Fall schedule preview

SCHEDULE

Bartlett at Northbridge September 7
Oxford at Bay Path September 8
Bartlett at Shepherd Hill October 12
Shepherd Hill at Oxford November 2

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo 

Greetings Sports Fans!  We were able to get a sneak peak at the high school fall schedule this weekend and a few gems immediately caught our attention.

The Bartlett Indians, who are coming off a 7-5 season, and the Shepherd Hill Rams, who were 8-4 a year ago, will meet on the Hill October 12 in a key gridiron battle, as it is every year.  The Rams trounced the Indians last year in Webster 40-14, dominating from start to finish, so it’s a good bet that the new-look Indians will be out for revenge. 

In another key football battle, the Rams will travel to Oxford (3-8) on November 2 to take on the Pirates and new head coach Mike Adams and what looks to be a newly revamped offense.  Firstly, however, the Pirates will look to get their season off on the right track with an opening day clash with the Bay Path Minutemen on Saturday, September 8, in a noon matinee in Charlton.

Other interesting football tilts include the Rams taking on the Auburn Rockets in Auburn on October 5. You may recall that the Rams upset the Rockets last year ended their long winning streak. 

You can also put October 21 on your calendar, when the Indians take on the Leicester Wolverines, who thwarted their district hopes last year in the playoffs. Expect a hard-nosed battle when these two teams meet.

The Why Not Game: Am I the only one scratching my head around here trying to figure why Bartlett and Oxford don’t play each other on the football field? It doesn’t make much sense does it? It could be a huge rivalry between the neighboring towns which already play in just about every other sport. They match so well enrollment-size and geographically, it seems like a no-brainer.

Soccer Battles: Both the Bartlett and Oxford boys and girls teams will meet on the soccer field on Wednesday, September 12. The boys will meet in Oxford, with the girls doing battle in Webster.

Field Hockey: The Oxford Pirates girl’s field hockey team, who are coming off a remarkable 18-0 season, will open their season at home on Tuesday, September 4, against Sutton. 

The Pirates will have to overcome the loss of a very strong senior class that included leading scorer and Central Mass all-star Michelle Williams and superb goaltender Lauren Puishys, who had an amazing 11 shutouts in goal a year ago.

AAU Baseball Tryouts: Tryouts for the upcoming AAU baseball season are August 12th and/or August 19th.  10U-12U are from 1pm-4pm at Lemansky park in Auburn and the 13U-15U are 9:00-12:00pm at Lemansky park.  The tryout fees are; $20.00 for returning players and $30.00 for new prospects.  Please pre-register at www.centralmassbaseballclub.com

Ted Avlas, the Broadcaster: Did you know that Webster’s own Ted Avlas, a Patriot's season ticker holder since 1976, shelled out $500 for a piece of the parquet floor signed by Larry Bird? It's true! When Teddy is not handling business for the Webster Schools he can be heard broadcasting Bartlett Football and Basketball games on Webster Cable TV along with color guy Ed Kunkel.

Avlas started doing football games on WGFP with Rene Langevin in 1988 and was joined later by Kunkel. The two have been doing the games on Webster Cable since 2000.

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 that you would like to see in the View!