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Nashoba Regional

Blue Devils blank Wolves to stay unbeaten

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LEOMINSTER — It may be just three games into the season, but the numbers that the Leominster High football team is putting up are certainly eye-popping.

Going into Friday night’s contest with Nashoba Regional at Doyle Field, the Blue Devils had outscored their two opponents, 90-6. Things were no different this week as Leominster posted a 27-0 shutout victory over the Wolves.

With the win, Leominster ran its record to 3-0, while Nashoba fell to 1-2. Both teams will be on the road next week as the Blue Devils visit Shepherd Hill and the Wolves will travel to Malden to take on Malden Catholic.

“The effort of these kids has been amazing,” said Leominster head coach Devin Gates. “Every week is just like a business-like approach. They are really focused on getting better every week. We put the previous game to bed on Monday, and they do a good job of improving on mistakes during the week.”

The standout on this night was senior captain Ricky Encarnacion. The 6-foot-2 senior did it both through the air and on the ground. Encarnacion had touchdown receptions of 20 and 13 yards and put the game out of reach with an electrifying 50-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

“I think Encarnacion is the most dynamic player in Central Mass. and he is a great student and even better kid to boot,” Gates said. “I am happy he is our captain and the kids just need to follow his lead. For him to have a night like this is special.”

Leominster’s Braden Martin scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on the first possession of the game when he capped off a nine-play drive that covered 64 yards when he sprinted in untouched a little under five minutes in.

While the offense may have been dynamic, it was the Blue Devils’ defense that really deserves to be in the spotlight. Leominster has given up six points in just three games after the shutout, and Nashoba didn’t pick it its initial first down until 3:40 left in the third quarter.

“The guys believe in what we are doing,” Gates said. “They have a ton of confidence right now, and there are a ton of guys that are stepping up to the plate on the defensive side.”

Local roundup: Red Raiders earn win on court

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The Fitchburg High girls volleyball team picked up its first win of the season Friday, topping Marlboro, 3-1.

The Red Raiders (1-6) won by scores of 25-23, 25-9, 16-25 and 25-17.

Junior Keishla Troche served up eight aces to go with three tips and two kills in the win, while senior Chiali Moua had 12 assists and a pair of aces. Junior Gia Santiago added six aces, six tips, three blocks and two kills.

Field hockey

Nashoba 4, Algonquin 1 Ali Vanasse had two goals and an assist and Abbie Zacchini added a goal and two helpers for the Wolves (2-1-1). Sophomore Gracie Reisner notched her first varsity goal and goalie Josie Sarno made some stellar saves in net for the Wolves.

Girls soccer

North Middlesex 3, Shepherd Hill 0 Jill Hodgson scored twice and added an assist, while Jenna McFadden also scored for the Patriots. Mallory Morril chipped in with a helper.

Golf

Leominster 46, Marlboro 8 Freshman Sawyer Corbin earned 7.5 points as the Blue Devils improved to 7-1 on the season.

North Middlesex 46, Shepherd Hill 8 Andrew Peterson, Shawn Amari and Max Caliri carded even par 35s at Northern Spy to lift the Patriots (7-0).

 

Wolves, Blue Devils set to clash

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It’s been an unenviable task this fall and one that now lands on Nashoba Regional: try to slow Leominster High down on the gridiron.

The Wolves, coming off a 10-0 blanking of Longmeadow last week, will visit Doyle Field tonight, looking to hand Leominster its first loss of the season.

In two games, it’s proven to be a difficult thing to do. Sitting at 2-0, the Blue Devils have outscored the opposition 90-6 and have yet to trail in a game.

What have the keys been for the success of the Blue Devils? They’ve taken advantage of their opportunities, gotten out to big leads early and played smothering defense.

In the season opener against Fitchburg High, Leominster scored on six possessions in the first half. Defensively, the Blue Devils gave up a touchdown to the Red Raiders on their opening drive, but have since gone 91:35 without allowing a point, including last week’s shutout win over Doherty.

Traditionally, Nashoba has been a fast and physical team on both sides of the ball and that could play in the Wolves’ favor against Leominster. Blue Devils quarterback Osiris Lopez has been spectacular, but is also a freshman and has yet to face any real pressure or adversity in his varsity career.

If bruising linebacker Ben Silvester and the Wolves can get a bit of pressure in the backfield and not give the freshman QB the time he’s grown accustomed to in the pocket, who knows what happens?

Conversely, Nashoba will need to protect Michael Guthrie, its own quarterback, as Leominster’s pressure on opposing QBs has led to multiple turnovers off poor throws. Holding onto the ball and controlling the clock while keeping the Blue Devils’ potent offense off the field could spell success for the Wolves.

Something has to give

When Shepherd Hill visits Fitchburg tonight to face the Red Raiders, someone will almost certainly be leaving Crocker Field with their first win of the season.

Fitchburg has been trounced by Leominster and Wachusett Regional. The Rams have been run over by Acton-Boxboro and Marlboro. Barring ridiculous circumstances, one of these two teams will claim a victory.

Going for three in a row

Monty Tech’s torrid start to the season will be put to the test on the road when the Bulldogs travel to Gardner. The Bulldogs have put up big numbers in wins over Murdock and Narragansett Regional, while the Wildcats stormed past Keefe Tech last week to even their record at 1-1.

Action elsewhere

There are several other local games on tonight’s slate. St. Bernard’s (1-1) will look to rebound from last week’s loss when it welcomes South Hadley (0-2) to the Bernardian Bowl; Oakmont Regional (1-1) hosts Marlboro (2-0) at Arthur I. Hurd Memorial Field; and Ayer Shirley visits Lunenburg in a battle of 1-1 teams.

On Saturday afternoon, North Middlesex Regional (1-1) welcomes Nauset (1-1) to Townsend.

Local roundup: Pack of Wolves pace Nashoba

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Claiming the top five spots of Tuesday’s meet against Marlboro, the Nashoba Regional girls cross country team rolled to a 15-50 victory.

The Wolves (2-0) took the top five spots, led by Caroline Collins (20:17). Ella Rogers (21:01), Lailee Joyce (21:48), Caroline Pinto (23:52) and Jillian Valentino (23:52) took second through fifth, respectively.

On the boys side, Nashoba claimed a Nashoba 21-40 win over the Panthers. Adam Balewicz set a new course record in 16:12.4 to lead the Wolves (2-0), while Conor Acierno was second in 17:47.7.

Girls soccer

Littleton 6, Oakmont 0  The loss drops the Spartans to 2-3 on the season.

Lunenburg 8, Narragansett 0 Chloe Koziol scored five goals and Savannah Parker added a pair as the Lunenburg (4-1) blanked Narragansett (2-3).

The Lunenburg girls soccer team stormed past Narragansett Regional, 8-0, on Tuesday. (Courtesy Lunenburg Athletics)
The Lunenburg girls soccer team stormed past Narragansett Regional, 8-0, on Tuesday. (Courtesy Lunenburg Athletics)

Lunenburg’s Teghan Sullivan also found the back of the net for the winners and goalie Katelyn Whitney made four saves to preserve the shut out.

North Middlesex 1, Marlboro 0 Senior captain Mallory Morrill scored the game’s lone goal, converting a Lauren Torpey pass in the first half.

Leominster 4, Groton-Dunstable 1 Kyra Forsberg netted a hat trick and Shannon Smith also scored in the victory.

Boys soccer

Lunenburg 1, Narragansett 1 Eltaher Kholeif scored an unassisted marker in the first half for the Blue Knights.

Volleyball

North Middlesex 3, Marlboro 0 The Patriots won by scores of 25-8, 25-15 and 25-20.

Brooke Nelson had seven kills and four digs in the win, while Bella Perritano chipped in with four kills and three aces.

Boys cross country

Wachusett 15, Leominster 50 James Connor (21:08) was the top finisher for Leominster (0-2), taking 13th. Cameron Beaulac was 16th in 21:49 and Landon Pellitier claimed 17th in 22:04.

Oakmont 25, North Middlesex 30 Jayden Downing (18:08) and Kamden Law (18:25) took second and third, respectively, to lift the Spartans.

Xander Murray (18:03) took first overall for North Middlesex, setting a course record for the Patriots in 18:03.

Girls cross country

Oakmont 26, North Middlesex 41 Chabot McKinley took third in 21:17 to help propel the Spartans to a road victory.

North Middlesex’s Caitlin Kimball won in 20:33, setting a new course record in the process. Nicole LeBlanc took second in 21:15.

Wachusett 18, Leominster 45 Anna Serafini was third overall, leading Leominster (0-2) with a time of 21:26. Cassandra Dersa (28:04) was 16th and Makayla Kelly (28:34) took 18th.

Manyok earns weekly honor

Fitchburg State junior Taban Manyok was named Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week on Tuesday.

The third-year Falcon placed 47th overall with a time of 26:12.12 over the 8K layout to lead the way for Fitchburg State at the 2022 UMass Dartmouth Cross Country Invitational on Saturday.

Fitchburg State returns to action this Saturday as it competes at the 2022 Bowdoin Invitational at 11 a.m.

Local roundup: Wolves earn shutout victory

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The Nashoba Regional field hockey team scored 1:08 into the game and never look back as the Wolves picked up their first win of the season, defeating the Lincoln Sudbury 3-0 on Monday afternoon.

Kierlan Bailey, Kayla Flanagan and Abigail Zacchini all found the back of the net for the Wolves (1-1-1). Freshman goalie Josie Sarno (six saves) earned the shut out in net.

Golf

Leominster 35, Fitchburg 1 The Blue Devils (4-1) prevailed over the Red Raiders (0-5) in their rain-shortened Mid-Wach B match at Gardner Municipal.

Volleyball

Blackstone Valley Tech 3, Monty Tech 0 The Bulldogs fell by scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-17.

Football Notebook: Freshman duo fits right in for Leominster

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As seminal British rock The Who so eloquently put it way back in 1965, the kids are alright.

Indeed, that’s the case at Leominster High School, where a pair of freshmen have lit up the opposition in a pair of wins to start the season.

If it looks like the tandem of quarterback Osiris Lopez and Kaiden Drinkwater operate like a well-oiled machine, there’s a good reason for it. Repetition makes things easier on the gridiron.

“They’ve just grown up throwing the ball to each other ever since they were four years old,” Leominster head coach Devin Gates said of his explosive freshman duo following Friday’s 42-0 blanking of Doherty at Doyle Field. “It’s really a luxury. We don’t have to go crazy. We’ve got guys like that who go and make plays. We keep it simple and they go out there and make plays.”

Lopez completed 11 of 13 passes for 181 yards through the air and two touchdowns, both to his classmate Drinkwater. The first opened the scoring on a short pass that found Drinkwater uncovered and the wideout raced 47 yards to the end zone.

And in the second quarter, Lopez unleashed a long pass on fourth and 6 and Drinkwater did the rest, elevating over a defender to catch the ball in stride as he entered the end zone for a 26-yard scoring strike.

The Blue Devils have benefitted immediately in adding a pass catcher like Drinkwater and a dual-threat quarterback in Lopez to an offensive group that includes that likes of running back Ma’Kai Stinson Newton (78 yards on nine carries, two TDs on Friday), steady receiver Bryan Aguilar and the dynamic Ricky Encarnacion, who scored on a kick return as well as a punt return against Doherty.

Leominster's Ma'Kai Stinson Newton tries to shake a Doherty defender during Friday's game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Nick Mallard)
Leominster’s Ma’Kai Stinson Newton tries to shake a Doherty defender during Friday’s game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Nick Mallard)

While the freshmen have stepped into the spotlight, they’ve done so without taking the shine off any of their equally deserving teammates, according to Gates.

“They’re two special players who have earned their spots here, obviously,” he said. “They’ve earned the respect of their teammates and they’ve been embraced.”

Defensive pride

While the offense has put up 90 points in two games for the Blue Devils, the defense has more than held up its end of the deal, allowing just six points and pitching a shutout against Doherty.

Leominster racked up five sacks on Friday, including one for a safety as Jiovanni Roman led a host of Blue Devil defenders onto Doherty QB Dean Pullman in the end zone in the second quarter. Xavier Cora and Logan Arce picked off passes and the defense never really seemed threatened by anything the Highlanders threw its way.

The key?

“Just playing together. The guys are excited,” Gates said of his defense. “They come in and get after it every practice. … It’s a point of pride for our football team, but really the identity of our team.”

The Blue Devils — offense, defense and special teams — will next be tested by a physical Nashoba Regional team when the Wolves come to Doyle Field on Friday. Nashoba is coming off a shutout of its own, a 10-0 victory over Longmeadow in Bolton, to lift the team to 1-1 on the young season.

Bulldogs on a roll

The fall campaign remains in its infancy, but Monty Teck is looking like a growing force on the gridiron. The Bulldogs improved to 2-0 on the campaign with a 34-18 victory at Narragansett Regional on Thursday night.

Logan Quinn had a huge game for Monty Tech, throwing a pair of touchdown passes and adding two more on the ground as the Bulldogs picked up a big win on the road.

The Bulldogs will put their perfect record on the line next Friday when they hit the road to face Gardner (1-1).

Blue Knights get a W

Lunenburg picked up its first win of the fall Friday night, getting to .500 with a 41-6 rout of Quabbin Regional.

Quarterback Alex Figueroa connected with Dylan Adamson on a pair of touchdown passes and Brady Burns ran for two TDs as the Blue Knights shook off an opening-night loss to Oxford. They’ll look to get to 2-1 next week against Ayer Shirley.