Fornaro Mania

By Steev Riccardo
Don Cote photo.

Meghan Fornaro is rock-star incredible.

Forget about Jeremy Lin, you want to see a show, go to the Clark University gym Thursday night and check out Shepherd Hill Rams’ basketball star Meghan Fornaro when her team takes on Holy Name in the Division 1 semi-finals!

We have been following Ms. Fornaro from a distance all season, but now after seeing her act in person this past Saturday, all I can say is WOW!  She has all the skills, great ball handler, stellar defender, great shooter, but most of all a phenomenal scorer and leader. With all due respect to all the other girls and the boys too, she is the best is these parts.

In fact one of her counterparts from the Shepherd Hill Rams boys team, Chris Patrinos, had this to say about Fornaro. “She is awesome, probably one of the best girl players to come through here.  She could probably be on our team.  She is part of the family here and we all love her.”

When I spoke to Fornaro after her team’s outstanding 77-63 win over North Middlesex, a game in which she poured in a career high 42 points, she gave a lot of credit to her past and current teammates who paved the way for her to have a record breaking season.  

Once the playoffs and her senior year are over, Fornaro will be taking her talents to the Coast Guard Academy where she plans to continue her hoop career while getting a superior education. Before then, don’t miss out on a chance to see rocking out at Clark University on Thursday.

Oxford Pirates: The Oxford Pirates boys’ basketball team may have been eliminated from district play last week in Barre, but you get the feeling that this is a team that is going to be very tough next season.

Head Coach Sean Halloran has ten players returning; yes you read that correctly, ten players, and most of them are key contributors.

Along with lock-down defender Donny Freeland, who missed the end of the season due to injury, fellow juniors Mike James, Cody Stone, Bryan Bjorkland, and Tyler Barrie will all be back.  Stone led the team with a 14.7 average, while James made his presence offensively as well with an 11.2 average.

Quabbin Star to Nichols: Quabbin Panthers star point guard Christopher Horton, who is one of the top players in Central Mass, may be heading to Nichols College. Its not 100% official yet but the word on the street is that the senior star is leaning heavily towards a Dudley residency, just when Shepherd Hill fans thought they saw the last of Horton, who led his Panthers past the Rams in the Clark semi-finals a few weeks ago.

When we ran into former Bison hoop coach Don Cushing, who was at Shepherd Hill checking out his daughter’s Rams’ assistant girls coach Maura Hackenson, he indicated that the rumors may be true and Horton may be headed to Nichols. 

What was funny about my conversation with Cushing about Horton was that he changed the subject mid-sentence and started raving about Shepherd Hill senior Kyle McKissick’s skills.  The Coach loves McKissick’s game and had much praise for him and thinks he is going to be a great college player as well. It’s hard to argue with that assessment.

Former Ram Sightings: Sometimes all you have to be is in the right place at the right time, as was the case last week when I found myself in the middle of a conversation between a couple of former Shepherd Hill stars from back in the day.  Tony Salvaggio (SHHS 74) and John Billis (SHHS 78) supplied the entertainment, discussing their gold games and memories of the hill.

Salvaggio, who is currently an assistant head coach at Bay Path Regional, and was a former head coach both at Bay Path and Oxford, looks to be staying fit these days.

The former Ram, who was in the school’s very first graduating class following 3 years at Woodstock Academy, has coached many great ones over the years, including this writer’s cousin Anthony Riccardo, who was a star running back at Bay Path. 

Billis, a former guard under Coach Jim Ferdella, has been busy working as a referee doing middle and high school basketball games when not out on the golf course.

McCarthy heading west: its official Connor McCarthy will be attending Arizona State University in the fall. The Bartlett football and baseball star was in the desert last week with his mom, finalizing plans for his fall entry. Having spent 18 months in Arizona and visiting the Tempe campus many times, I can tell you this, there isn’t a better atmosphere for a college kid to go to school in except for maybe Pepperdine, which is in Malibu. Before his exit into the western sunset, McCarthy will be wearing the green for one more season when he hits the baseball diamond in a few weeks.

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