumped out to a 13-10 lead after one quarter behind a pair of hoops from sophomore Alex Givens-Perry and junior co-captain Matt Huberdault.

The Cougars played tough lock down defense on the Indians, holding them to only 5 baskets and no free throw attempts in the second quarter and outscoring them 16-10 for a 26-23 halftime lead.
 
The third quarter followed a similar trend as the Indians were lulled further into Quaboag’s game plan which once again held the high-powered Indian offense to only ten points.
 
Trailing 41-33 heading into the final quarter, the Indians needed a spark. Huberdault hit a big three point shot at the 5:37 mark of the fourth quarter making a 41-40 game, and moments later Kobel connected on another three-pointer, which put him at 1,000 for his career and brought the large Bartlett crowd that made the trek to Warren to their feet.

The game was stopped for a few minutes as Kobel was presented the game ball; he then proceeded to bring it to his parents who were in the stands for the historic moment.

Amidst all the excitement, the Indians had taken a 47-45 lead, but the Cougars went on a rampage and outscored the Indians 13-2 in the last few minutes to preserve the win.

Huberdault led the way for the Indians with 14, Kobel added 11, and Givens-Perry finished with 11 points.

The Indians junior varsity put together a solid game and beat the Cougars jayvees 43-40 behind 13 points by Anthony Higbie and 9 points from Neil Flanagan.  Both Higbie and Flanagan were also promoted to the varsity squad prior to the game; both will play on both squads for the final week of the season and then stick with the varsity for post-season play.
 
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By Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett Indians took apart the winless Leicester Wolverines on Monday night 85-73 in a Southern Worcester County League Game played at the Bartlett Gym.

Senior Indian co-captain Nick Kobel scored 19 points and dished out 8 assists in leading his team to victory in a game they controlled from start to finish.

The Indians started the game on fire and connected for six first quarter three-pointers. Kobel hit three from outside the arc, Evan Anderson hit a pair, and Matt Huberdault added another long range bomb as the Indians leaped to a 28-11 lead after one.

Alexander Givens-Perry(30) goes up over Tyler Godney
for a layup. Photos by Don Cote

The Wolverines tightened their defense in the second quarter and actually outscored the Indians 15-13 and cut the halftime lead to 41-26, despite six points from junior forward Akeem Belnavis.

Both teams exchanged hoops in the third quarter and that was fine with the Indians who had a comfortable 63-46 lead going into the final stanza.

Kobel and Alex Givens-Perry scored 6 points apiece and Bartlett head coach Tony Paranto was able to unload his bench with just less than three minutes left.

Paranto was pleased with the way his team came out and played well early. “I thought we shot the ball extremely well in the first quarter and had seven three pointers in the first half. You hope that you can do those things in your own gym.  Defensively, we transitioned really well into our offense. We created the tempo, which caused steals and if we have the kids to put the ball in the basket.”
 
The coach also was pleased with sophomore Anderson’s play who hit his first two three-pointers to get the ball rolling. ““Teams put their best defenders on Kobel and Belnavis and try to stop them and Evan had the shots, took them, and made them. Its great that he’s taking those shots. We want him to shoot”.Belnavis lead all Bartlett scorers with 21 points and 9 rebounds, Kobel, who needed 28 points to reach 1000 points in his incredible career had 19, and Anderson added 10 points.

Junior co-captain Huberdault played a fine overall game with 11 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals.
Bartlett sub Zach Rainey brought the house down connecting on his first three shots in the final minutes.

The Bartlett junior varsity also won beating the Wolverines junior squad 68-59.
 Anthony Higbie, who has been a major scorer for the Indians, led the way with 26 points, Jacob Simonis had 10, and Anthony “The Bull” Caffarelli scored 10 and had a monster game on the boards.
 
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More photos by Don Cote

 
Akeem Belnavis (22) takes it to the hoop.

Nick Kobel (23) looks for a little help after coming
down with a rebound.

Andrew Meloche pulls down a rebound in heavy traffic.

Givens-Perry comes alive

By Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett Indians played a solid 32 minutes of basketball and soundly beat the David Prouty Panthers 66-38 last Thursday night Feb. 2) at the Bartlett gym.

The win was one of the most balanced efforts of the season for the Indians as they scored 16-16-18-16 by the quarter and were paced by a strong all-around game from sophomore Alex Givens-Perry, who had a monster inside game with 19 points and 12 rebounds

Givens-Perry sported new look glasses and came out of the locker room like a hurricane, scoring the first five points of the game and pacing the Indians in a 16-9 opening stanza.

Senior co-captain and top ten Central Mass scorer Nick Kobel took over where Givens-Perry left off in the second quarter, scoring 8 points and leading the home team to a 32-17 half-time lead.

The Indians didn’t miss a beat in the third quarter as it was Givens-Perry’s turn, and the forward was a brute inside, scoring seven points and dominating the inside. Kobel and junior Akeem Belnavis each buried three pointers and the rout was on.

Belnavis scored three quick hoops in the final quarter and before long Bartlett Coach Tony Paranto had emptied his bench and the team had secured their all-important tenth victory of the season.

Paranto was happy with his team’s effort despite a lack of outside shooting, ““Even though we were 0-10 from 3-point land in the first half, we attacked the basket very well.”

Givens-Perry gave the Indians the inside presence they needed. If he plays like that every night, it is going to open up a lot of doors for Bartlett’s shooters, especially Kobel and Belnavis, a theory confirmed by the coach, “if he can stay consistent on the low post, it is going to open up our outside game.”

Only a sophomore and still working on his consistency, Givens-Perry has the tools to help the10-5 Indians get hot when it matters most.

Even though they have been up and down the last few games, The Indians are still the highest scoring team in the Southern Worcester County League and when they play their game, they will be hard to beat.

Despite beating Shepherd Hill in a huge game ten days ago, the Indians sandwiched that win with a couple of tough losses that the coach reflected on. “I don’t think we played up to our capabilities in those games (Tantasqua, Oxford) it’s a credit to those teams for taking us out of our strengths, which is getting up and down the court and controlling the tempo of the game.”

They controlled the tempo on Friday and good things happened.

The Bartlett Junior Varsity lost to the Warriors jayvees 56-48. Anthony Higbie continued to be one of the bright spots scoring 21 points in a losing effort. He also had 16 in a 74-56 loss to Tantasqua last Monday.

Indian Notes: Earlier in the week, the Indians were lulled into a trance and taken apart by a very good Tantasqua Warriors team 77-69 at home. Kobel led the Indians in the loss with 22 points while DJ Kirby-Thomas added 15 and Belnavis scored 11.

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Huberdault, Belnavis, lead way

By Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett Indians used an effective pressing defense and some timely outside shooting to beat the Millbury Woolies 74-69 on Friday night in a Southern Worcester County League game played at the Bartlett gym in Webster.

 
Sparked by the hot shooting of junior Matt Huberdault and the strong second half play of fellow junior Akeem Belnavis, who brought the crowd to its feet with a huge third quarter steal and slam-dunk, the Indians were in control most of the night en route to their eighth win of the season.

The Indians came out quick and took a 21-10 first quarter lead, primarily due to three long range three-pointers by Huberdault and a clutch three-pointer at the buzzer by senior co-captain Nick Kobel. 
A strong Woolies defense put the clamps on the Indians, not allowing them to score until half way through the second quarter.  Alex Givens-Perry finally broke the drought with a big offensive rebound and basket.  Despite being outscored 16-12, the Indians still led 33-30 at the break.

The Indians came out in the second half with their signature full court press that forced the Woolies to turn the ball over on numerous occasions, but when the visitors broke the press they were able to hit some long shots that kept them in the game.

Indians co-captain and power forward DJ Kirby-Thomas, who was in a real battle all night long with Woolies big-man Tristan Cano, led the way with seven tough third quarter points as the Indians maintained a slim 50-46 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The athletic Belnavis, who had 12 huge second-half points, was a real spark on both ends of the court and brought the house down with a huge steal and breakaway slam-dunk at the 4:39 mark. 
Still the Woolies didn’t make it easy, hitting a bunch more long range shots to keep it close, but the Indians made their free throws down the stretch and held on for the victory.

 
Bartlett Head Coach Tony Paranto was pleased with the win but still saw some room for improvement in his team’s play. “I thought we did a pretty good job with our press, they had a lot of turnovers, but it seems like every time they did got the ball down the other end of the court, we couldn’t find their outside shooters. We didn’t cover back defensively and that is something we need to correct.”
Paranto also went on to praise his junior co-captain Huberdault, “He has given us a good spark. He’s finding his stroke right now, which is good. We need him obviously as we get down to the stretch run. It couldn’t happen at a better time.”

 
Givens-Perry continued to give the Indians a strong presence on the inside, having another strong game scoring 10 points, and more importantly, snagging 12 rebounds, which has been his average all season long.

The Bartlett junior varsity squad defeated Millbury 55-48 behind a solid game from Anthony “the bull” Caffarelli, who had a season high 13 points. Anthony Higbie added 12 points and Jacob Semonis scored 10 points for the winners.

The Indians play the Oxford Pirates Tuesday the 24th. Go to http://www.patriotnewspaper.com/ to read the story on-line.  On Friday the 8-3 Indians take on their key rivals the Shepherd Hill Rams, who were also 8-3 heading into last night’s game versus the Uxbridge Spartans.

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Thunderous dunk by Belnavis leads surge

By Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett Indians staged a huge second half comeback and rallied from a 13-point deficit to defeat the Douglas Tigers 62-52 in an inter- league game played in Douglas on Friday night.

Spurred by a rim-rattling slam-dunk by junior Akeem Belnavis, the Indians scored the first 14 points of the second half and took control of the game and never looked back.

Bartlett Head Coach Tony Paranto shuffled his lineup a bit, starting Matt Huberdault and Nick Terranova instead of Belnavis and Alex Givens-Perry because he felt “coming off a loss we had to adjust something” and the plan seemed to work well enough in the long run.

The hometown Tigers came out of the locker room with a lot of energy and relied on some hot outside shooting to open up a 16-12 first quarter lead despite Nick Kobel’s 3 three-pointers.

The Indians were lulled into the Tigers game even further in the second quarter as they were outscored 19-10. Paranto felt his team “played poor defensively,” which they did, and it cost them as they went down 35-22 at the half.

Whatever was said and happened in the Indians locker room at half time worked marvelously as Belnavis and Givens-Perry led a charge that resulted in a 14-0 run sparked by one of the biggest plays of the season.

Early in the third quarter and already on a 7-0 run, the ball was knocked loose and ended up in Belnavis’s hands, who drove to the basket and slammed down the ball, causing everyone in the gym to erupt. Even Douglas fans reacted to the thunderous dunk that deflated the Tigers even though at that point they still had a lead.

The Indians continued their surge into the fourth quarter and outscored the Tigers 40-17 in one of their most impressive halves of the season, which ironically came after their worst half of the season.

“We questioned their character a little bit at half time and obviously they showed character in the second half. We have some pretty good leaders on this team, veterans that knew they had to step their game up in the second half and they did,” said Paranto.

The coach went on to praise Belnavis, who had his second straight outstanding performance of the season. “When he’s active, he is one of the better players on the floor. He’s athletic, obviously, with the dunk; he’s a ball hawker out there too. If he’s active and ball hawking with his defense his offense comes too.”

Belnavis led all Indian scorers with 22 points and also added seven rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and one volcanic slam dunk. Kobel contributed 14 points and six assists, while sophomore Givens-Perry played another solid game with 13 points and five rebounds.

Huberdault, who does a lot of things on the court that don’t always show up on the stat sheet, also played a strong overall game for the Indians, making three of four shots for seven points.

The Bartlett junior varsity squad lost to the Tigers 76-49 despite a nice performance by Anthony Higbie, who scored 25 points in a losing cause. Neal Flanagan added ten points in the loss.

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Indians lose despite 20 from Belnavis

By Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett Indians ran into a hot Uxbridge Spartans basketball team Tuesday night and were handed their second loss of the season 80-63 in Uxbridge.

Uxbridge is playing its final season in the old Uxbridge High School gymnasium as they prepare to move into their new digs at the new Uxbridge High School next season. This was Bartlett’s last trip to this gym and it didn’t go all that well for the green.

The Indians started fast and took an early 22-17 lead after one quarter behind the good shooting of Nick Kobel and Akeem Belnavis, who each scored 7 points.

The Spartans turned up the defense and took advantage of a very sloppy start by the Indians in the second quarter to take control of the game. They pounded the ball inside to center Corey Gomes and hit some key three pointers to outscore the Indians 22-8 in a decisive fashion taking a 40-30 lead at the half.

Bartlett tried to keep in close in the third quarter and received some good minutes from Center Andrew Meloche, who played a strong inside game for the Indians, but the Spartans were playing well on both sides of the court. Despite 7 points from Meloche, a lack of outside shooting and some tough Spartan defense helped the home team open a 62-42 lead after three quarters.

The Indians tried to come back in the fourth quarter scoring the first 8 points of the stanza as Kobel got hot, but the Spartans were on their game. They continued to play stellar defense and make shots and especially free throws, where the Spartans made 16 of 20 for the game, which would prove to be key to the outcome.

On the bright side for the Indians, Belnavis played a solid game with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and a pair of steals. Meloche almost had his most productive game of the year with 12 points and a season high 13 rebounds. Kobel was far below his season average but still chipped in 17 points.

The loss put the Indians record at 5-2 for the season.

The Bartlett Junior Varsity had one of their best games of the season winning 66-56 behind a solid performance by Anthony Higbie who had 19 points for the Indians. Neil Flanagan added 12 points and Justin Stately scored 10 for the victors.

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Lindsay Bond (10) drives Miranda Watkins (4) on her way to the hoop.

It’s been a tough year so far for the Lady Indians of Bartlett, dropping to 1-7 on the year with the loss to the Lady Pioneers of Southbridge last Thursday in Southbridge, capping off a six game losing streak.

The resurgent Pioneers (5-3) got off to an early start with a full court press, forcing Bartlett into errant passes; traveling violations; and a general loss of floor presence. The Lady Indians were unable to develop any kind of sustained rhythm or momentum and found themselves down 27-14 at the break.

Finally in the last half Bartlett heated up as Lindsay Bond found her way to the hoop, (team high 16pts) and with some help from Olivia  Mandeville (8pts) managed to close the gap, but it was a case of a little too late.

Miranda Smith (41) looks for a little help

Ashton Morio (20) splits two Southbridge defenders while
bringing the ball up court.

Meghan Dwyer (14) takes a layup over Elyse Pena (31)

Olivia Mandeville (3) takes a short jumper over Miranda Watkins(4) as
team mate Kayla Sizer (22) watches.

Don Cote photos

By Steev Riccardo; photos by Don Cote

Senior co-captain DJ Kirby-Thomas and junior Akeem Belnavis, both members of the Bartlett High School Football team, seemed to be out for revenge on Friday night for their Thanksgiving day loss to rival Southbridge Pioneers when they took the basketball court.

It may be a different sport, but it’s the same rivalry. The carryover from one sport to another between these schools is still quite evident, not only on the court but in the stands as well.

There was a raucous crowd on hand as the hometown Indians built a huge lead in the opening quarter and went on to upend the visiting Pioneers 92-79 in a key Southern Worcester County League match-up.

The tandem of Kirby-Thomas and Belnavis, along with leading scorer and co-captain Nick Kobel, all contributed heavily as the Indians rolled to a 21-point lead after one quarter. Belnavis and Kobel each had10 points, both hitting a pair of three pointers, and Thomas was a monster inside, adding 8 points.

The Indian dominance continued through the second quarter as they took a big 52-23 lead to the locker room.

“I thought we finally put it all together in the first half,” said Bartlett Head Coach Tony Paranto. “We ran the floor well, we shot the ball, obviously, unbelievably well and we got good shots. We controlled the boards, played defense, got out on their shooters, stopped penetration; it was almost a perfect first half.”

The Pioneers and head coach and former Bartlett hoop star Bob Fowler did not roll over and came out to play in the third quarter. They used a combination of long range shooting and strong rebounding to outscore the Indians in the third quarter 23-20, cutting the deficit to 16.

Paranto felt that they needed to play a full game to beat the Pioneers. “We told them at half time, the first half was great, but it’s a game of two halves and everything that we did well in the first half we didn’t do well in the second half.”

“They (the Pioneers) controlled the tempo, we couldn’t get in our press because we were in foul trouble; they also controlled the glass and got a lot of rebounds on missed free throws.”

It was those missed free throws that actually kept the Pioneers from making it a closer game and the coach agreed, “if they made some of those it was a ball game.”

The Indians did hold it together and made some big shots and hit clutch free throws when it counted. Kirby-Thomas, Kobel, and Matt Huberdault all made free throws in the last minute to hold off a furious attack by the Pioneers in the last four minutes.

Kobel led all Bartlett scorers with 26 points and Kirby-Thomas put together his second straight strong outing with 20 points, a pile of rebounds, and great defense.

“DJ played a terrific in the first half and I told him that. If he could put a full game together, he would be a great arsenal for us and it would complement Kobel out there because obviously he needs some help once in a while,” said Paranto.

The Indians also received strong games from Belnavis, who scored 12 points and played some strong defensive, as did Alex Givens-Perry, who despite being in foul trouble most of the game, scored 14 points and continued to be the team’s best rebounder.

The crowd had a quite a battle as well with chanting from both sides evident all night, keeping the excitement factor at a high level. “I think it carried over from football; that is what rivalry is all about. Obviously Southbridge is our big rival and Shepherd Hill is the other one,” said Paranto.

A big rivalry indeed it is and a healthy one as well for both the players and the fans. Act two takes place in Southbridge on Monday, February 13.

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