Whitman-Hanson Express

You are here: Home / Archives for Bob Rodgers

MIAA cancels upcoming state finals; boys’ basketball team named D2 co-state champion

By

It was not the way the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team expected its season to end, but it became inevitable.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has cancelled this weekend’s state finals amid the current conditions of COVID-19.

W-H was scheduled to play Taconic in the Division 2 state final on Saturday. It was the program’s first-ever state final berth.

As a result of the cancellation, both W-H and Taconic will be named co-state champions.

W-H boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers said he agreed with the MIAA’s unanimous decision.

Rodgers added: “For me, the hardest part of every season as a coach is the final game and final practice. When the realization sets in that you don’t get to coach your seniors ever again, it’s a sick feeling. It has nothing to do with winning and losing.

“Our season started with a disappointing loss, but from that adversity we grew closer as a team and stronger every day. The team was unselfish and had a tenacious work ethic to record the best season in school history ending the year with 23 straight wins and a 25-2 record.”

Kelly points the way for W-H boys’ basketball

By

Stevie Kelly slices to the hoop for two. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Stevie Kelly is the floor general for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team.

At the outset of last winter, Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers wasn’t sure who was going to emerge as his team’s starting point guard.

It didn’t take long to figure out. Insert Stevie Kelly, a then-junior coming off a Patriot League All-Star season as a center back in soccer.

“Pretty much our first game (we knew he was our point guard),” Rodgers said. 

Kelly was no stranger to Rodgers, but like most young players — he had some work to do entering the year.  

“I’ve known Stevie since second grade and watched him coming to my camps,” Rodgers said. “I’ve known him his whole life, he’s always been a great athlete, and when he was a freshman and sophomore, I always saw great potential in him, but he had to mature.”

He did and became a Patriot League All-Star on the court in the process, dishing out 136 assists and steering the Panthers to the Div. 2 South semifinals, which included a stunning upset over top-seeded Randolph, a game in which Kelly hit a clutch layup in the final minutes to help seal the victory. 

“I didn’t expect to have as big of a junior season as I had,” Kelly said. “I just went in working hard.”

Said Rodgers: “Stevie is tough as nails. He’s one of the best competitors I’ve ever coached. He just competes hard all the time.” 

This season, Kelly, who is now a senior captain, has elevated his game to another level, despite an extended soccer season that culminated with a spot in the EMass All-Star game in late November. 

“After soccer practice, I would come up into the gym and take some of my teammates and if they’re not up here, I’m up here by myself,” Kelly said. 

Rodgers noticed the dedication.  

“He’s improved immensely,” Rodgers said. “His shooting and passing are both better.”

But where Kelly has shown the most growth from last winter is with his communication on the court. 

“Talking is probably the hardest skill to be taught to any basketball player,” Rodgers said. “Stevie was at the point where he could talk about what he was doing and where his game was or his defenders were. Great point guards see it all. We’ve started to see Stevie do that more. The great point guards that we’ve had at Whitman-Hanson are the guys that make everyone around them better.”

Kelly has been doing just that. He posted a triple-double in win over Marshfield on Friday, Jan. 17, scoring 24 points, dishing out 11 assists and corralling 10 rebounds.

“I look to attack first and I try to get by my guy and if someone helps, I’ll just hit Ben Rice or someone in the corner or J.Z. (John Zeidan) down low, but if nobody stops me, I’ll just go to the hoop,” he said. 

 Kelly also had 11 assists in a win over Pembroke earlier in the season on Jan. 8. 

“He’s obviously one of the best in the league at getting to the basket,” said Rice, a fellow senior captain. “He’s quick. He can do a lot of things. He helps me get open because he has really good court vision.”

The Panthers are off to a 10-2 start so far this season, and if they’re going to get where they want, Kelly is going to be key. 

“If you look in the gym at the banners of the South Sectional titles, those teams communicated,” Rodgers said.  “And if Stevie does that, then it becomes contagious and the rest of the guys do that. Out of all the things we try and work on with the team — communication and sharing the ball are the two things we need to do to reach our potential.”

Ben Rice carries on a family hoops legacy

By

Ben Rice uncorks a 3-pointer. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Ben Rice is following in his brothers’ and father’s footsteps in taking the court for Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball.

Then there was one.

After dumping in a team-high 13 points in two-plus quarters, helping the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team build a 40-point lead over Pembroke, Ben Rice’s work was done for the night. His older brother Tyler was seated in the top row to watch him. 

“I definitely wanted to play good in front of him,” said Ben, a 6-foot-7 swingman and senior captain for the Panthers. 

Meanwhile, a few miles away in Quincy, their older brother Josh was on his way to a 17-point performance, while connecting on five 3-pointers, pushing Eastern Nazarene College past Becker College.

Basketball is a passion for the Rices, who have been penned on W-H’s varsity roster for parts of seven straight seasons. 

Ben has been in the starting lineup since last year. Josh, who scored his 1,000th career point at ENC in November, was also a two-year starter for W-H before graduating in 2016. Tyler, who graduated in 2018, started his senior season. All have contributed significantly. 

All-Star

Ben tossed in 11.6 points per game and was tabbed a league all-star last winter as the Panthers reached the Division 2 South semifinals. Josh played a major role (14.3 PPG) in the program claiming its first-ever Division 2 South Sectional title and trip to TD Garden his senior year. Tyler helped the program to a pair of Patriot League Kennan Division titles. 

“I’ve never had anything like that since I’ve been here,” said 20-year W-H boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers. “I’ve never seen anything like that — in basketball — anyway. In basketball, I would say the Rice family stands apart.”

It began in the driveway. 

“I still remember how intense our two-on-two games would be,” Josh said. “Me and my brother Tyler would be on the same team and my dad (Jon) and my brother Ben would be on the same team. I think that made us all a lot better and grew us closer. 

“It was cool growing up with two brothers who really were interested in the same things you were interested in. That helped all of us get better.”

Their father Jon, a 1986 W-H graduate, also played basketball for the Panthers and then at ENC. 

“It’s been incredibly remarkable watching them play, especially at my alma mater,” Jon said. “It’s been an incredible investment, but everything we’ve put into it we’ve got back tenfold.” 

A prime example was when Josh and Tyler shared the Garden parquet in 2016. 

“That was really cool — something I’ll never forget,” Jon said. 

As Ben enters the last few months of his senior season, he has his eyes fixated on the prize, just like his brothers did.

“We obviously want to win every time out,” said Ben, who is coming off a 30-point outburst against Hanover on Tuesday, Jan. 21. “We’d love a league championship and to go far in the state tournament.”

As for Jon, it will be a little strange not writing in a full W-H basketball schedule on the calendar next winter.

“Who knows what I’ll be doing this time next year?” joked Jon. 

Season Preview: Boys’ basketball ahead of the game

By

The Panthers bench during a scrimmage against Sandwich. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Panthers return most of their production from last season’s 18-7 club.

For Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers, it’s like night and day going into this season compared to last winter.

Last year, the Panthers were tasked with finding a new starting five. This season, they return all of their key pieces from a Div. 2 South semifinals run.

“As a coach, it’s really about staying out of their way and letting them be as good as they are,” said Rodgers, who enters his 20th year at the helm of the boys’ basketball program.

Rodgers said with more experience comes heightened expectations.

“Now we’re veterans, most of the league knows most of the guys on the team — they know who they are and what they can do,” said Rodgers, whose team has qualified for the tournament for 11 straight seasons. “It’s a lot of fun because we’re way further ahead than we ordinarily would be this time of year so a lot of the stuff we’re doing is mostly reviewing. It’s great when you have a veteran team.”

Rodgers said while his starting five is likely going to fluctuate throughout the season, there are a few players almost set in stone, beginning with senior captain Stevie Kelly. The team’s returning MVP, he will once again man the point after averaging about 8.3 ppg and over 130 assists last season.

“Stevie Kelly is tough as nails and is one of the best competitors I’ve ever coached, he just competes hard all the time,” Rodgers said. “His basketball skill level has improved immensely. He shoots it really well and he’s a great passer.”

A 6-foot-7 swingman, senior captain Ben Rice will start after averaging close to 12 ppg and sinking close to 50 three-pointers last season.

“Ben is a great kid to coach, who has such a great demeanor,” Rodgers said. “Everyone on the team loves him. He can shoot it, he’s getting better diving the ball to the whole, he can rebound it and I think defensively he can make a difference with how long he is. He’s a weapon.”

Junior Cole LeVangie is also a weapon with an efficient inside and outside game for the Panthers.

“All Cole LeVangie has done it gotten better,” Rodgers said. “He’s going to be in the mix to start.”

While Rodgers said he expects his club to shoot the ball well from beyond the arc again this season, his team’s strength isn’t something that’s going to be found on the stat sheet.

“They all (the players) genuinely care about each other, they genuinely want their teammates to have success,” said the coach. “They can push each other in practice without other guys getting offended and they can play hard-nosed in practice without somebody feeling like they’re trying to show them up. That intangible of a team’s character, as I look at all the teams I’ve coached over my 30 years of coaching, I always look back and say, ‘Where were we on the character scale?’

“The teams that were high on the character scale always achieved higher than I thought they could. They’ve exceed what they can be. If this team achieve what they can be, sky’s the limit because just what they can be is really good.”

The Panthers return to the court Friday, Dec. 20 at 6:30 p.m. on the home against Plymouth North.

“Nothing is ever guaranteed in high school basketball,” Rodgers said. “It’s not played on paper, it’s played on the court. On paper, I like what we are, but we got to go play it on the court.”

Talking Whitman-Hanson athletics with AD Bob Rodgers

By

A question and answer with Whitman-Hanson AD Bob Rodgers.

The suspense and unknowns are two aspects of a new year that Whitman-Hanson Regional High athletic director Bob Rodgers can’t get enough.

From state titles to Patriot League championships to major milestones, he’s seen it all in his previous eight years as the school’s AD, and he’s setting a lofty goal for year No. 9.

The Express chatted with Rodgers about what to expect going into the fall.

Q: What gets you most excited for a new year of athletics?

A: “Students grow so much in the offseason, both mentally and physically. It’s exciting to see that improvement and growth. You never know which students will come back and have all-star seasons. It’s also exciting to feel the energy that high school sports brings to the entire school climate.”

Q: What’s your favorite part of the school year and why?

A: “I love it all, each season has its special qualities. My favorite is whatever season we are in. I will admit there is something special about the fall though because everyone is refreshed and excited for the new beginning.”

Q: How do you feel playing a sport benefits students?

A: “The self-discovery students enjoy by playing sports is invaluable. Young people (if those around them will allow it) get the opportunity to navigate adversity and solve problems in a safe environment. I believe this truly helps shape their ability to do the same later in life. All of the personal qualities of work ethic, discipline, dedication, sacrifice, teamwork, loyalty and all of the other components of character are allowed to grow through the high school athletic experience.”

Q: What are the highs and lows of being an AD? 

A: “The highs are all about the kids. Seeing them pursue their goals and enjoy the journey is so rewarding. Knowing they are creating memories they will have for a lifetime is really special. In terms of lows, I don’t really look at it that way. But I will say sometimes the negativity gets me down. When people are highly critical of one of our programs without cause gets me disappointed. Usually that negativity comes from a misinformed place.”

Q: For those who don’t know, what goes into the role of an AD?

A: “It’s a great job and I love it, but the demands are tough. Most ADs work all year and are available seven days a week and often late hours. We handle finance, human resources, scheduling, policy implementation and creation, working with our league and state association, public relations and culture development as well as coaching education and training.”

Q: When you look back on last year, what moment(s) stick out? 

A: “It’s so hard to pick one moment. Truthfully every team is special in its own way and each one has special moments I enjoyed.”

Q: Have there been any improvements in athletics for this upcoming year?

A: “This will be our first full year with the new scoreboard and we are hoping that every team that plays on that field will be using it.”

Q: Are there any teams at W-H that you have your eye on to make a deep postseason run or perhaps surprise some people?

A: “The best part of going into the season is that no one knows how teams will do as so much of it depends on how the kids trained when none of us were looking.”

Q: Are there any dates that fans of W-H athletics should mark down on their calendars for any reason?

A: “That entire first week of games will be a blast.”

Q: What are you hoping to see as the year gets underway?

A: “I hope we break the record for student participation this year once again. We have seen our numbers increases each of the last three years. My dream would be to have every student in the school join a team so they could learn how truly special it is to be on a team.”

Season Review: Boys’ basketball courts success

By

Photo by: Sue Moss

The boys’ basketball team finished the year 18-7, including a pair of playoff wins.

Once again, the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team was tasked with replacing its entire starting five at the outset of the season. Once again, it was no problem as the Panthers marched to their 11th straight tournament appearance.

“It sets the foundation for future teams to build on,” said 19-year head coach Bob Rodgers, whose team finished the year 18-7. “It’s now an expectation that we’re gonna make the state tournament.”

However, unlike last season, the Panthers advanced in the tournament, winning their first two games as the eight seed. In the first round of the Div. 2 South playoffs, they knocked off ninth-ranked Dennis-Yarmouth, 60-57, followed by a win over top-seeded Randolph, 60-51, in the quarterfinals.

“I didn’t really know what to expect going into the season,” Rodgers said. “It was really a case of a really balanced team. We didn’t have anyone who scored 15 or 20 points per game. I couldn’t be more happy than what this team accomplished and how we grew from the beginning of the year to where we were at the end.”

In their third trip to the semifinals in the past four seasons, they succumbed to second-ranked New Mission, 79-70, in overtime.

The Panthers were indeed led by a balanced effort on offense with five players contributing 5.5 ppg or more.

“We didn’t have any inside presence, in terms of pounding it into a post player, but we really got to the hoop really well,” Rodgers said. “We had a lot of guys that could drive and knock down the 3 really well.”

The Panthers certainty did knock down the 3 ball really well. After connecting on just 149 triples last season, one that Rodgers coined an apparition, they sunk around 200 this year.

Junior Ben Rice scorer led the 3-point barrage with around 50. He also led the team in scoring with over 11.6 ppg.

“Ben is an absolute gym rat,” Rodgers said. “He’s always in the gym working on his shot. He had steady improvement in his game in terms of becoming a better defender and becoming someone we can rely on to do more than just shoot the ball.”

With an ability to get into the lane for a quick two and knock down a shot from beyond the arc, sophomore Cole LeVangie produced close to 10 ppg, which was good for second on the team.

“He can handle the ball and can shoot it,” Rodgers said. “He’s very unselfish and plays a total team basketball game.”

Junior Stevie Kelly was a sparkplug at the point for the Panthers’ offense, delivering over 130 assists on the season and averaging right around 8.3 ppg.

“He’s just a hard-nosed, tough player who can affect the game on both ends of the court,” Rodgers said. “He’s a terrific defensive player. He’s physically stronger than most guards he goes up against. He was an outstanding player for us this year.”

Rodgers said he knows exactly what he is looking for from his players this offseason.

“It’s going to take the entire group to committing to getting stronger and basically playing the game together, and still improving our shooting and still improving our basketball skill,” said the coach. “It’s going to depend on which guys are bringing guys into the gym with them, not just going into the gym themselves.”

Pair of Panther hoop teams headed to postseason … again

By

Both Whitman-Hanson basketball teams will play in the tournament.

For the third straight season, Whitman-Hanson Regional High’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have clinched playoff berths.

This is also the fourth time in the last six years both W-H basketball programs have earned a spot in the postseason.

11 STRAIGHT FOR THE BOYS

Photo by: Sue Moss

It’s almost always a sure bet veteran coach Bob Rodgers will have his team in the postseason no matter who it’s tasked with replacing at the season’s outset.

The boys clinched their spot on Jan. 29 with a 67-57 victory over Scituate at home, giving them their 11th win of the season.

“I’m always happy for the kids when we clinch a tourney spot because it’s such a special experience,” said Rodgers.

Senior captain Joey DePina paced the Panthers (16-6) with 16 points, while junior point guard Stevie Kelly tossed in 11.

“Joey DePina has been the heart and soul of our team,” Rodgers said. “His leadership has been instrumental in our team’s success. He is such a great teammate who is loved and respected by everyone on the club.

“Stevie Kelly has been the driving force behind our team this year. He has grown so much as a player and as a person. We are very proud of him.”

The Panthers have been buoyed by a balanced attack all season.

“Our depth is definitely our advantage,” Rodgers said. “We play more kids than most teams and while some may criticize that approach, we feel like having as many kids as possible contributing we create a culture where everyone has motivation to practice hard every day.”

Rodgers said his club knows exactly what it has to work on.

“Overall our team toughness and rebounding is an important part of the game that we have to improve,” said the coach.

The Panthers will aim to keep it simple in the playoffs.

“The only goal is to win that first game,” Rodgers said. “You can’t get too far ahead of yourself. Every team in the tournament can beat anyone, so you just have to stay focused on the game in front of you.”

GIRLS HEADED BACK

Photo by: Sue Moss

It’s taken a complete team effort for the girls’ basketball team to clinch a spot in the tournament for the third year in a row.

Jenna Olem’s club (12-8) picked up its 10th victory Feb. 13 with a 53-44 triumph over Silver Lake behind a monster 18-point, 15-rebound effort from senior captain Kathryn Dunn.

“Every team sets out to clinch a tournament spot,” Olem said. “As the season wore on I knew it was definitely within reach and it was just a matter of when.”

After losing senior captain and point guard Erin Leahy in the first practice of the year, the Panthers have been piecing it together.

“A big thing at beginning of season was stressing our depth and players filling in necessary roles when called on,” Olem said. “We’ve had big nights from a different players at different points in the season. When different players are able to stand out on different nights, it is a strength to our team.”

W-H has relied heavily on its defense (allowing 41 PPG), as its offense has been inconsistent at times, averaging 53 PPG in wins and 35 PPG in losses.

“We’re working on getting off to better starts offensively in the first quarter, knowing how to close out teams when we have a lead late and rebounding,” Olem said.

The goal?

“Pull an upset in the first-round tournament said,” Olem said.

Kelly sparks Whitman-Hanson boys’ basketball to win

By

Stevie Kelly calls out a play.

The junior scored 10 points to go with six rebounds and six assists in the comeback win.

Whitman-Hanson Regional High junior Stevie Kelly is known for his defensive prowess on the soccer field, but he’s making a name for himself on the hardwood at point guard. 

Kelly opened up his whole toolbox Friday night and the Panthers needed every bit of it to fend off Patriot League foe Silver Lake, 56-54.

“It was a pretty big win,” Kelly said. “Every Patriot League game is big for us.” 

In a fourth quarter that the Panthers (8-2) entered down, 40-37, it was the 5-foot-10 Kelly, who scored five of his 10 points in the final frame to complement six rebounds and six assists on the night, right in the middle of the comeback.

With 7:33 remaining, Kelly drained a triple from the top of the arc, evening the score at 40.

After senior Cole Lewis (10 points) shot the Panthers ahead, 49-47, with a pair of 3-pointers, the Lakers (3-5) would pull even before Kelly passed to a streaking Rian Schwede inside the lane and he laid it in for two.

Clinging to a one-point lead late, Kelly jump cut into the lane for two, giving the Panthers a 55-52 lead, which was enough. 

“He’s a tenacious player for sure,” said W-H head coach Bob Rodgers of Kelly. “He really gets after it. He’s a tremendous defender and a great leader on the floor. He had some big buckets for us down the stretch.”

With the help of six points in the first quarter from sophomore Cole LeVangie (team-high 16 points), the Panthers jumped out to a 18-10 lead after one. 

The Lakers proceeded to outscore W-H, 18-8, in the following quarter to claim a 28-26 halftime edge. 

Kelly sparked the Panthers out of halftime, motoring to the hoop for two, while picking up a foul in the process. His free throw put the Panthers up, 29-28. 

Stevie Kelly

Later in the frame, Kelly drove into the lane and kicked it out to a wide-open Ben Rice on the right side, who drained a three, giving the Panthers a 37-35 lead. 

“It helps (me) with all the shooters we have,” Kelly said. “They work really hard in the offseason.”

The Panthers will visit Hanover next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. 

“We just got to get tougher around the hoop and play harder,” Kelly said. 

Season Preview: Boys’ basketball team aims to form own identity

By

The Panthers during practice. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Panthers are tasked with replacing all five starters for the second time in three seasons.

Another season, another opportunity for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team.

It’s a chance for it to make its own mark in the history of a program that, over each of the past six seasons, has won at least 16 games and has qualified for the last 10 Div. 2 South Sectional tournaments, while making a pair of trips to the TD Garden for the state semifinals.

After the graduation of all five starters from last season’s 16-5 team, the starting lineup – similar to 2016 – is blank after the first week of practice, just waiting for five players to emerge.

“We graduated everybody off of that [2015]-2016 team,” said 19-year head coach Bob Rodgers. “The only kids that had any kind of experience at all were [Luke] Tamulevich and Nikko Raftes, and both of those guys, their minutes were in a very complementary role.”

That team went on to win the league title and compete in the state semifinals at the TD Garden.

“It’s just a matter of getting the guys on the same page and trying to figure out what we have in terms of assets,” Rodgers said.

Also similarly to the 2016-17 team, Rodgers said he expects the Panthers to return to being a good shooting team from inside and outside the arc. Last season’s team struggled with its ability to knock down shots.

“I think you always have to go with whatever your personnel strength is,” Rodgers said. “Last year, going inside was something that was an advantage for us. This year we do have a lot more shooters, more guys that can hit the outside shot, so it’s something where we’ll look a lot more like the teams of 2016 [and] ’17 than 2018.”

Sean Leahy, now playing at UMass Dartmouth, willed the Panthers to many victories last season, averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds a contest en route to Patriot League Keenan Division MVP honors. Fellow senior captain and Patriot League All-Star Jacob Hanson-Bartlett pumped in 12.3 points a game. Both of their production will be missed. Rodgers said it’s really hard for him to pinpoint who will shoulder the load on offense this season.

“One of the beauties of this roster is we have a lot of guys that can score,” Rodgers said. “Colby Ahern can shoot it. Ben Rice can. Stevie Kelly. John Zeidan.”

Of the Panthers’ returnees, senior guard Tajh Hunter has the most experience under his belt, having accumulated 381 minutes on the floor last winter. Senior guard Cole Lewis and junior guard Max Borgen are the only other two returnees with over 200 minutes of varsity playing experience. Senior guard Joey DePina, who received just 90 varsity minutes last season, will captain the team.

Rodgers said that while he isn’t returning a ton of experience at the varsity level, he can’t complain about the work put in by most of his players over the offseason.

“They’re in the gym all the time,” Rodgers said. “From the time the season ended last year to where we are right now, you see the improvement. So many of these guys are just head and shoulders of where they were when the season ended.”

Rodgers said he believes his team’s strength is its togetherness, and his players will deal with adversity as a unit.

“They’re such good kids that they get along really well and support each other,” Rodgers said. “I think they’re ready to grow together and help each other grow and deal with the pressures that are different on varsity than JV.”

Rodgers said he’s focused on getting everyone working toward the same mission, while improving along the way.

“We have a really young team,” he said. “Really the goal right now is just to try to get everybody on the same page, so that they’re playing the style that we believe in which is playing together, unselfish, build new character and let the record take care of itself.”

The Panthers open the season Tuesday, Dec. 11 at home against league foe Quincy at 6:30 p.m.

“I’ve never made predictions of where we’ll finish,” Rodgers said. “All I can say is we’ll play the game the right way. No matter what the record is, we’ll practice hard every day and we’ll get better every day.”

Superfans at 20: A W-H team spirit idea endures

By

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It started with a group of friends looking for an excuse to hang out and cheer on their team. Since then, it has blossomed into an integral part of every sporting event at Whitman-Hanson — the superfans.

Back in 1998, buddies Brian Clark, Andy Cook, Charlie Finn, Jonathan Hall, Brian Kenney, Brian Lankiewicz, Josh Masse, Matt Morgan, Brian O’Donnell, Kevin Sullivan and Matt Quimby had an idea: Just because they weren’t on the football team, didn’t mean they weren’t going to be active on game day.

“All of us that had like T-shirts made, we all painted our face for every game and tailgated,” Lankiewicz said.

They called themselves superfans. They even traveled to road games – like one instance where they went to Plymouth North and were waiting for the team bus ready to cheer on the guys when they excited the highway.

“We left before them and we were at one of the rest stops and we were all decked out or whatever and we were screaming and waving at them going by [to] kind of got them riled up,” Quimby recalled

Said Lankiewicz: “Stuff like that was a blast.”

At home games, the superfans tried to rile the Panthers up with a different method, albeit one that’s not advised to do today.

“Me and Brian O’Donnell went around and picked up a bunch of election signs, spun them around and we decided to play a little psychological warfare,” Cook said. “So, we painted Duxbury on the signs and stuck them in front of the school to kind of piss of the Whitman-Hanson guys and have them think Duxbury disrespected their school.”

From left, Andy Cook and Brian O’Donnell. / Courtesy photo

Cook was also always one of the loudest ones at the game.

“I had an old big cowbell, we went to all the marine places to find the boat horns, the airhorns, so we had all those and we’d be shooting those off,” Cook said.

When Thanksgiving came around, it was time for the superfans to play both sides of the ball at the same time – offense and defense.

“Whether it was crashing an Abington bonfire or huddling back at Whitman-Hanson and protecting the Panther from Abington coming to spray paint it green, it gave us a unity among ourselves and the football team as a whole,” Hall said.

The superfans didn’t confinethemselves to football games, either. They were instantly becoming engrained in the Whitman-Hanson sports scene.

“I actually remember when we were wrestling Hingham when I was in high school, the whole crowd was red and black face painted and everything like that,” Quimby said.

Lankiewicz said he recalls a time when he was asked to come out and cheer on his classmates.

“The cheerleaders had a competition once and they invited us to ride on their bus to be their cheering section in the stands for their competition and that was a blast,” he said. “We were pretty obnoxious us.”

The number of superfans hasgrown from 11 two decades ago to over 900 at W-H today. The school’s athletic director Bob Rodgers said he cannot stress enough the importance of the role of superfans at W-H.

“We feel that when students connect with their school and take pride in who we are, their entire experience here at Whitman Hanson is enhanced,” Rodgers said. “The program also has allowed us to create a culture where our students know what is acceptable behavior for fans.

“For the student-athletes, having their classmates there to support them adds to the experience. It’s nice to win games and championships, but it’s so much more meaningful when you know other people are on board with you. I would compare it to a great vacation, it’s not where you go that matters; what matters most is who you go with.”

Two years ago, a superfan-led group made history ahead of a W-H boys’ basketball state semifinal game by organizing the most fan busses ever to see a team play at TD Garden.

“The kids know how much fun it is to wear the school colors and cheer on their team regardless of whether we win or lose,” Rodgers said.

Hall said when he reflects back on 20 years ago, he could not have imagined the impact superfans would have on W-H today.

“It’s insane,” Hall said. “It’s just incredible, obviously. I would have never anticipated that it would have grown this much, but I’m certainly glad that it has. It’s good for the school. It’s good for the community. It’s good for the student body at Whitman-Hanson be able to have that. It’s not just a sport, it’s part of the culture of those two towns.”