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High School Sports

Local roundup: Bernardians get back to .500

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The St. Bernard’s boys basketball team evened its record at 6-6 with a 53-38 win over Collegiate Charter School of Lowell on Monday evening.

The Bernardians will next face West Boylston at the Activity Center on Wednesday night.

Nashoba 74, St. Paul 60: Jacob Belsanti had 23 points and Jack Lagarde chipped in with 21 as the Wolves improved to 9-2.

Monty Tech 62, Narragansett 41: Jaden Jones had 16 points to lift the Bulldogs (7-6) past the Warriors.

Gardner 60, Ayer-Shirley 57: Brian Holmes and Cam Marshall each had 15 points for the Panthers (8-5).

Girls basketball

Ayer-Shirley 48, Gardner 31: Ava Murphy poured in a game-high 19 points for the Panthers (9-2, 6-1 Mid-Wach D).

Maddie Davis added 13 points and Maleah Figueroa scored nine points in the victory.

Nashoba 57, St. Paul 23: The win lifts the Wolves to 9-2.

North Middlesex 59, Fitchburg 41: Julia Landry poured in a game-high 21 points to pace the Patriots. Caitlin O’Brien added eight points in the win.

The Red Raiders (1-12) were led by Beautiful Sanchez, who scored 10 points, while MJ Thammachak and Gianna Calderon each had nine. Gianexis Santiago chipped in with eight points.

Indoor track and field

Fitchburg High’s Stephen Bate and the girls 4×200 relay team impressed at the MSTCA Coaches Invite Sunday in Duxbury.

Bate, a senior, placed third in the high jump with a leap of 6-0 and also claimed fifth in the long jump with a distance of 20-11.

The girls relay team of Julianna Ortiz, Fiona Palmer, Brianna Demers and MacKenzie Roy competed in the inaugural Nick DiPilato 4×200, running a race dedicated to coach Sara DiPilato Lamey’s father.

Red Raiders surge past Patriots

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FITCHBURG — In a game at rival Leominster on Jan. 13, Fitchburg High boys basketball coach James McCall lamented his team’s inability to close out games, an issue that had plagued the Red Raiders all season. That night, the guests led throughout and did so comfortably before falling apart in the fourth quarter and losing by 11.

For at least one night, the fourth quarter struggles disappeared.

The Red Raiders played perhaps their best basketball of the night in the final stanza Monday, surging past a pesky North Middlesex Regional side to win 56-49 at the Doug Grutchfield Field House.

The win was the third straight for Fitchburg, which improves to 5-4 on the season with a game at Shrewsbury slated for Tuesday evening. The Patriots fall to 2-9.

Ahead 40-38 entering the fourth, the Red Raiders opened on an 12-2 run to take control in the first 4:35. A pair of baskets by Omar Rodriguez (21 points) bookended a pair of drives by Elijah Jeffreys (14 points, 12 rebounds) before Victor Kutka (10 points) closed the spurt with a pair of hoops for a 52-40 lead.

Fitchburg's Elijah Jeffreys goes up for a layup during Monday's win over North Middlesex Regional. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)
Fitchburg’s Elijah Jeffreys goes up for a layup during Monday’s win over North Middlesex Regional. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)

The Patriots answered with a basket by Jackson Hendley and four straight points from Brian Morse (21 points, including six 3-pointers) to cut the lead to 52-47 with 2:26 to go, but turnovers killed North Middlesex late as the guests handed the ball over eight times in the final eight minutes.

A drive by Kutka pushed the lead back up to seven and Rodriguez made three of four from the charity stripe in the final minute to seal the victory.

Behind the hot shooting of Morse, the Patriots made things interesting early on. The junior buried a pair of 3-pointers toward the end of the opening quarter to tie the game at 11 before a drive by Fitchburg’s Joshua Medina gave the hosts a 13-11 edge after one.

Morse hit another pair from long distance in the second quarter, the latter of which propelled the Patriots in front, 22-20.

But every time the Patriots gained some momentum, the Red Raiders ratcheted up the defensive intensity. After Rodriguez scored on an offensive rebound, Jeffreys came up with a steal and layup to put the hosts back in front.

Down 27-26 late in the first half, Zion Ayala converted a pair of free throws and Rodriguez notched a steal and drive to send Fitchburg to halftime ahead 30-27.

The Patriots battled back in the third, pulling even at 35 courtesy of a pair of free throws by Joshua Gallagher with 2:44 left in the quarter. After an old-fashioned three-point play by Joshua Rodriguez gave Fitchburg a three-point lead, Morse responded from well beyond the arc to tie things at 38 with 56 seconds left in the third.

But again, Omar Rodriguez had the answer for Fitchburg, scoring off a jumper to send the Red Raiders to the final eight minutes with a two-point edge.

Local roundup: Falcons grounded by Blazers

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The Fitchburg State women’s basketball team suffered a 67-56 setback to Elms College Saturday afternoon in non-conference action from the Picknelly Arena.

Elms raced out to an early 7-0 edge on a pair of layups from junior Rahmia Johnston before the Falcons (3-16, 1-5 MASCAC) responded with an 8-0 run as sophomore Caileen Hurley, freshman Aliza Som and sophomore Rylie Harlow netted buckets.

The Blazers regained an 11-8 advantage as graduate student Brianna Metellus  hit a jumper, but the Falcons knotted the score at 11 with junior Olivia Almeida burying a 3-pointer.

The Blazers grabbed a 15-11 edge with Johnston notching another layup early in the second quarter, but the Falcons answered back with Harlow and sophomore Stephanie Hart registering baskets for a 16-15 advantage.

Fitchburg State upped the margin to 24-20 when senior Lindsay McDonald hit a jumper before Elms took the lead back 28-25 on a Talia Urbe bucket.

Following the halftime break, Fitchburg State trimmed the deficit to 32-29 when Harlow connected on a fast break layup, but Elms responded with a Metellus bucket to push the lead to 34-29. The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes as Elms lead 38-34.

The Green and Gold continued to battle, cutting the lead to 46-39 with sophomore Morgan Genness and Almeida converting jumpers before the Blazers extended the lead to 53-42 on a pair of free throws by newcomer Kayla Jackson.

The Falcons opened the fourth frame with Harlow draining a jumper and a 3-pointer, while freshman Juliana Davis added a bucket to make the score 53-50 before the Blazers upped the advantage to 59-52 with Metellus posting a bucket.

Fitchburg State answered with a Harlow jumper, but Elms secured the victory on a Metellus 3-pointer.

The Falcons were led by Harlow, who scored a team-leading 17 points and added five rebounds and four assists. Almeida added 12 points, five caroms, two steals, two blocks and an assist in the setback.

For the Blazers, Johnston finished with a game-best 20 points, six boards, four assists and one steal.

Fitchburg State is now 8-7 all-time when taking on Elms, which held a 54-34 edge in rebounds.

The Falcons return to action on Wednesday as they travel to MCLA to take on the Trailblazers in MASCAC action, starting at 7 p.m.

Girls track

Lunenburg had a pair of strong performances at the State Coaches Invitational (Small Schools) on Saturday.

Abby Rodriquenz placed fifth in the 1000m run with a time of 3:09.50 and the 4x800m relay (Lauren Long, Breanna Bajko, Olivia Coronella, Rodriquenz placed third with a time of 10:15.20.

Wolves claw past Patriots

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FITCHBURG — After starting the season 7-0-2, the Nashoba Regional hockey team had hit a little bit of a rough patch as the Wolves were winless in their previous four contests entering Saturday afternoon’s Roy Conference clash against rival North Middlesex Regional.

Sparked by an outstanding one-man effort from Michael DiTullio who split the Patriots’ defense and potted a shorthanded goal into the back of the net midway through the second period to lift Nashoba to a thrilling 1-0 victory over North Middlesex at the Wallace Civic Center.

With the win, Nashoba picked up its first win in exactly three weeks and in the process ran its record to 8-3-3 overall, while the Patriots fell to 4-8 on the season.

“Effort was the key today,” said Nashoba head coach Matthew Biggs of the difference from the previous four games. “We outshot them for a long time, but they played well defensively so we knew it was going to take a gritty goal. The shorthanded goal was great to see.”

Over the first 15 minutes, Nashoba controlled play and outshot the hosts, 10-5. It was more of the same to start the middle frame for the Wolves as they had 14 of their 25 shots in the contest during the second period.

The goal scored by DiTullio came with 8:03 left in the period when he used his speed to grab a loose puck and split a pair of defenders before throwing a shot perfectly into the top corner of the net.

“(DiTullio) does everything for us,” Biggs said. “Whether he is killing penalties or doing whatever he needs to do, but it was a great single-handed effort to get down there and scored a goal. It was awesome to see.”

In the final period, neither team was able to get much offense going as the Patriots outshot Nashoba, 4-1.

“I think our losses have been by a combined three goals or four goals against good quality opponents,” Biggs said. “For us to get a conference win against a nice little rival is big for us.”

North Middlesex netminder Aaron Scarelli turned aside 24 shots in a strong effort for the Patriots.

Local roundup: Blue Knights fall on Senior Night

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Lunenburg senior captain Jonny Deyo poured in a game-high 24 points, but it wasn’t enough as visiting Maynard pulled out a 55-48 win over the Blue Knights boys’ basketball team Friday night at Memorial Gymnasium on Senior Night.

Fellow Blue Knights senior Max Meilleur scored 10 points and junior Miles Seminatore added eight points for Lunenburg, which fell to 7-5 with the loss.

St. Paul 61, St. Bernard’s 59: Manny Vega had a game-high 21 points for St. Bernard’s (5-6) and Patrick Ginnity added 11 points.

Leominster 72, Algonquin 52: The win lifts the Blue Devils to 7-5.

Girls basketball

Ayer-Shirley 47, Fitchburg 29: Ayer-Shirley (8-2) was paced by a game high 20 points from Maddie Davis. Ava Murphy and Maleah Figueroa each scored 11 points for the winners.

Gianexis Santiago scored 11 points to lead Fitchburg (1-10) and Gianna Calderon added 10 points.

Shepherd Hill 43, North Middlesex 28: Gabby Durham posted a team-high 11 points for the Patriots, while Norah Tesini chipped in with eight.

Boys swimming

Wachusett 67, Nashoba 11: Thomas Hastings placed second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.06 and took second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:12.59 to lead Nashoba (1-10).

Girls swimming

Nashoba 58, Wachusett 36: Campbell Phillips won the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:20.61 and placed second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:13.21, while Ariel Larrabee won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:42.53.

Abby Horton placed first in the 100  backstroke with a time of 1:17.35 and Paige Mason won the 50 freestyle with a time of 28.85 before taking second in the girls 100 freestyle with a time of 1:06.35. Nashoba’s Erin Coughlan was second in the 50 freestyle (30.16) and second in the 100 backstroke (1:19.97).

The team of Coughlan, Emma Reiner,  Phillips and Mason won the 200 medley relay in 2:10.75.

Boys indoor track and field

Fitchburg 59,  Marlboro 32: Senior Stephen Bate won three events for the Red Raiders Thursday night, claiming the 55m (6.8); the 300 (40.1) and the high jump (5-08).

Effrem Gnepo won the shot put (35-07.5). Josh Nartey won the 55m hurdles (8.8), Kingston Aldrich-Cooper  was first in the 600 (1:35.3) and the 4×220 relay (Nartey, David Afogho, Derrick Lulimachi, Steven Smith) was also victorious in 1:53.1.

Girls indoor track and field

Marlboro 50, Fitchburg 41: Noella Tamfu won the 55m hurdles in 9.8 seconds to pace the Red Raiders on Thursday night. The 4×220 relay (Julianna Ortiz, Fiona Palmer, Brianna Demers, Tamfu) placed first in 2:05.0, as did the 4×440 relay (Mia Robertson, Molly Sacramone. Andrea Silva, MacKenzie Roy) in 5:08.5.

College field hockey

Thirteen members of the Fitchburg State field hockey team were named to the 2022 Little East Conference (LEC) Fall Academic Honor Roll on Friday morning.

Carley McCaie, Lena Kassel, Oliva Narkevicius, Sophia Yates, Samantha Rozum,  Alexis Raymond, Joyce Arbia, Emma Ganley, Sophia Piper, Jessica Morse, Jenna Morse, Grace Kerr and Lena Spadafore were all named to the 2023 LEC All-Academic Team.

Members of the 2022 LEC Fall Academic Honor Roll must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher through the Fall 2022 semester. The student-athlete must also be a full-time member of a varsity sport and be enrolled in its institution for a full academic year.

The Fitchburg State field hockey team concluded its 2022 campaign with an overall record of 10-8 and an 8-4 mark in the LEC, earning the sixth seed in the LEC Tournament.

Twin City ties in conference title tilts

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It feels like ages ago that the New England Patriots last played a playoff game that seemed winnable, doesn’t it?

The Pats missed the playoffs following the 2020 season. The 2021 postseason was a one-and-done debacle. This past season was a bust, with the team narrowly missing the chance to play for a Super Bowl berth.

Things have indeed shifted from the Patriots’ two decades of being a perennial contender. What’s a New England fan to do?

Dig a little bit and there are a pair of players with local ties taking part in conference championship games on Sunday — one in each conference, to be precise. Perhaps connections to a pair of Twin City schools pique your interest?

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray starred at Leominster High before heading to Duke. From there, he was selected in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Gray — a 2017 LHS grad — and the Chiefs face the Cincinnati Bengals with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line Sunday evening.

Philadelphia Eagles' Jack Driscoll in action during an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Jack Driscoll (63), son of St. Bernard’s Hall of Famer John Driscoll, and the Philadelphia Eagles face the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC title on Sunday. (AP PHOTO)

In the NFC title tilt, Jack Driscoll and the Philadelphia Eagles will square off with the San Francisco 49ers Sunday afternoon. Driscoll, an offensive tackle, was drafted by Philly in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft and is the son of St. Bernard’s Hall of Famer and former Buffalo Bills tackle John Driscoll. The elder Driscoll graduated from St. Bernard’s as a member of the Class of 1982.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Gray grew up in Gardner and will be playing in his second AFC Championship contest in as many years, with the Chiefs hosting the Bengals in a rematch of last year’s title tilt at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Playing behind All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, Gray — taken 162nd overall in 2021 — has seen his production increase in his second pro season.

Used in a variety of ways as part of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid’s exotic goal line packages, Gray caught 28 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown in 2022.

Jack Driscoll, a native of Madison, Connecticut, played at UMass for three seasons before transferring to Auburn to play two seasons as a graduate transfer. The Eagles picked the 6-foot-5, 312-pound lineman 145th overall in the 2020 draft.

In three seasons, Jack Driscoll has played in 37 games, including 16 starts, and has played multiple positions and in a variety of situations. He’s slotted behind All-Pro tackle Lane Johnson on Philadelphia’s depth chart and has shown versatility, playing offensive and special teams snaps.

The younger Driscoll and the Eagles play host to the 49ers at 3 p.m. Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

Jack Driscoll’s father, John, played at the University of New Hampshire after graduating from St. Bernard’s in 1982. A three-sport star in high school, John Driscoll was drafted by the Bills in the 12th round of the 1988 NFL Draft.