More High School coverage
Milestone surprises Fuhrman
Saturday, April 12, 2008
SPRINGFIELD - Before the season started, senior Abby Fuhrman told her father, Richard, not to talk about strikeout numbers.
Frontier rules in Division 3
Monday, March 17, 2008
WORCESTER - The wait was agonizing: when was the Frontier Regional student section going to sing its school song Saturday?
Parent's long wait over
Monday, March 17, 2008
WORCESTER - Sixteen years later, Northampton girls basketball coach Tom Parent got his state Division 1 tournament championship.
Pepyne huge for Hawks
Monday, March 17, 2008
WORCESTER - Jon Pepyne was called for his first foul less than one minute into the state Division 3 championship game Saturday.
State champions! Hamp wins first title
Monday, March 17, 2008
WORCESTER - It took a 15-point lead with 91 seconds left Saturday and the Northampton girls basketball team's fans chanting "It's all over" for Iris Santoni to believe it.
Teammates lift Bell after injury
Monday, March 17, 2008
WORCESTER
Devils riding defense
Saturday, March 15, 2008
NORTHAMPTON - Tom Parent, coach of the Northampton girls basketball team, ended the last practice of the season with a promise Friday.
'Big 3' fuels Hawks
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
AMHERST - There was no stopping Frontier Regional's "Big 3" Tuesday night.
Blue Devils taking nothing for granted
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
NORTHAMPTON - Tom Parent, coach of the Northampton girls basketball team, has spent a whole lot of time this week talking up Westborough.
South Hadley finally outmatched in state semis
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
AMHERST - Two teams with uneven records played quite evenly for 16 minutes Tuesday night.
Blue Devils' championship run helped by practice players
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
NORTHAMPTON - Last week, he was Bridget Crowley and Esther Wallace, the standout centers for Minnechaug Regional and Central, respectively.
'Amazing' title for Tigers
Monday, March 10, 2008
AMHERST
Celebration at the Cage Dream win for Hamp
Monday, March 10, 2008
AMHERST - It's been a dream for the Northampton girls basketball team for five years.
Frontier earns revenge, Division 3 championship
Monday, March 10, 2008
AMHERST - Coach Marty Sanderson nearly made a decision that could have cost his team a title.
High School Sports Blog
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Gazette reporters Mike Moran and Jim Pignatiello take a closer look at the Massachusetts high school sports scene. Email the sports staff at sports@gazettenet.com
Boys Hoop Top 10s
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 @ 07:16:00 PM
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The last one was the final regular season edition. This one includes the postseason. See ya in the spring.
Power Poll (final regular season ranking)
1. Longmeadow (3)
2. West Springfield (6)
3. Central (1)
4. Cathedral (7)
5. Frontier Regional (8)
6. Northampton (2)
7. East Longmeadow (4)
8. Sabis (5)
9. South Hadley (unranked)
10. Taconic (9)
DIVISIONAL TOP 10s
Division 1 (Record, final regular season ranking)
1. Longmeadow (19-5, 3)
2. West Springfield (16-7, 5)
3. Central (19-3, 1)
4. Cathedral (14-8, 6)
5. Northampton (19-2, 2)
6. East Longmeadow (14-7, 4)
7. Sci-Tech (13-8, 7)
8. Putnam (9-12, 8)
9. Amherst (8-12, 9)
10. Westfield (9-11, 10)
Division 2
1. South Hadley (10-15, 10)
2. Taconic (18-5, 1)
3. Drury (16-6, 4)
4. Hoosac Valley (13-9, 5)
5. Palmer (17-4, 2)
6. Mohawk Trail (17-4, 3)
7. Monument (12-10, 8)
8. Belchertown (12-9, 6)
9. Wahconah (11-10, 7)
10. Greylock (10-9, 9)
Division 3
1. Frontier Regional (24-1, 2)
2. Sabis (21-2, 1)
3. Pioneer Regional (19-4, 3)
4. New Leadership (17-6, 4)
5. Monson (13-9, 5)
6. Easthampton (10-12, unranked)
7. Granby (12-9, 6)
8. Turners Falls (13-9, 7)
9. St. Joseph’s (10-12, 9)
10. Lee (7-14, unranked)
GazetteLand Power Poll
1. Frontier Regional
2. Northampton
3. South Hadley
4. Belchertown
5. Amherst Regional
6. Easthampton
7. Granby
8. Holyoke Catholic
9. Hampshire Regional
10. Smith Academy
11. Hopkins Academy
12. Gateway Regional
13. Smith Vocational
Final GazetteLand Leading Scorers (just regular season)
1. Brian Clark, Frontier, 22.3
2. Jamie Bell, Frontier, 18.25
3. Mike Afflitto, Holyoke Catholic, 16.9
4. Jeff Donnis, Smith Academy, 15.4
5. Dana Light, Granby, 15.37
6. Chris Wetherby, Smith Vocational, 15.22
7. Scott DeLoach, Hampshire, 14.8
8. Dan Clark, Frontier, 14.6
9. Mike Kelly, Amherst, 13.55
10. Chris Demers, Easthampton, 13.18
11. Tyler Kendrick, Smith Academy, 12.8
12. Jeremy Lapointe, Granby, 12.74
13. Nick Bryda, Holyoke Catholic, 12.28
14. Tom Marsh, Belchertown, 12.25
15. Luke Wickles, Smith Academy, 12.1
16. Ryan Garvey, South Hadley, 12.08
17. Brendan Rios, Easthampton, 12.05
18. Brennan Cooper, Northampton, 11.65
19. Tyler Craig, Gateway, 11.63
20. Joe Courtney, Belchertown, 11.55
21. Dan Sullivan, Hopkins, 11.37
22. Aaron Stone, Hopkins, 11.25
23. Nick Kellogg, Northampton, 10.8
24. Branden Labrie, Hampshire Regional, 10.75
25. Mike Moynihan, Northampton, 10.3
Final Girls Hoop Top 10 & More
Monday, March 24, 2008 @ 07:16:00 PM
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Here are the final top 10s. In the brackets this time is the preseason ranking instead of the rankings from the last top 10.
Power Rankings
1. Northampton (2)
2. Central (1)
3. Minnechaug (3)
4. West Springfield (4)
5. Holyoke (7)
6. Palmer (NR)
7. East Longmeadow (NR)
8. Monumen Mountain (NR)
9. Lee (NR)
10. Ludlow (10)
GazetteLand Power Rankings (No preseason rankings)
1. Northampton
2. Amherst
3. Easthampton
4. Belchertown
5. South Hadley
6. Granby
7. Hampshire
8. Hopkins Academy
9. Holyoke Catholic
10. Smith Academy
11. Frontier Regional
12. Gateway Regional
13. Smith Vocational
GazetteLand Scoring Leaders
1. Genn Roy, Granby, 17.8
2. Alyssa Leonard, Amherst, 16.7
3. Patty Stefanelli, South Hadley, 16.6
4. Katelyn Cavanaugh, Belchertown, 16.2
5. Stephanie White, Easthampton, 14.4
6. Alannah Driscoll-Sbar, Northampton, 14.0
7. Kaitlyn Veit, Holyoke Catholic, 12.3
8. Kierstin Delvalle, Belchertown, 11.7
T9. Ashlee Moussette, Hampshire, 11.6
T9. Jenny Bell, Northampton, 11.6
11. Allyson Rannikko, Easthampton, 11.5
12. Sarah Pettengill, South Hadley, 11.1
13. Brighid Courtney, Northampton, 10.8
14. Kelly Omasta, Hopkins Academy, 10.4
15. Jenna Klaes, Amherst, 9.6
16. Briana Yusko, Hopkins Academy, 9.3
17. Lauren Livingstone, Granby, 8.8
18. Briana Delvalle, Belchertown, 8.4
19. Sam Fournier, Hopkins, 8.2
20. Lindsay Gondek, Smith Academy, 8.2
Noteworthy GazetteLand Career Points
Genn Roy, Granby, 1,637 (senior)
Patty Stefanelli, South Hadley, 1,108 (senior)
Brighid Courtney, Northampton, 897 (senior)
Stephanie White, Easthampton, 889 (senior)
Jamie Messer, Northampton, 783 (senior)
Alannah Driscoll-Sbar, Northampton, 754 (junior)
Jenny Bell, Northampton, 716 (junior)
Alyssa Leonard, Amherst, 677 (sophomore)
Iris Santoni, Northampton, 676 (senior)
Kelly Omasta, Hopkins, 668 (senior)
Allyson Rannikko, Easthampton, 604 (junior)
Katelyn Cavanaugh, Belchertown, 579 (junior)
Division 1
1. Northampton (24-2, 2)
2. Central (21-2, 1)
3. Minnechaug (18-4, 3)
4. West Side (14-8, 4)
5. Holyoke (13-9, 6)
6. East Longmeadow (16-5, NR)
7. Ludlow (12-8, 7)
8. Amherst (13-8, 5)
9. Agawam (8-12, 10)
10. Pittsfield (10-11, NR)
Division 2
1. Palmer (21-4, 10)
2. Monument Mountain (19-4, 3)
3. Commerce (19-3, 6)
4. Wahconah (14-8, 9)
5. Mahar (17-6, 5)
6. Mohawk (18-4, 8)
7. Easthampton (16-6, 4)
8. Belchertown (12-10, NR)
9. South Hadley (13-8, 7)
10. Hoosac Valley (14-7, NR)
Division 3
1. Lee (19-5, 3)
2. Granby (14-9, 1)
3. Lenox (14-9, 6)
4. New Leadership (13-10, 2)
5. Sabis (12-9, 4)
6. Hopkins (8-14, 8)
7. Monson (12-9, 7)
8. McCann (12-9, NR)
9. Ware (11-8, 10)
10. Putnam (19-2, NR)
Past, future of boys hoop teams broken down
Friday, March 21, 2008 @ 08:34:00 PM
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The following is an inside look into the past season and immediate future of the 13 boys basketball teams we cover. Check back next week for final Top 10s.
Amherst Regional
Finished: 8-12, 4-6 Valley League
2007-08: Stayed in contention for the postseason with big wins over Holyoke, Sci-Tech and Commerce. Improved by six wins from previous season because players knew their roles.
2008-09: Needs to replace five seniors, including leading scorer Mike Kelly (13.5 ppg) and point guard Peter Lappas. Ben Brassord (5.9 ppg) and Jonah Herscu (5.7 ppg) should develop more offensively and be able to carry the team. A postseason appearance is not out of the question with only two seniors and four juniors next year.
Belchertown
Finished: 12-9, 11-5 Bi-County East
2007-08: Lost five of first six games to start the season but found their rhythm. Very well could have been 16-4 as four of those five losses were by four points or less. Had a balanced offense with steady defense. Lost in first round of the tournament at home to Monument.
2008-09: Loses three seniors, including leading scorer Tom Marsh (12.2 ppg) but the O’s should be fine. Joe Courtney (11.5 ppg) and Bryan Eldridge (9.0 ppg) are very capable on both sides of the ball and should be better with one more year of growth. Ben McCullough takes over for his brother at point. He is probably the better of the two on both sides of the ball.
Easthampton
Finished: 10-12, 9-9 Hampshire East
2007-08: Despite missing Pat Hopewell for nearly three-quarters of the season the Eagles remained in the hunt and qualified for the postseason. That was due to the emergence of Brendan Rios and Chris Demers’ play in the post. It didn’t take long for Hopewell to fit in when he came back and the team defeated host Granby in the first round of the tournament. The Eagles then had Pioneer Regional on the ropes before falling in the quarters.
2008-09: The team needs to replace Demers (13.2 ppg), point guard Justin Laliberte and Hopewell. Rios (12.1 ppg) will be ready to carry the offense but someone else needs to step up.
Frontier Regional
Finished: 24-1, 18-1 Hampshire West
2007-08: Won state Division 3 championship. Brian Clark (22.3 ppg) was one of the top players in the area. Jamie Bell (18.3 ppg) and Dan Clark (14.6 ppg) did everything while Gary Grandonico and Brennan McKenna simply ran the show. Received excellent role play from Jon Pepyne and Matt Chamberlin.
2008-09: Not all is lost. The team returns a nice core of Grandonico, Pepyne and Chamberlin. Now it’s a matter of filling in the blanks with seldom used Nate Haines, Sean Kelley and Stephen Grybko. Erik Abramson could be surprise after playing most of the year on JV. He could have started for half the teams in the league.
Gateway Regional
Finished: 3-17, 1-15 Bi-County West
2007-08: It’s not easy competing in the West when you have Sabis and NLCS twice as well as double-doses of Hampshire, Southwick and Holyoke Catholic.
2008-09: Leading scorer Tyler Craig (11.6) will be gone but big man Ethan Cook (9.5 ppg) should be back. If he develops more he could easily average a double-double. Still, qualifying for the postseason will be very difficult.
Granby
Finished: 12-9, 9-7 Bi-County East
2007-08: It was supposed to be a rebuilding year. However Dana Light (15.4 ppg) was very good, Jeremy Lapointe (12.7 ppg) added a secondary source of offense, mostly from 3-point range, and Brian Boudreau was steady at point. The Rams also played tremendous defense.
2008-09: Lapointe is the only senior and while the team might not have a replacement shooter, his offense should certainly be spread out among Jason Labrie, Clinton Sapowsky, Toby Rock and Zach Benoit.
Hampshire Regional
Finished: 7-13, 7-9 Bi-County West
2007-08: Inconsistent all season. The team was hurt when two starters left in early January, and one was injured and couldn’t play from the start. If either Scott DeLoach (14.8 ppg) or Branden Labrie (10.8 ppg) had an off night, the team struggled offensively. A lack of experience possibly led to defensive struggles.
2008-09: A fresh start is all this team might need. The team was very young in 07-08 and simply being a year older can certainly add at least three more wins and a postseason appearance. This will also be the second varsity season for Kyle Fredette, Tom Leveille, Andrew Stolarik, Alex Brunelle, Jared Bean and Labrie.
Holyoke Catholic
Finished: 8-12, 6-9 Bi-County West
2007-08: Lack of depth hurt. Had trouble defending. Had one win vs. teams with plus-.500 record. Mike Afflitto (16.9 ppg) and Nick Bryda (12.3 ppg) carried the team offensively throughout the season. Junior transfer Nick Barrett (7.8 ppg) became healthy midway through the season and added a third scoring option.
2008-09: The Gaels lose a few seniors, including Afflitto, but should be OK with Bryda and Barrett. The team needs to play better defensively to have a chance against better teams.
Hopkins Academy
Finished: 7-13, 5-13 Hampshire West
2007-08: The Golden Hawks opened the season 4-0 but then struggled to stay consistent. Lack of inside presence hurt. Mix of experience and inexperience may have played a hand in inconsistencies.
2008-09: Four starters - Bill Hahn, Zach Hunter, Dan Sullivan (11.4 ppg) and Karl Kapinos - return so the team should be fine. Once again a year of experience should help but more so this season as 07-08 newcomers will be familiar with teammates and system.
Northampton
Finished: 19-2, 10-0 Suburban
2007-08: Was a very balanced team on both sides of the ball. A total of 17 players checked into the at least one game for the Blue Devils, making the basketball team deeper than the football team. Had experience and talent, which sometimes had to overcome the team’s tendency to start slow.
2008-09: Loses all five starters but returning players should fair well. The next starting five could very well be Jesse Coulon (7.9 ppg), Bill Frothingham, Ellis Cooper (7.8 ppg), Jake Konowitch and Chris Osepowicz.
Smith Academy
Finished: 8-12, 7-11 Hampshire West
2007-08: A 2-8 start didn’t help the Falcons, who could certainly score. Stopping teams however was the problem. It made for interesting, high-scoring games, like a 93-88 overtime win over Easthampton and a 96-91 double-overtime win over Greenfield.
2008-09: Must replace leading scorer (Jeff Donnis, 15.4 ppg), second-leading scorer (Tyler Kendrick, 12.8 ppg) and third-leading scorer (Luke Wickles, 12.1 ppg). Of 10 players who played, six in fact were seniors. Needs to fill in depth and work on defense.
Smith Vocational
Finished: 2-17, 2-10 Tri-County
2007-08: The Vikings won when Chris Wetherby (15.2 ppg) registered a triple-double. Mike Kubasek was a second scoring option but it wasn’t enough.
2008-09: Must find a way to replace Wetherby and build depth.
South Hadley
Finished: 10-15, 1-9 Suburban
2007-08: The Tigers became the first team to win the sectional title with a sub-.500 record. Injuries and inexperience hurt against Division 1 opponents during regular season. Was healthy and experienced for postseason. Colin Lacey (8.4 ppg) and Ryan Garvey (12.1 ppg) were tremendous for the Tigers, who won their fourth title in five years.
2008-09: The team lose Lacey, Garvey and a few valuable role players. Should be strong though at guard with Roberto Agrait, Greg Daviau and Zach Garbacik. Will be small but athletic at forward with Scott Rainaud and Miguel Santiago. Brian Chieco should be healthy and playing in the middle. Will need to develop role players again.
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