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Nashoba Regional

Blue Devils fend off Wolves

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LEOMINSTER — The fall season is still in its infancy for the Leominster High field hockey team, but the Blue Devils made a pretty big statement on Thursday night.

Under the lights of Doyle Field, Leominster secured a 3-1 victory against visiting Nashoba Regional, a perennial power in Central Mass.

“That’s a big win. It’s our first league win after being bumped up from Mid-Wach B and I think we needed to prove to ourselves that we can be here and play at this level,” Leominster head coach Kate Phillips said after her team improved to 2-0 on the season. “I thought we did some really great things tonight. I thought we dominated that right side and that’s really important to our game.”

As for Nashoba, the setback drops the Wolves to 1-2 on the campaign.

“Leominster is a good team. We came out and scored first but when Leominster struck twice in the second quarter it really affected us,” said Nashoba head coach Jaime Mariani. “Now, we’re playing from behind and it makes a big difference, especially against a good team like Leominster.”

Nashoba struck first with the only goal of the first quarter when Kayla Flannagan blasted a shot home off a penalty corner, beating Leominster goalie Kailyn Cuddahy (six saves) with 10:58 left in the opening stanza to give the Wolves a quick 1-0 lead.

Nashoba Regional's Gracie Reisner, right, battles for control of the ball with Leominster's Juliana Pompei during Thursday's game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)
Nashoba Regional’s Gracie Reisner, right, battles for control of the ball with Leominster’s Juliana Pompei during Thursday’s game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)

It remained 1-0 until the middle stages of the second quarter when the Blue Devils answered twice in the span of 46 second. Emma Miller Ayala tied the game at 1 with 5:45 left before halftime when she showed some fancy stick work down the left side of the field and beat Nashoba goalie Valerie Michel (five saves).

Taylor Boulay gave the hosts a 2-1 with 4:59 showing on the clock when she put one past Michel from inside the circle.

It remained a one-goal contest until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter when the Blue Devils added a key insurance goal as Caroline Kelly found the back of the net just 1:13 into the stanza to give Leominster a 3-1 lead.

“I thought defensively in the first quarter we were bad. I think we were caught sleeping in that first quarter,” said Phillips. “After that first quarter I was pleased with the way we picked up our play. There were a lot of emotions early on in this one and the girls handled it really well.”

Nashoba is back on the field Saturday afternoon when it hosts Notre Dame of Hingham. Leominster returns to action Monday night when Algonquin Regional makes the trip from Northboro.

Blue Devils field hockey team aims to make a difference

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LEOMINSTER — Just days ago, it would have been unimaginable that any sports would played anytime soon after Leominster was completely flipped upside down following downpours that devastated homes, roads and bridges in the city.

As with other trying times, people turn to sports as an outlet. And as Leominster has done before, the community and its leaders have shown how strong they and the place they call home are.

“I grew up here. It’s a different city,” said Leominster High athletic director Dave Palazzi prior to Thursday’s field hockey tilt against Nashoba Regional at Doyle Field. “We have remarkable people in the city from our mayor to our superintendent to our teachers. We have the attitude that we can come back from anything. We work together and we look after each other. It is not just a cliché. I think people really care about each other in this city.”

When Leominster took the field for its first field hockey game in nine days, emotions ran high. Third-year coach Kate Phillips was one of the individuals who spearheaded the idea to raise money at the gate for the Leominster Relief Fund, intended to go directly to families in need.

Phillips has had ties to Leominster for the last 19 years as a fifth-grade teacher at the Frances Drake School.

“I was at a meeting with a bunch of other teachers at the high school when all the rain started,” Phillips said. “I called my husband and told him that this was like nothing else and that I didn’t even know if I should be driving right now.”

Once Phillips got home, she immediately started to think about her players that were still in town dealing with the torrential rain that had crippled the town.

“A bunch of kids had flooding in their basements,” Phillips said. “Some kids six inches, some kids eight inches and some kids 10 inches. I do have one student-athlete who has lost access to her house because one of the bridges collapsed, so she can’t get in right now. Regardless, it is an emotional time for everyone.”

For Palazzi, things have been crazy but not unmanageable.

“Unfortunately, we have a little bit of experience of planning everything on the fly after the pandemic,” Palazzi said. “We have great coaches, administration from the top and the city is like no other. They all work with us to get the kids back on the field as soon as possible.”

Yesterday, Phillips was able to get a practice in after a few days off prior to Thursday night’s game.

“Like I said, I think sports in any field or court or whatever you are in, there are more life-lessons in sports than there is anything else,” Phillips said. “I am a firm believer in that, and this is one of them. They are blessed to be able to come out here in their colors and represent their town and community.”

While sports play such a big part in these student-athlete’s lives, Palazzi admits that the safety of the community that he grew up in certainly took center stage.

“Obviously, when you think about athletics it is a great thing for our kids. But when you put things into perspective with families losing homes and being displaced, that is number one on our minds. We are just glad that nobody got hurt. Some people are without their homes, which is way we decided to do this relief game to help anyone that we can.”

All money raised at the game will be donated to families in town that are in need through the Leominster Relief Fund set up by Mayor Dean Mazzarella.

At the conclusion of the game, the visiting Wolves showed that sometimes there are things more important than what goes on between the lines. Nashoba presented the Leominster field hockey program with a monetary donation and several bags of food and snacks to aid with the Leominster Relief Fund.

“That is a very classy program over there at Nashoba. They gave us an envelope to donate to the relief fund on behalf of the entire team. They also made bread and cookies and all kinds of food. There’s enough food there to feed every Leominster team,” said Phillips. “Coach (Jaime) Mariani came over and said they wanted to make sure we had some fun stuff to eat. Kudos to her and to her team. That’s a first class move from a great coach and a great program.”

Correspondent Michael James LeClair contributed to this story.

Local roundup: Falcons grounded by Western New England

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The Fitchburg State field hockey suffered a 4-1 setback to Western New England in non-conference action this afternoon from Elliot Field on Thursday.

Western New England (5-0) broke a scoreless stalemate in the 25th minute as sophomore Kara Edwards rifled a shot into the left side of the cage for her third goal of the season..

Fitchburg State (0-3) nearly knotted the score with three minutes remaining in the first half when senior Joyce Arbia ripped a shot on frame, but Golden Bears keeper Ella Henry turned the shot aside to preserve the advantage going into the break.

Following the intermission, the Golden Bears threatened at the 43:08 mark with sophomore Haley Kaczka was awarded a penalty stroke, only to have Falcon goal keeper Jenna Morse make the save to keep the score at 1-0.

Western New England upped the lead to 2-0 in the 47th minute of play when Kacaka received a feed from senior Carly-Anna Barba and struck for her second marker on the year. The visitors secured the victory three minutes later as junior Sarah Johnston collected a loose ball in front of the cage and deposited a shot inside the far post to make the score 3-0.

Fitchburg State dented the scoreboard with just over four minutes remaining in the contest as Arbia redirected a loose ball into the lower right corner for her first collegiate score.

Morse stopped 14 shots for Fitchburg State, which returns to action Saturday with a MASCAC tilt at Framingham State at 11 a.m.

Boys soccer

Nashoba 2, North Middlesex 0:  Lucas Messier scored twice for Nashoba, with Angel Bustrillo notching an assist for the Wolves.

Volleyball

Nashoba 3, North Middlesex 0: Set scores were 25-15, 25-12 and 25-19.

Jess Allard had four kills and six digs in defeat, while Joann Nolan added a pair of kills and Anne McNabb had 10 digs.

Golf

Nashoba 194, Leominster 212: The Wolves (3-1, 2-1 Mid-Wach A) were led by Mason Bowie and Irv Carnes, who each carded 3-over 38s at Gardner Municipal Golf Course.

Luke Grebinar earned medalist honors for Leominster (0-2, 0-2) with a 1-over 36.

Monty Tech 158, Bay Path 196: Michael Cannon was the medalist for Monty Tech (3-1) with a 2-over 38 on the back nine at Gardner Municipal Golf Course.

Boys cross country

Ayer-Shirley 17, Tahanto 43: Jake Leone won the race in 18:14 for the Panthers (1-0) and was followed by teammates Cole New and Jack Holden in second and third, respectively.

Girls cross country

Ayer-Shirley 26, Tahanto 31: Carolyn Mason, Marissa Grace, Jane Marshall and Ada Perwak took second through fifth, respectively, for the Panthers (1-0).

Football notebook: Weird Week 1 had plenty to see

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We’re one very unique week into the high school football season and we’ve seen all kinds of things on the gridiron, from highly competitive games to marathon contests delayed by weather and spread across multiple days.

Most area schools started their campaigns under Friday nights and ended their opening contests on another day altogether as thunderstorms rolled through the region. While that in and of itself is a major talking point, here are four other notes from Week 1 of the high school football season.

Beaulac’s big numbers

Fitchburg High got the area slate underway last Thursday and though the Red Raiders fell to North Middlesex Regional 42-7 at Crocker Field, FHS wasn’t completely void of highlights, one of which was the play of senior Lukas Beaulac.

And the season opener was less than a straightforward contest for Beaulac, who showed flashes of absolute brilliance under center late last season for the Red Raiders. Under pressure early and often, head coach Paul DiGeronimo and his staff made the decision to shuffle the backfield, moving Beaulac to a tailback spot and putting freshman Zacchaeus Collins at quarterback.

Already constantly scrambling under pressure from the Patriots, it didn’t seem like an awful idea. At least having the ball handed off to him with the proper run protection would give Beaulac a chance to scan the field in front of him while running. And it seemed to work.

On the night, Beaulac tallied 174 rushing yards on 20 touches and found the end zone for Fitchburg’s lone score. He broke a long run down the left sideline in the fourth quarter, toting the rock 79 yards on Fitchburg’s first play after a North Middlesex punt to break the shutout with nine minutes to go.

New year, same result at St. B’s

The path to an 11th straight winning season at St. Bernard’s got off to a great start Saturday on the road at Grafton High School as the Bernardians picked up a 22-13 win over Blackstone Valley Tech.

The pitch-and-catch duo of quarterback Salvi Bilotta and receiver Quinn Carlson was in the spotlight in the win, with the senior duo combining on a touchdown reception and a two-point conversion in a contest that saw the Bernardians lead 22-7 in the fourth quarter after trailing 7-6 at halftime.

Bilotta finished with 145 yards through the air, including 77 to Carlson. The senior wideout caught three balls, one of which was a 44-yard scoring strike.

Not to be outdone, Jarius Williams piled up 146 yards on 10 carries for the Bernardians, including a 74-yard touchdown scamper.

Lunenburg wins, new coach

The Lunenburg High football team took care of business at home in Casey McDonnell’s first game on the sideline for the Blue Knights, rolling to a 32-6 victory over Frontier on Saturday.

Hunter Mason stole the show for the Blue Knights, rushing for over 130 yards in the win while also passing for 115 and three touchdowns. Two of those scoring strikes found the hands of Rory Ferguson.

Lunenburg returns to action Saturday afternoon as the Blue Knights travel to Sutton.

Starts and stops

It’s not something that happens very often: nearly every team that kicked off a game Friday night didn’t complete the contest until some point over the weekend.

And even then, it wasn’t easy.

At Doyle Field, Leominster’s opener against St. John’s of Shrewsbury was delayed by lightning and bumped to Saturday evening with play set to resume late in the first quarter. When the game restarted, there was another brief delay due to possible lightning before things were completed 25 hours after the original kickoff.

Monty Tech had it even worse. It’s season-opening defeat at the hands of Narragansett Regional started Friday evening and ended Sunday afternoon.

Lunenburg, Oakmont Regional and Ayer-Shirley all completed games suspended Friday the following day.

Of the local teams, only Fitchburg, North Middlesex, Nashoba Regional and St. Bernard’s started and finished their contests on their scheduled days. Fitchburg and North Middlesex played Thursday night, while Nashoba snuck its game against Grafton in on Friday.

St. Bernard’s played its opener as scheduled on Saturday without a hitch.

Local notebook: Red Raiders putting in hard work

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Soon, Crocker Field will be alive on Friday nights.

For now, the Fitchburg High football team will settle for being on Amiott Field.

The Red Raiders have been hard at work on Crocker’s satellite practice lot, kicking things off last Friday under new head coach Paul DiGeronimo and getting a handful of sessions under their belts in preparation for the upcoming season.

As coach and players get acclimated with one another, FHS is beginning to ramp things up in workouts.

“So far, so good. Things are going pretty well,” DiGeronimo said Tuesday evening. “We’ve got some pretty decent numbers. It’s been a lot of getting to know our players and know what we’ve got here.”

Fitchburg will soon shift over to the grass of Crocker Field, though the first game of the season at the hallowed venue doesn’t actually fall on a Friday night. The Red Raiders are scheduled to open the season on a Thursday evening, hosting North Middlesex Regional on Sept. 7.

For now, the focus is simply getting better with each session at Amiott.

“We’re capitalizing on the positives and working to correct the negatives,” DiGeronimo said. “The kids are putting in the work.”

The Red Raiders finished last season 4-7 under head coach Greg Graham. Fitchburg closed the season by winning four of its last six games, but fell in the Thanksgiving Day finale to archrival Leominster at Doyle Field.

Kickoff coming soon

While the Red Raiders are the first of the local high schools to get their gridiron season underway, it won’t take long for the other area teams to get a game in.

Within two days of North Middlesex and Fitchburg clashing, every other program in the Sentinel & Enterprise coverage area will have played.

Opening with a bang on Sept. 8 will be Leominster, which hosts St. John’s under the lights at Doyle Field. That same night, Monty Tech welcomes Narragansett to Bulldog Field, Oakmont Regional hosts Tyngsboro, Lunenburg plays host to Frontier and Ayer-Shirley welcomes Littleton. Nashoba Regional is on the road to open the season that night, visiting Grafton.

St. Bernard’s completes the local Week 1 slate on Sept. 9, visiting Blackstone Valley Tech.

Bernardians pick Mason for field hockey job

The St. Bernard’s field hockey program has a new head coach this fall.

Bernardians athletic director Ray Cosenza and the school’s administration took to Facebook recently to announce the hiring of Holly Mason to lead the team into the 2023 fall season.

Recent WPI grad Holly Mason has been named head coach of the St. Bernard's field hockey team. (Courtesy WPI Athletics)
Recent WPI grad Holly Mason has been named head coach of the St. Bernard’s field hockey team. (Courtesy WPI Athletics)

Mason, a native Plymouth, New Hampshire, is a recent graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) where she was a member of the school’s field hockey program. While at WPI, Mason played under WPI head coach Kim Cosenza.

Mason is a 2019 graduate of Plymouth Regional High School in New Hampshire and replaces Olivia Arciprete who held the position for four years, taking the reins prior to the 2018 season.

St. Bernard’s first game of the season is scheduled for Sept. 6 on the road against Maynard High School.

Post 151 ready for another summer on the diamond

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As is almost always the case, there’s no shortage of talent on the roster of the Leominster American Legion Post 151 baseball team.

Drawing from Leominster High, Fitchburg High and Lunenburg High, among other area schools and universities, Post 151 should have a formidable team take to the diamond each and every time it sets foot on Pin Cannavino Field. American Legion players can range in age from 14 and 19 and come from designated areas for each team.

Post 151 opened its 23-game season Friday night at Northboro, with the contest suspended after minor innings with the score knotted at 4. Its home opener is scheduled for Sunday, when Leominster hosts Milford.

This year’s group features six players from Leominster High, which just wrapped up a 20-2 campaign. Seniors Tyler Godin (Anna Maria), Ryan Garner (Husson), Alex Oquendo (Worcester State) and Tony Salvatelli (Assumption) will be joined by junior Angel Baez and freshman Mark Garner from the ranks of the Blue Devils.

Fitchburg's Henry Bruun pitches Thursday afternoon versus St. Bernard's High.
Recent Fitchburg High grad Henry Bruun will once again play for Leominster American Legion Post 151. (Sentinel & Enterprise File Photo)

Recent Fitchburg High grads Henry Bruun (UNH) and Declan Bourgault (Springfield College) will be joined by fellow former Red Raider Adam Bessette, while Lunenburg class of 2023 members Dylan Adamson (Salem State) and Tristan Dance (Bridgewater State) will reunite with former teammate Daniel Wright (Worcester State).

Recent Nashoba Regional grads Ashton Malzahn (WPI) and Trevor Robichaud (Colby Sawyer) are with the team, as is Winchendon School senior Thomas Rupp (Limestone). Ayer-Shirley class of 2023 member Cam Marshall (Merrimack) and recent Wachusett Regional grad Justin Mariani (Bryant) have hopped onboard for the summer, as has North Middlesex Regional freshman Nicholas Colavito.

Leominster will play in the Zone 4 A division, along with East Side, Hudson, Northboro, North County — featuring several players from Oakmont Regional — and Sturbridge. The B division is comprised of Cherry Valley, Framingham, Main South, Milford, Northbridge and Shrewsbury.

Post 151’s schedule is comprised mainly of contests against Zone 4 teams, though it will participate in the Holy Cross and Beverly tournaments this summer, with opponents to be determined, and will play a non-divisional game against Nashua, New Hampshire, on June 22.