Are you ready for some Indians-Rams football?

Text  and photos by Steev Riccardo. Photos follow.

Greeting Sports fans.

A year ago, I fell victim to my heart, as one should, unless one is picking sports teams. I made a bold prediction in print that my alma mater, Bartlett High School, would beat Shepherd Hill in their annual football dance. 

That didn’t work out so well as the Rams scored on the opening kickoff and the Indians fumbled on their first possession en route to an ugly 40-14 loss and I found myself a week later sitting in a room with the entire administration of the Dudley-Charlton School Committee. Yup, that was slightly embarrassing.

This season, I am going to leave the predictions to guys like the other columnist that writes for the Patriot and that Jim Wilson dude. Still, even though on paper it doesn’t look good for Bartlett, I think the boys will show up to play and we are going to have a real battle on our hands. After all, this is a rivalry and records don’t mean much in games like this.

I really like what the Indians did last week offensively against Uxbridge and if they can block for Alex Givins-Perry and their other talented backs, they will have a chance to win.

Defensively, the Indians will have to be superb to keep Drew Ravenelle, Brad Picard, and the Rams’ excellent offensive line intact.  There really isn’t much room for error for the Indians. You can throw the Auburn game out the window, they are the best team in Central Mass and they are dismantling everyone, not just Shepherd Hill. 

This game should be a lot of fun.

The View’s Top 5 performers of the week:

1. Alex Givins-Perry, Bartlett Football:  Junior Alex Givins-Perry aka “The Human Wrecking Machine” ran for 273 yards and scored three touchdowns against Uxbridge, a performance that puts him up there with some of the best in Bartlett history.

2. Meghan Dunn, Shepherd Hill Soccer: Meghan Dunn has been incredible in net all season for the Rams. Last week she led her team by Leicester and Tantasqua, giving up only two goals in a pair of 2-1 wins.

3. Emily Dawidczyk, Oxford Soccer: “The Sweet Assassin” scored a hat trick against a very strong undefeated Auburn Rockets team in a 5-3 loss, giving her a Central Mass-leading 27 goals on the season.

4. Shepherd Hill Girls Volleyball team:  The Rams continued their volleyball dominance with a 3-0 win over Tantasqua last week. They improved to 10-1 on the season.

5. Akeem Belnavis:  Akeem “The Dream” Belnavis had a pair of long touchdown runs in Bartlett’s huge win over Uxbridge and also some time at quarterback, which is a new wrinkle that the Indians added to their explosive offense.

Sideline chatter: Oxford Pirates Soccer star Blair Reilly on teammate Bethanie Keefe: “Bethany has really stepped it up this year. It was hard to find a goalie but she has really taken on that role and played well.”

Anthony Wilga and Adam Darling would make a great comedy team

Adam Darling: We ran into Shepherd Hill soccer star Adam Darling in Auburn at the football game on Friday. Darling was sporting a cast on his sprained ankle, which will keep him out for at least three weeks but insists he will be back to help his team.  He was also “bragging” about his skills on the bowling alley and actually told us something we didn’t know. The Hill has a bowling team?  That’s right and Adam insists he is a top-notch bowler.

Along Darling’s side while we spoke was former Rams star footballer Anthony Wilga, who spent a lot of time smiling and nodding while Darling did his sermon.  He also showed us his swollen and purple ankle which I photographed but chose not to run here because it’s gross looking.

Shepherd Hill Girls Junior Varsity team with their ultra-cool coach Ashley Gustafson (far left)

Amanda Keovongmanysar: One player you can’t miss if you see the Shepherd Hill girl’s soccer team play is Amanda Keovongmanysar, who is not only a great player but also has one of the most interesting names.  To think we thought that Dawidczyk and Laboissonniere were hard names to spell, Amanda K. certainly has them beat.

The senior soccer star was on a real high following the Rams 2-1 win over Tantasqua, a team they rarely beat. She told us that Meghan Dunn played “fantastic in slippery conditions” and also praised the overall play of her entire team.

“We have done really well, we stepped it up in the big games but every game matters to us. We have played up to par with Algonquin and Miinechaug, two of the best teams in the state and tied both of them.”

The Rams have already clinched a playoff berth, but Amanda said that her team would not be taking any breathers because they are looking for some home playoff games.

She also praised teammate Lauren Barton, who reportedly will be playing Division 1 soccer for Manhattan College in the fall.

Photo of the Week (above): Oxford Field Hockey stars Jamie Brodeur and Ashley Mikkila, who were doing stats for the Oxford Pirates football team in Tantasqua on Saturday afternoon, took time with us to pose for a photo. Game(s) of the Week: It’s all about the battle on the hill Friday night in Dudley at 7 between the Indians and the Rams. The records don’t matter; this one is always about the pride.

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