By Steev Riccardo

WORCESTER – Hello from courtside at the Clark Tournament!

When it comes to high school sports, it really is hard to beat the Clark Tournament, which is now in its 74^th year! The gym is always packed, the crowd is always fired up, and the high school basketball is at a premium level and that was the case in the opening game of this year’s tournament, featuring the Oxford Pirates and the Maynard Tigers, which, justly so, went down to the wire (52-51 Oxford).

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

Webster – Greetings sports fans!

Just when you think you have seen and heard it all in regards to Emily “The Sweet Assassin” Dawidczyk, the Oxford senior soccer and track star’s story gets better and better.

Breaking two more records at the SWCL championship last week was just part of her normal routine; fielding calls from Division 1 powers such as St. Johns, Stanford University, and Michigan State University may not be so ordinary around these parts, unless your last name is Dawidczyk.

by Steev Riccardo

Greetings sports fans! 

The highly anticipated Shepherd Hill-Holy Name girls basketball match-up didn’t quite live up to its hype (mostly hype created right here in this column), but Gigi Guenther certainly that proved that she is the real deal.

The Webster native, who attended Saint Ann’s school, did, however, live up to her advance billing, scoring 17 points while grabbing eight rebounds in the Naps 46-22 win over the Rams.

Only a sophomore, Gigi already looks like a big time high school player.  She leads her team in scoring and has been playing like a veteran all season coming off the bench. Can you say best sixth man in Central Mass?

“Gigi is dynamite; she is someone who every coach would want on their team,” said Naps coach Barry Finneron. “From the time she gets out there she is giving you 100% all the time.”

Finneron talked about the vast improvement in Gigi from last year to this year. “She has more confidence, playing every day, playing with good players, I think that is part of it.  The increase in speed that she has to play with the kids around her has helped too. She is a worker, whatever you ask her to work on, she works on.”

As far as getting up for the match with Shepherd Hill, Finneron said, “She was all excited; we had to tie her down to get her here, she was jumping off the bus.” 

“Gigi is a great kid to work with, an athlete, a great soccer player, a great basketball player. I’m sure if she wanted to play softball she could do that as well.”

One of her good friends and opponents, Rams senior co-captain Taylor Daniels, has tremendous respect for Guenther. “Playing against Gigi is always so much fun. You kind of push the friends thing aside once you step on the court but it's good clean friendly competition with Holy Name. I've been playing against her my entire life. We grew up together playing sports and it’s been competitive ever since. Gigi is a terrific player and only will continue to improve.”

The View’s Top 5 of the week:

1. Gigi Guenther, Holy Name girls basketball:  It’s all about Gigi. 17 points and eight rebounds in a big game and only a sophomore. That is hard to top.

2. Alex Givins-Perry, Bartlett boy’ basketball:  “AGP” played a strong game in the Douglas loss, scoring 25 points.

3. Taylor Daniels, Shepherd Hill girls basketball:  Like she is on the soccer field, Daniels is one tough hard-nosed player who gives 100% all the time. Her 12 points against Holy Name accounted for more than half of her teams 22 total points.

4. Justin Terlizzi, Shepherd Hill boys basketball:  Justin Terlizzi has been the picture of consistency for the Rams this year.  He led his team with 21 in a win over East Longmeadow this week.

5. Tyler Barrie, Oxford boys basketball: Tyler Barrie had 19 points in the Pirates loss against Quaboag last week.

Ryan Renauld: Rumor has it that Ryan Renauld will be stepping in as the Bartlett girls softball coach. Stay tuned for more info on that.

Girls Basketball Tournament: St. Anne’s school in Webster will be holding a girls basketball tournament on February 15-18. More info to come.  The Route 395 basketball and cheerleading conference has a website that you can visit to get more info on upcoming games.

Until next week, see you on the sidelines! Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any sports news and check out the new View from the Sidelines Facebook page with exclusive photos and news at https://www.facebook.com/ViewFromTheSidelines

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

Greeting sports fans!

The high school boys basketball season has been awesome so far and now as we approach mid-season, the Clark Tournament (Feb 17-23) and the Districts, every game is crucial for the locals.

All three of the local teams are poised to make strong post-season runs as well as an impact in the Clark Tournament during February vacation. Interestingly enough, each of these teams plays a completely different brand and style of basketball.

The Bartlett Indians (7-2) feature a running and gunning style of play that produces lots of offense. The Oxford Pirates (6-4) also like to run but they rely a lot more on forcing turnovers with their tremendous defense. The Shepherd Hill Rams, on the other hand, like to slow the game down and play a very slow and deliberate style, taking advantage of their height and size down low.

What makes the Indians so dangerous is, that not only can they run and score, but they also have a very strong frontcourt consisting of senior co-captain Akeem Belnavis, hot shot junior scorer Alex Givins-Perry, and 6’5”sophomore Jacob Mailloux. All three of the Bartlett big men have had huge games this season. It also doesn't hurt that they have an excellent defender like Evan Anderson and an outstanding long-range shooter in Matt Huberdault in the backcourt.

Despite being outplayed by Quaboag last week, every indication is that the Indians had an off night and could avenge that loss when the two teams meet in a couple weeks in Webster. There is no way that the Cougars can hold Belnavis to two points again next time around.

The Pirates may not be very big, but their backcourt tandem of senior co-captains Donnie Freeland and Mike James is one of the best in Central Mass and their relentless defense can cause opposing teams to turn the ball over. Once they do force turnovers, Freeland and James find seniors Tyler Barry and Junior Liam Pickett flying down the court and getting easy layups. They also have tremendous 3-point potential with Freeland and Barry and Pickett all able to hit threes.

The Pirates have lost a couple of close games recently, but I still like their chances in the long run. If they can get to 10/11 wins, they will be a factor down the road.

Shepherd Hill may not be the most exciting team to watch, but as the season goes on they are getting better and better. They like to slow the ball down offensively and work it inside to their big men and they also have some outside threats when they need to shoot.

Freshman Michael Rapoza and sophomore Chris Lindstrom have both been playing consistently well. They also have guys like Tyler Martin Justin Terlizzi, and Derek Schulman who can hit outside shots. David Bianculli can also score and be a pest on defense and Jesse DiTommaso has come on as of late as well.

It is been the excellent zone defense that the Rams play that has at times successfully slowed down teams like Bartlett and could play a key role for them come playoff time.

All three of these teams look like they will be able to contend in the post season, and that should make for some very exciting local basketball action.

The View’s Top 5 of the week:

1. Taylor Daniels, Shepherd Hill basketball: Daniels was outstanding leading the Rams with 17 points and some great defense over Auburn.

2. Liam Pickett, Oxford basketball: Pickett had a great game in a losing effort with 26 points against Tantasqua.

3. Olivia Mandeville, Bartlett basketball: Only a freshman, Mandeville, scored 14 points in a loss vs. Quaboag last week for the Indians.

4. David Bianculli, Shepherd Hill basketball: The Rams junior forward made two great steals down the stretch to help his team hold on to beat Auburn.

5. Caroline James, Bartlett basketball:  Caroline James looks like a future star for the Bartlett Indians. Last week she lit up the Southbridge jayvees with 20 points.

Gigi Guenther: The fans might not be chanting “GIGI GIGI” tonight (January 16) when the Webster star makes somewhat of a home coming when her Holy Name Naps take on the Shepherd Hill girls in Dudley, but you can be sure the that sophomore will be out to prove something.

Shepherd Hill’s Taylor Daniels is equally excited about the match with her “friend-emy” as she refers to Guenther.  “Holy Name is the game we look forward to all season, it’s always a fun up-tempo game.”  It should be a good one.

Rocco DiStefano: It’s always great to run into Bartlett 2012 graduate Rocco DiStefano, who was at Bartlett last week visiting some old friends.

Rocco is now playing football and running track at Springfield College and currently holding a 3.7 cum in the classroom, majoring n Sports Biology.

Until next week, see you on the sidelines! Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any sports news and check out the new View From The Sidelines Facebook page with exclusive photos and news at https://www.facebook.com/ViewFromTheSidelines

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

WEBSTER – Greetings sports fans!

Tonight (Wednesday January 9) is the long awaited boys basketball re-match between the Bartlett Indians and the Quaboag Cougars. The Cougars beat the Indians three times last season, including an eliminating buzzer beater at the Clark Tournament in the semi-finals.

The two Southern Worcester County League powers will meet in Warren in what should be the high school game of the year, at least until they meet again at Bartlett on February 5. 

Gino Manzi: When Marianapolis scrimmaged Bartlett recently, we ran into one of the Indians’ all-time leading scorers and new Marianapolis basketball head coach Gino Manzi.
 

Before taking some time off from coaching, Manzi held several jobs, including 11 successful seasons with Southbridge High School, which he called a “great run.” He was also head coach at Shepherd Hill for four years and an assistant at Nichols College. His first coaching job was at Trinity Catholic.

“I really like coaching and I missed it when I was out of it. I’m really happy and fortunate to be back in it,” said Manzi who scored over 1300 points during his Bartlett high school career.
 

“Marianapolis wanted to go in different direction in terms of stepping up their varsity 2 program and they knew that I coached in the area for many years and that I wasn’t really doing anything. I went in and talked to the headmaster and we shared the same vision of what we thought the program should be and it went well and I took the position. I couldn’t be happier with the decision I made. It’s really working out well.”

As far as being in his old gym, Manzi said, “I always like coming back here. I have some great memories playing both basketball and football at Bartlett.”

St. Louis grads: A couple of Gino Manzi’s players who also have strong ties to Webster are Pat Kunkel and Kevin Matyczymski, who both went to St. Louis school in Webster. The pair are now playing for Marianapolis and are enjoying having Manzi as their new coach.
 

“We thought before the season started that since he was a really good player it would be a good experience for us having him here and that he would give us a lot of insight,” said Kunkel.

“It’s different than any other coaching experience we have ever had,” said Matyczymski. “It’s more intense and more dedicated; we have practiced every day over break and that is something we never did before. There is a lot more conditioning and a lot more strategy. It’s a good change.”

As for the Bartlett scrimmage, Manzi and his players were happy about the experience. It was a good opportunity for them to have a practice game against one of the area’s top teams.
 

The View’s Top 5 of the week:

1. Emily Dawidczyk, Oxford Track:  “The Sweet Assassin” stole the show at the SWCL track meet at Tantasqua Regional last Wednesday.  She won the 55-meter dash and the 55-meter hurdles and came in third in the shot put.

This performance followed her amazing run at the Reggie Lewis center at the Boston Holiday Challenge on December 29, in which she shone among the stars.

Dawidczyk came in first in the hurdles with the fastest time in the state and the 7^th fastest time in the nation! She also ran her best time in the 300 meters and finished third in the state and 24^th in the nation.

2. Tyler Martin, Shepherd Hill boys basketball:  Martin played huge down the stretch in the Rams’ 46-43 win over Quabbin.

3. Stella Worters, Shepherd Hill Indoor Track:  The star junior runner finished first in the 1-mile run and also won the 1000 meters at the SWCL meet in Tantasqua last week.

4. Liam Pickett, Oxford boys basketball: The junior forward had two solid games for the Pirates this past week, including a career high 26 points against Leicester.

5. Alex Givins-Perry, Bartlett boys basketball:  “AGP” came up big with 26 points and helped the Indians stop the Millbury Woolies on Friday night.

Key SWCL track results (SH,Oxford) at Northbridge:

Girls
Katie McCambridge, Shepherd Hill-First in the shot put

Emily Dawidczyk, Oxford-Third in the shot put
Lexi Poirier, Shepherd Hill-Third in the girls high jump

Lucy Harmon, Shepherd Hill-Second in the two-mile run

Emily Dawidczyk, Oxford-First in the 55 metal hurdles (*SWCL record)
Emily Dawidczyk, Oxford-First in the 55-meter dash

Stella Worters, Shepherd Hill (JR)-First in the mile run

Emily Thibaud, Shepherd Hill (JR)-First in the 600 meters

Haley Chamberlin, Shepherd Hill (JR)-Second in the 600 meters

Boys
Jacob Gratton, Shepherd Hill (SR)-Third high jump

Elijah Fossas, Shepherd Hill (JR)-Second in the two-mile run

Jacob Gratton, Shepherd Hill (SR)-Second 55-meter hurdles

Mitchell Hass, Shepherd Hill (JR)-Second in the 300-meter dash

Key SWCL track results (Bartlett) at Tantasqua:

Girls

Shayna Kubilis, Bartlett (FR)-Eight in the shot put

Deanna Truhanovitch, Bartlett (SR)-Fourth high jump

Leah Dunbar (8^th)-Tenth in the one-mile run

Boys

Jeremy Guyette, Bartlett (JR)-Second 1000 meters

Chris Herron: Former NBA player and college star Chris Herren, who struggled with a substance abuse problem for most of his adult life, will be speaking to Shepherd Hill students on January 31. He should make for a very interesting public speaker.

Herren, who scored over 2000 points at Durfee High School in Fall River, had his career best game with the Celtics when he scored 18 points in a game.
Until next week, see you on the sidelines! Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any sports news and check out the new View From The Sidelines Facebook page with exclusive photos and news at https://www.facebook.com/ViewFromTheSidelines

Photo caption: Holy Name's Emily Kreidler, Shepherd Hill's Brooke Packard, Holy Name's Gigi Guenther, and Shephed Hill's Tina Gauvin following the Rams game vs Bartlett.

by Steev Riccardo

Greeting Sports fans! Welcome to the final View From The Sidelines of 2012 in what was a banner year for local sports.

We are very excited about the new boxing club coming to Webster. Please be sure to check out the full story in this week’s Patriot.

Ironically as I finished writing the story at the Dudley Library, where I occasionally like to write, I ran into Dennis "The Bear" Tremblay. Dennis works for the town of Dudley so it’s not that unusual for him to be in the library, but we immediately struck up a conversation about the new club.

Of course "The Bear," who we have talked about in this column before, and I met years ago at the old boxing club on High Street in Webster where we both trained under the tutelage of the great Joe Arns.

Every time the subject of boxing comes up in Webster, it’s only natural to remember Joe Arns. He helped so many young kids in town and gave us a place to work out and learn not just about boxing but about life skills. I can’t even tell you how many times I swept those floors at that old gym on High Street simply because Joe asked me to. It’s good to know that there will once again be a boxing ring set up in town.

The View’s Top 5 of the week:

1. Matt Huberdault, Bartlett boys basketball: "Hubs" went off against Shepherd Hill for a career high 28 points, including 7 three-point bombs, to lead the Indians in the big annual rivalry game.

2. Donny Freeland, Oxford basketball: The Pirates’ senior co-captain scored 24 points in his team’s win over Nipmuc. He also grabbed 11 rebounds which is pretty darn good for a guard.

3. Brooke Packard, Shepherd Hill girls’ basketball: "Miss Defense" not only played her typical lock down "D" but she also connected for 17 points in the Rams’ blowout win over Bartlett.

4. Michael Rapoza, Shepherd Hill boys’ basketball: The Rams’ new freshman sensation scored 20 points in an awesome losing effort against Bartlett. The kid looks like he’s going to be a good one.

5. Gigi Guenther, Holy Name girls’ basketball: Webster’s own Gigi Guenther had a huge night scoring 18 points and leading the Naps past Algonquin in a battle of the Central Mass. heavyweights.

SWCL Fall All-Stars announced: The Southern Worcester County League announced their all-stars for the fall season and the local teams were represented quite well as you can see below:

Boys’ Soccer

First Team: Evan Anderson (Bartlett), Tyler Martin (Shepherd Hill)

Second Team: Kody Morio (Bartlett), Jacob Simonis (Bartlett), Donnie Freeland (Oxford), Nick Kondek (Shepherd Hill), Chris Clouatre (Shepherd Hill)

Girls’ Soccer

First Team: Dani Stone (Bartlett), Emily Dawidczyk (Oxford), Lauren Barton (Shepherd Hill), Amanda Keovongmanysar (Shepherd Hill)

Second Team: Gina Manzi (Oxford), Tina Gauvin (Shepherd Hill), Meghan Dunn (Shepherd Hill)

Field Hockey

First Team: Marrissa Colby (Shepherd Hill)

Second Team: Ashley Mikkila (Oxford), Mary Cayer (Shepherd Hill)

Boys’ Cross-Country

First Team: Daniel Stomski (Shepherd Hill), Elijah Fossas(Shepherd Hill), Hunter Schultz (Shepherd Hill), Jason Bangs (Shepherd Hill)

Second Team: Brendan Pratt (Shepherd Hill), Alberto Salcedo (Shepherd Hill)

Girls Cross-Country

First Team: Stella Worters (Shepherd Hill), Juleanna Schultz (Shepherd Hill), Lucy Harmon (Shepherd Hill),

Second Team: Rachel Connor (Shepherd Hill),

Volleyball

First Team: Danielle Watkins (Shepherd Hill), Jen Green (Shepherd Hill), Julie Preissler (Shepherd Hill), Johanna L’Heureux (Shepherd Hill)

Second Team: Sarah Zieminski (Shepherd Hill), Emily Hanson (Shepherd Hill)

Thank you very much for reading and supporting this column all year long. I look forward to writing in for another year and covering the amazing local athletes that we have here in Southern Worcester County and especially the high school kids at Bartlett, Oxford, and Shepherd Hill. Happy New Year!

Until next week, see you on the sidelines! Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any sports news and check out the new View From The Sidelines Facebook page with exclusive photos and news at https://www.facebook.com/ViewFromTheSidelines

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

Happy Holidays sports fans!

2012 was a fantastic year in high school sports and there were a great many individual and team highlights. This week we take a look back of some of the athletes that made this year so special.

There were so many great highlights, but here are the best of the best.

Meghan Fornaro:  2012 Shepherd Hill graduate had an incredible basketball career at the hill and reached the 1000-point mark in her final season to cement her place in the school’s history.  Her 42-point performance against North Middlesex in the playoffs was one of the best individual performances of the year.

Nick Kobel: Kobel ended his magnificent career at Bartlett by reaching the 1000-point club.  His 39-point effort against St. Bernard’s in his final game was a masterpiece. Kobel just finished his first season playing soccer at Springfield College.

Bartlett-Oxford Game/Donny Freeland: Freeland, the then-Oxford junior led the Pirates to a 48-38 upset win over Bartlett and the process shut down Nick Kobel and held him to one point.

Oxford Baseball team: The Oxford Pirates (18-6) and manager Justin Richards had an incredible season before bowing out in the state semi-finals and were definitely one of the best “teams” of the year.

Nick Lemay (above): The Oxford Pirates lefty was virtually unhittable, going 10-0 with an ERA under 1.00.  He also hit over .400 and earned himself a nod on the Central Mass all-star team. Lemay is now attending Becker College.

Nicole Mangaudis (shown above): “The Franchise,” aptly nicknamed by her coach Jamie Heatherman, completed a remarkable career at Oxford High School, pitching in every single inning of every game in her four-year career.  Mangaudis is now attending UMass Amherst.

Stella Worters: Shepherd Hill’s excellent long distance runner Worters had a great season in both indoor and outdoor track as a sophomore. She ended the year by earning a spot on the Cross Country super team.

Emily Dawidczyk: “The Sweet Assassin” was the View From The Sidelines” Athlete of  the Year mainly because of her outstanding indoor and outdoor record-breaking track campaigns.  Dawidczyk then went on to have a Central Mass all-star season in soccer, leading all scorers and dominating all season, including a remarkable 6-goal game against Shepherd Hill.  Dawidczyk will be playing Division 1 soccer at Sacred Heart University in the fall.

Shepherd Hill football: The 10-3 Rams made it all the way to the Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium before losing a tough battle to undefeated Nashoba.  From Drew Ravenelle to Brad Picard, they were great to watch all season long.

Alex Givins-Perry (shown above): The emergence of junior Alex Givins-Perry on the football field gave Bartlett a new dimension and 1300 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.

Chris Dutting:  Dutting had an incredible season for the Rams that kept getting better and better every game. His performance in the playoffs against Doherty was one of the best individual efforts of the year.

Shepherd Hill girl’s soccer: Led by the emergence of goalie Meghan Dunn and a staunch defense, the Rams had a superb soccer season (13-3-3).

Lauren Barton: The extremely talented Shepherd Hill Rams soccer star was named to her second consecutive Central Mass upper team. She will be taking her talents to Manhattan College in the fall to play Division 1 soccer.

As the winter season starts, the Bartlett Indians are off to a 4-1 start in boys basketball, the Shepherd Hill girls look to be pretty solid, and The Sweet Assassin has already broken one of her own records. It's business as usual!

Central Mass Fall All-Stars: The Central Mass Fall All-Stars were announced this week and the locals were nicely represented.
 

Football
Superteam: Matt Petrell(Shepherd Hill)
Honorable Mention: Chris Dutting (Shepherd Hill), Drew Ravenelle, (Shepherd Hill), Tyler Barrie (Oxford), Alex Givins-Perry (Bartlett)

Girls Cross Country
Juleanna Schultz (Shepherd Hill), Stella Worters (Shepherd Hill)
Boys Soccer

Honorable Mention: Tyler Martin (Shepherd Hill), Evan Anderson (Bartlett)
Girls Soccer
Super Team: Lauren Barton (Shepherd Hill), Emily Dawidczyk (Oxford)
Honorable Mention: Amanda Keovongmanysar (Shepherd Hill, photo below)
Girls Volleyball
Danielle Watkins (Shepherd Hill)

Amanda Keovongmanysar


Final Word(s): Before departing, I would like to say a few words about Bartlett High School football coach Dane Laboissonniere.

Since I returned to write for The Patriot in August 2011, Coach Laboissonniere has been a total professional and has gone out of his way time and time again to help make our job easy. He has also done a fantastic job not only as Bartlett’s coach but also as an educator who has helped his kids get to the right colleges and pursue their education.  In my opinion, I don’t think there is a better person to be coaching the Bartlett Indians at this time than him and his excellent staff.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone for their support this year and wish you all a happy and successful New Year! 

Until next week, see you on the sidelines! Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any sports news and check out the new View From The Sidelines Facebook page with exclusive photos and news at https://www.facebook.com/ViewFromTheSidelines

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

Greetings sports fans!

There are few games that look as good on paper as the Bartlett-Oxford boy’s basketball game this Friday in Oxford. This game could have it all. Both teams are playing an up-tempo style and there is plenty of star power to go around. 

When the two teams met last year the Pirates successfully slowed down the Indians’ offense and senior co-captain Donny Freeland played flawless defense, holding Bartlett’s Nick Kobel to one point en route to a 48-38 win. It will be interesting to see if Pirates coach Sean Halloran puts Freeland on a much bigger Akeem Belnavis, who is averaging over 20 points a game, this year.

Another interesting match-up will be the two young big men, Bartlett’s Jacob Mailloux and Oxford’s Jared Buckley, who are both off to outstanding starts in their varsity debuts.

Like we said, this could be one of the best match-ups of the year, one you don’t want to miss.

The View’s Top 5 of the week:

 “The Sweet Assassin” wasted no time getting her final indoor track season off to a great start by breaking her own record in the 55-meter hurdles last week.

2. Donny Freeland, Oxford basketball:  The best lockdown defender in these parts showed he can deliver the offense as well with a couple of nice scoring efforts in his first two games against Southbridge and Prouty.

3. Akeem Belnavis, Bartlett basketball:  “The Dream” had an outstanding week with 25 points against Tantasqua and 24 in a tremendous comeback win over Northbridge, and he had a dunk in each game to boot. Could be a huge year for the senior.

4. Brooke Packard/Tina Gauvin, Shepherd Hill basketball: The outstanding backcourt combo of Packard and Gauvin are going to give teams fits all season and, oh yea, they are both also three-point threats as well.

5. Kate McCambridge, Shepherd Hill track: The Rams senior shot put ace looked good in the SWCL meet at Tantasqua last week, winning in the event she owns.  

New Boxing Club: We ran into Shepherd Hill grad John “Zab” Zablocki who was checking out his daughter Jordan’s game at the hill this past week and he told us that a new boxing club is coming to Webster soon. Stay tuned for more details and a story.  The legendary Joe Arns, who I was very fortunate to train with as a teenager, would be happy to hear this news!

Lindsay Bond:  Lindsay Bond had a homecoming of sorts last Thursday when her Anna Maria college basketball team played Nichols in Dudley.  Bond had 5 points, including her first college three-pointer! When we spoke to Bond in Northbridge on Friday night at the Bartlett game, she was pretty happy about how her freshman year is going and looked to be in amazing shape.

Oxford Track: The Oxford Pirates had some impressive showings at the SWCL dual meet in Northbridge on Wednesday, December 12. 

On the boys’ side, Andrew St. Germain won the 50-yard hurdles, while Michael McCarthy finished 4^th in the mile run and Nick Rivelli    finished 6^th in the shot put.

Emily Dawidczyk started her senior track career off by breaking her own record in the 50-meter hurdles. She also won the 50-yard dash and in a new twist for her, finished third in the shot put.  Julia Carrier came in 4^th in the 2-mile run for the lady Pirates.

“Breaking my own record in this first meet was the perfect way to start the season,” said Dawidczyk. “In the past few weeks I've been working really hard to improve my starts and hurdle form so I'm glad that's it's paying off. I'm still looking to better that time though.” Of course she is.

More SWCL Track Results: The Shepherd Hill Rams cleaned up last week at the SWCL meet at Tantasqua with a number of high finishers.

Kate McCambridge won the shot put, Lucy Harmon won the 2-mile run, Stella Worters came in second in the mile run, won the 1000-meter run, Emily Thibaud won the 600-meter run, and Haley Chamberlin finished second in the 600-meter run on the girls side.

Hunter Schultz won the 2-mile run for the boys.

Bartlett’s Jeremy Guyette finished third in 1000 meters for the Indians in a fine showing for the Green.

Until next week, see you on the sidelines! Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any sports news and check out the new View From The Sidelines Facebook page with exclusive photos and news at https://www.facebook.com/ViewFromTheSidelines

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

Hello Sports fans!
Now that we are more than a week removed from a great high school football season, it’s a good time to reflect and appreciate some of the fantastic individual performances of the past season.

Shepherd Hill’s magnificent 10-3 football season was highlighted by several huge individual performances. There are so many players that made heavy contributions to the Rams incredible super bowl run that it’s hard to single out only a few, but we have.
 

You have to start with quarterback Drew Ravenelle (above), who as the team’s leader, made his presence felt in nearly every game and also has the numbers to go along with his tremendous leadership qualities.  The senior co-captain was 17-27 passing with 402 yards and five touchdowns and also rushed for 575 yards, scoring ten touchdowns

The Rams’ incredible backfield senior co-captain Brad Picard and junior Jake Gelb also get the all-star nod from us.  Picard had 747 yards rushing with six touchdowns, while Gelb had 958 yards with ten touchdowns.

Chris Dutting was one of the best defensive players in Central Mass and some might say was the Rams’ most valuable player.  Dutting gave his team so many intangibles and also scored four touchdowns. He also had an incredible game against Doherty in the playoffs that ranks among the all-time best.

Lastly for the Rams is Matt Petrelli, who anchored his team’s line play and showed outstanding leadership all season long.

The Bartlett Indians may have fallen a bit short on their expectations as a team this year, but it had nothing to do with the individual efforts of their big three.

Junior Alex Givins-Perry did it all for the Indians this season. Despite missing two games due to injury, “AGP” still had 1359 yards rushing to go along with 16 touchdowns, not to mention his incredible play at the linebacker position. With a year left, things are only going to get better for Givins-Perry.

When the Indians needed a big catch this year, quarterback Ricky Spooner knew where he had to throw the ball – to Akeem Belnavis. The senior co-captain made some excellent plays this year which resulted in 15 touchdowns for the Indians.

Pictured above, and only a sophomore, Bartlett’s Neil Flanigan has a chance to be a very special football player. This year he played tenacious defense all season and sparked the green whenever they needed a big stop.

The Oxford Pirates may have been 1-9 this year, but every team that they played will tell you that the orange and black played hard in every game.

Sophomore quarterback Matt Faucher had a very good season for the Pirates and showed just how tough he is.  His eight touchdowns led his team and he is only going to get better in his next two years.

Tyler Barrie is a superb two-way player and he could help any team with his relentless style of play.  The senior receiver had three touchdowns and also played very well in the Pirates secondary.

The official Central Mass all-star team will be announced on December 26 and don’t surprised to see some of the above-mentioned guys on that team. These are all excellent football players.

Dave Marrier/Bartlett Girls JV: Congrats to Bartlett girls junior varsity basketball coach Dave Marrier who won his first game as coach of the jayvee team with a 16-15 win over Bromfield last Friday night.  The Bartlett girls were led in scoring by sophomores Catherine Heckler and Ashley Iwanski, who had six and five points respectively in the Indians victory.

Marrier had coached at the St. Louis school in Webster for the past six years, the last five for the jayvee team, 5^th and 6^th graders.  He is also the junior varsity girls soccer coach at Bartlett.

Rocco DiStefano: Bartlett 2012 graduate who just completed his first season playing football at Springfield College has added another bit of history to his already impressive resume.  Rocco made the Springfield College varsity track team as a walk-on. Way to go Rocco, we are not surprised!

Emily D/Oxford Track: The View From the Sidelines first Athlete of The Year Emily “The Sweet Assassin” Dawidczyk begins her final season of Indoor track as she and the Oxford Pirates will be in Northbridge on Wednesday, December 12, at 5:30 for a SWCL track meet.  

Until next week, see you on the sidelines! Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any sports news and check out the new View From the Sidelines Facebook page with exclusive photos and news at https://www.facebook.com/ViewFromTheSidelines

Shepherd Hill coach Chris Limdstrom addresses his team and coaches following the Super Bowl loss.

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

Hello Sports Fans!

Normally I head straight for the sidelines or courtside or any place close to a playing surface to watch games, but once I set foot in one of the media rooms at Gillette stadium and saw the view of the field and the buffet spread, there was no way I was leaving.

The fact that I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t even want to leave the house in the morning also had something to do with staying inside, but there was no way I was going to miss the Shepherd Hill-Nashoba Super Bowl encounter. Seeing it from the press box and feasting on a breakfast and then a lunch buffet made it even more memorable.

The Rams players and coaches gave it all they had and fell a little short, but still it was something that they will never ever forget and neither will I.  The score was really no indication of how close of a game it was. The Hill had their chances and have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

Rams Head coach Chris Lindstrom gave his team an uplifting speech afterwards while Nashoba celebrated nearby. It was a pretty special moment and he let his team know that they should be proud of their accomplishments this season. 10-3 with their schedule is not too shabby. Congrats to the Rams.

Charlton-Dudley AYF Team:  The Charlton-Dudley American Youth Football team has had an amazing season. So good that they have yet to lose and are headed to Orlando to play in the nationals.  They have had an unbeaten season, won the Mass state title, and then beat Connecticut and Rhode Island in regional action to earn a shot to play in the sunshine state.  Nice job guys!

Central Mass Coaches Soccer All-Stars: The Central Mass coaches association selected its all-stars for soccer and the local schools were heavily represented:

All New England: Emily Dawidczyk (Oxford)
All State: Emily Dawidczyk (Oxford), Lauren Barton (Shepherd Hill), Amanda Keovongmanysar (Shepherd Hill)
Division I (Girls): Lauren Barton (Shepherd Hill), Meghan Dunn (Shepherd Hill), Amanda Keovongmanysar (Shepherd Hill)
Division II (Girls): Emily Dawidczyk (Oxford), Dani Stone (Bartlett)
Division I (Boys): Tyler Martin (Shepherd Hill
Division II (Boys): Evan Anderson (Bartlett)
 

The Central Mass all-star team will be announced for all sports within the next couple of weeks.  There are three local soccer players that may not make the Central Mass team but certainly deserve recognition for having excellent seasons.

Shepherd Hill’s Taylor Daniels and Oxford’s Gina Manzi may not have scored a lot of points but both were superb two-way players for their respective teams.  Bartlett’s sophomore goalie Brian Tondel is another that may not be selected but was outstanding this season for the Indians.  

Pictured above, Jordan Orrell. We heard from former Oxford Pirates track star Jordan Orrell, who had a great career for the orange and black. She is attending the University of Maine and playing intramural soccer and club track. In fact she had a meet at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College this past weekend. It won’t be the same not seeing her and “The Sweet Assassin” at the Oxford track meets.

Lindsay “Secret Agent” Bond:  Anna Maria College freshman and 2012 Bartlett grad Lindsay Bond helped her varsity basketball team beat Becker last weekend with an outstanding “stat sheet filling” performance with 4 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block.  Not too bad Bond, who is only a freshman!

WGFP M.I.A.A Basketball Schedule:  Cool-Country 940 WGFP released their schedule for boy’s basketball this week. The outstanding duo of Pete Geanis and Matt Morway will be broadcasting 15 high school games this winter, opening with what could be a shoot-out between Southbridge and Oxford on Tuesday, December 11. 

Some other highlights include Bartlett at Oxford on Friday, December 21 and Shepherd Hill at Bartlett on Friday, December 28.

All games are broadcast live, and are subject to winter weather conditions.
 

Until next week, see you on the sidelines! Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any sports news and check out the new View From The Sidelines Facebook page with exclusive photos and news at https://www.facebook.com/ViewFromTheSidelines