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Johnson’s return bolsters Panthers on defense

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Johnson throws the ball in during a Panthers tilt against Silver Lake last season. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Senior Olivia Johnson is back from a broken wrist sustained in the Panthers’ final game of the season last fall.

From what looked minor from afar was anything but for Olivia Johnson.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer captain was in the wrong place at the wrong time during the Panthers’ Div. 1 South Sectional semifinal tilt against Newton South last season. Roughly midway through the first half, an attack into the W-H zone induced a scrum. Panthers defender Sammy Smith was there to clear the ball and pelted a shot that struck Johnson’s left hand, breaking her wrist in half in the process.

“I knew right away that it was going to be a big injury,” Johnson said. “A lot of my teammates thought that I got hit in the stomach and they were like ‘Get up, get up, get up,’ and I’m like ‘I can’t.’”

Panthers senior goalkeeper Skylar Kuzmich said she remembers the moment Johnson went down.

“It was bad and very tough to watch,” Kuzmich said.

The injury sidelined Johnson for the remainder of the game – a 2-1 Panthers loss, which ended their season – and put her on the shelf for the beginning of winter sports.

“I was actually more concerned about not being able to play in the game and with basketball coming up the next season, just not being able to participate,” Johnson said.

Surprisingly, Johnson, who was in a cast for three months on and off, only missed four basketball games.

“When I think about it now, if that was my senior year and I couldn’t play in the rest, I’d be devastated,” Johnson said.

Well, it wasn’t her senior year, of course, meaning the dual-sport athlete has one more go-around to assure healthy campaigns.

The Panthers are going to need her more than ever on the pitch after the graduation of a pair of stalwarts on defense in Betty Blake and Elana Wood.

“OJ’s going to be a great leader out on the field this year and I think she’s going to give great direction and talk a lot in the back with me, especially if Sam (Smith) moves up to offense,” Kuzmich said.

Johnson, despite being ready for game action, said she’s still sharpening the “little things.”

“I’ve been working on mental toughness on defense, staying fit, staying agile and stuff like that,” she said.

As for Johnson’s wrist, “It’s still not fully healed,” she said. “They don’t think my motion will ever be healed.”

Season Preview: Despite graduating 15 seniors, W-H field hockey is aiming for playoffs

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The Panthers during an Oct. 18 game last season. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Panthers look to keep plowing ahead after the graduation of 15 seniors.

For the past five seasons at tryouts, Whitman-Hanson Regional High field hockey head coach Todd Humphrey has watched the pool of players expand and talent level rise.

That’s why after losing a 15-player senior class – albeit one that set the tone of what field hockey is at Whitman-Hanson – Humphrey isn’t using the term rebuild, but rather “transition” to describe this fall.

“We’re very, very fast,” the fifth-year head coach said. “Our front seven — our forwards and midfielders – are quite fast so that is a help, a boost, having lost 15 seniors.”

Humphrey, whose team, which was brought back in 2014, set highs in wins (six) and goals scored (30) last season, even took three freshmen – Lauren Dunn, Joli Flamos and Rosie MacKinnon – on varsity, which speaks volumes of how much field hockey has grown at W-H. But for every young team, it takes veteran leaders and playmakers to steer the ship to its destination, and the Panthers have them.

Senior captain Olivia Sheehan is as good as it gets from the left corner of the defense.

“Olivia Sheehan is one of the better defenseman in the Patriot League,” Humphrey said. “She will step up and battle and the thing about Olivia [is] when she gets the ball, she has an unbelievable burst.”

Senior captain Lauren Godbout has been with Humphrey since she was a freshman and will start at right midfielder.

Senior Annika Putur, who joined the team last season, will start in the center of the field at forward and serve as a captain, a role she serves on the girls’ lacrosse team as well.

FORWARDS

“The offense pretty much centers around her,” Humphrey said. “She is a great ball mover. She’s very fast and I’ve noticed this year she’s got a little cut. She can deke on the field.”

Flanking Putur on her left will be sophomore Lauren Clark, who Humphrey expects to see big things out of.

“She was on the freshman team and I was just moving her around a lot last year just to expose her because we were so crowded on varsity last year,” Humphrey said. “I knew she was a good goal scorer and know you’re going to see the coming out of Lauren Clark.”

Clark will work in tandem with junior Robin Goyette. At right wing will be another tandem with juniors Maddy Tassey and Sophie Molinari.

Zoe Lydon, a girls’ hockey and lacrosse captain, will back up Putur, and Lauren Dunn, senior Samantha Whitman and sophomore Delanie MacDonald will see time at forward.

MIDFIELDERS

Junior Victoria Ryan, a softball captain, will go up against some of the Patriot League’s best from her spot at left midfielder, and she looks to be up for the task.

“The reason I chose her at left midfielder was so I can deal with all these right wings that are so fast,” Humphrey said. “I figure that she can trail them.”

Flamos will also see time at left midfielder and junior Abby Repoza at center midfielder, while seniors Emily Stearns and MacKinnon will be up the middle.

“I want to get a lot of speed in the midfield and I’d love to see our midfielders enter the offensive zone – that half circle – and join the offensive attack,” Humphrey said.

DEFENSE

In addition to Sheehan on defense, senior Kathryn Dunn – a girls’ basketball captain – will roam the middle with sophomores Skylar Leonard and Noelle Cornetta to her right. Sophomore Madi Savicke takes over for Molly MacKinnon in goal.

“She’s been playing in a lot of leagues and getting in shape,” Humphrey said. “She’s looked great and definitely has a very bright future.”

The Panthers are back on the field Friday, Sept. 7 at 3 p.m. as they play host to non-league rival East Bridgewater. 

“In terms of wins and losses, I’d love to make the tournament, Humphrey said. “I think there might be some growing pains at first. We’ll see where we’re at one game at time, but we may have ourselves a playoff team.”

Season Preview: Panther cross country teams are warming up

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Both teams at a beginning of the year practice. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Head coach Steve Goerge is expecting the boys’ team to be competitive while he doesn’t know what to expect from the girls’ team just yet.

Personal bests are always key in the sport of cross country. Without shooting for them, you’re doing your team a disservice.

Cross country is also one of the rare sports that celebrates the lowest score, not the highest with a first-place finish yielding one point, a secondplace yielding two and so on.

At Whitman-Hanson Regional High, fifth-year head coach of the boys’ and girls’ teams Steve George is hoping to see his runners flourish thus producing some positive results.

GIRLS’ TEAM

On the girls’ side, senior captain Maeve McDonough will lead the way.

“She’s a surprise,” George said. “When she first came here, one of my better runners said, ‘You won’t find a sweeter kid. She’s not a great runner but you won’t find a sweeter kid.’ Well, she was a sweet kid and right now she’s our top girl runner.”

Runners two through four will be juniors Niki Kamperides, Tori Boss, Tori Carleton and at No. 5 will be senior captain Maeve Rooney.

“She works hard despite the fact that she’s a dancer,” George said of Rooney. “She does Irish step dancing, which to me is as difficult as running is.”

Said Rooney: “I think if I’m doing good, I can motivate others to do good which would result in more wins for the team.”

George said freshmen Anna Flynn and Sarah Boulger have impressed him early on while seniors Dorothy DiMascio-Donohue and Gabbie Trongone figure to factor into some meets.

“I think everyone has a lot of potential and they don’t realize it until they actually start getting serious about it,” McDonough said.

The girls return to the course Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. on the road against league opponent Hanover.

“It’s just a matter of improvement for them,” George said. “I haven’t even thought about wins and losses and that’s never been my criteria for a successful season. I’d like to see a steady improvement over the season.”

BOYS’ TEAM

The boys’ team has “the makings of a very good team”, according to George.

Sophomore Theo Kamperides is the Panthers’ top returning runner and junior Brandon Hager is their second best.

Adam Solari, W-H’s third best returning runner, will captain boys alongside senior Shane Schraut.

“Adam comes from hockey and he’s a tremendous hockey player, strong hockey player,” George said. “He’s well-liked by his teammates. I think the fact that he’s well-liked is going to help him with leadership.

“Shane is on the quiet side and he’s a quiet leader. He’s shown some leadership in and outside of cross country.”

Schraut said the Panthers like to encourage each other regardless of where they stand on the totem pole, which will work to their advantage this season.

“Say one guy is straggling, one guy from behind will tell him to keep going and just keep pushing him to do harder and better,” Schraut said.

Solari echoed Schraut’s views.

“I think if we push each other, we’ll be a really good team,” Solari said.

Juniors Matt Avery, Dylan Burns and Nick Hanley along with , sophomores Matt Butler, Liam Cafferty and Chris MacDonald and freshman Evan Jewett will also make impact for the Panthers, who return to action at Hanover on Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m.

“We have the makings of a very good team,” George said. “Perhaps not this year, but next year. One of our captains is a junior and then the next top seven is made up of juniors, sophomores and freshmen.”

Season Preview: SSVT football ready to make noise

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The Vikings have eight starters back as they aim to improve on last season’s 5-6 record.

Twenty-year South Shore Vo-Tech football head coach Derek Mariani is confident his team has what it takes to make a run for the league title.

The Vikings, who finished 5-6 last season and 3-1 in the Mayflower Athletic Conference Small Vocational Division, return eight starters.

“We’re talking about — with the people we have — we should to be able to contend for the league because I think right now that league is wide open,” Mariani said. “I don’t see anybody as a huge odds on favored, it’s just going to be who plays consistent week to week.”

The Vikings’ main weapon back in the fold is senior running back Shane Fougere (Hanson). Fougere, who burst onto the scene as a sophomore, is SSVT’s only returning league all-star.

Paving the way for Fougere, who is a captain, will be an offensive line led by senior John Jolliemore (Whitman), who moves from guard to center and is also a captain.

“He’s going to bring the experience,” Mariani said. “He’s been working very hard getting in condition. We may not always have the biggest line, but I think we have a line with some good football knowledge and good football sense.”

Insulating Jolliemore on his right side will be junior Nick Morrissey (Whitman).

“He put on some good, solid weight over the year,” Mariani said of Morrissey. “He is an intelligent player and as a guard he has great speed. His footwork and his intelligence is very good.”

Senior 6-foot-4, 225-pound Noah Rodri (Hanson) will move from right tackle to left tackle as he enters his second fall as a starter.

Junior Mac Johnson (Hanson) and senior Casi Ezekiel (Whitman) may work their way into the starting lineup at tackle and guard, respectively.

“Noah is one of our bigger and stronger kids,” Mariani said. “Noah’s got the power.”

At quarterback will be senior Nick Podgurski (Whitman), who will share time with classmate Spencer Joseph (Rockland).

“He’s quick,” Mariani said of Podgurski. “He’ll run the option well. He’s got the speed.”

Jolliemore (DT), Fougere (CB), Podurski (CB) and Rodri (DE) will be starters on defense also. Mariani said he’s been impressed with junior Bobby Fettig (Hanson) and sophomore Joseph Parker (Hanson) and wouldn’t be surprised if either nab a starting role soon.

SSVT opens the season on the road Saturday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. against Tri-County.

“I want to see some toughness and some consistency,” Mariani said. “I think we have the people and the experience that we should be able to play a fundamentally sound game [with] minimal mistakes, but be very physical.”

Connors’ success on gridiron stems from behind the scenes

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Connors (No. 42) in the Panthers’ 2017 Thanksgiving Day game against Abington. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Senior Mike Connors is a force in the middle of the field for the Panthers defense.

Standing at 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, Whitman-Hanson Regional High middle linebacker and senior captain Mike Connors is a tall task for opposing offenses.

The 2017 Patriot League All-Star is coming off a junior campaign in which he totaled a team-high 104 tackles, a sack and interception.

“I would say he’s the leader of the defense,” W-H head coach Mike Driscoll said.

But it’s what he does when nobody is watching, but himself, that keys his success.

During the offseason, Connors is in the weight room five days a week and when the season rolls around he makes an attempt to get in three to four days a week.

“I try hitting every body part twice,” Connors explained. “I bunch them up into two’s every day.”

In the lead up to game days, Connors goes above and beyond just hitting the weight room and attending practice.

“I watch hours of film, every day of the week and I take pride in learning what their offense is so I can fly to the ball every snap,” Connors said.

Driscoll said Connors’ constant commitment to the sport has allowed him to excel on the field.

“He recognizes things that are happening in front of him in a pretty fast manner,” Driscoll said. “Not only is he big, strong and fast, he’s a student of the game so that puts him at an advantage over most high school players.”

Driscoll pointed to four of many contests last season where Connors’ studying paid dividends.

“[In] the Hingham and Stoughton games he was huge for us,” Driscoll said. “He played really, really well against Duxbury too and was a force in the middle there.

“He shut down Silver Lake’s run game and did a lot of things in that game.”

Driscoll said having Connors back roaming in the middle of the field allows him to “relax a little bit.”

“Instincts, side-to-side, C-gap to C-gap, he’s probably the best linebacker that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” the eighth-year head coach said. “He’s tough. He’s strong.”

While Driscoll is thrilled to have Connors back, he couldn’t be more ecstatic to be at his post for his third and final season for the Panthers.

“[At linebacker] you get to play the run game and then you also get to drop back in the pass game,” Connors said. “I’m in the center of the field at middle linebacker so it’s fun to roam around the whole field.”

Connors added he’s not at all concerned about replicating last fall’s stats.

“I don’t care about the tackles, they’ll come,” Connors said. “I just want to win games for my team. If you train hard and watch film for this team you’re going to play good.”

W-H football’s O’Brien is a rarity

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O’Brien nails one through the uprights in the Panthers’ tournament game against Stoughton last season. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Senior kicker Jake O’Brien is near automtic for the Panthers.

Jake O’Brien is a rare find among high school football players in the state.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High senior’s primary role is kicker, and just kicker.

Last season — his second as the starter — O’Brien knocked in 18 of 19 extra points and was three for three on field goals, which included a long of 39 yards. His near-perfect campaign had him drawing high praise from his head coach Mike Driscoll.

“In my opinion, he’s one of the top five kickers in the state,” Driscoll said.

It’s not O’Brien’s point-scoring ability that’s his biggest asset to the Panthers, but rather when he takes the pressure off his fellow special teamers.

“Some of the bigger ones to me were some of the times he could kick it out of the end zone on a kickoff and not worry about the return,”Driscoll explained.

Driscoll said a key to O’Brien’s success is that he understands his role on the team. Besides spilling the starter occasionally at safety, all O’Brien does is kick.

“He knows he’s not going to play offense for us, so during offense he’s out there [and] he’s kicking — either up on the grass field working on his kickoffs or he’s working on one end on his field goals,” Driscoll explained.

And, when he’s up on the grass field, Driscoll must make sure he keeps a close eye on him.

“We have to limit him on his kicks because he would kick 100 a day [and] you don’t need that,” Driscoll said jokingly.

PITCHING IN

Ironically, O’Brien’s knack for kicking doesn’t even stem from the gridiron, rather the pitch.

“I played soccer for a while when I was younger and then [in] eighth grade all my friends were playing football, so I decided ‘Why not switch over?’” O’Brien said. “Then, from eighth grade I just started kicking in youth because I played soccer and then it’s just been natural for me, I guess.”

As a ninth grader, O’Brien was the freshman team’s starting kicker, but his leg was essentially neutralized because the Panthers would shy away from the point after. However, he got his chance in the last game of the season.

“We played Abington before Thanksgiving and they let me kick a field goal and that was my first field goal in a game ever and I was pretty nervous, but I did hit it; I think it was from 15 yards,” O’Brien said with a laugh.

Over the following months, O’Brien set his sights on the starting varsity kicker position and nabbed it as as sophomore.

“I knew that our kicker was graduating next year, so in that offseason I did work a lot,” he explained. “I worked a lot all summer. I made sure that I definitely had a chance to get that spot and it paid off for me in the end.”

O’Brien connected on 23 extra points and a pair of field goals that sophomore season.

“To have a kicker is huge because most kids don’t work at that skill anymore and I think Jake is unique,” Driscoll said.

To prepare for his final go-around, O’Brien used the offseason to kick — of course.

“I went to one camp at the beginning of the summer with Kicking World and that was in Braintree and that was more of an instructional camp,” O’Brien explained. “They kind of taught me a little more of the basics, likewhat I didn’t know already. From there, I went to another camp called Clutch Kicks and that was more of, not really competitive, but it was kind of like you already know what you’re doing. They definitely helped me out a lot.”

Driscoll said he has no reason not to believe O’Brien’s going to have another strong campaign this fall.

“Jake is a big, big, big part of our team,” Driscoll said. “I’ve never had a kid who you feel confident trotting him out there from 40, 45. He’s working hard try to get less air time on it and put something into it. I think that he is going to be a huge factor for us to besuccessful this season.”

Season Preview: Young Panthers girls’ soccer team is ready to go

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The girls’ soccer team during a scrimmage against Mansfield Aug. 25. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team will be led by a trio of senior captains, who will have a young core around them.

Another season, another clean slate for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team.

The program, which has not had a losing campaign since 1999, also hasn’t fallen short of the sectional semifinals — which occurred last fall — in the past four seasons.

In 2014, the Panthers made it to the state title game, in 2015 they made the sectional title game and their 2016 season ended with a loss in thestate semifinals.

“I’m pretty fortunate that we get some really talented players that come through and I think we as a coaching staff are smart enough not to get in their way,” head coach Dave Floeck said. “I think we’ve been blessed that the program has established itself so younger kids in the fourth, fifth, six grade, who want to be a part of the program, are already working towards that and working their skills to get here.

“And so, year after year we graduate great players and then in comes some other great players and that’s how we’ve been able to have success.”

Coming into this fall Floeck’s club, which went 17-2-2 last season, has some major losses with the graduation of past captains and fouryear starters — defender Elana Wood and midfielder/forward Eve Montgomery.

“They’d played in everything from a state championship game to right on down so they were able to share that with everybody, so it’s a big void but we have a couple other seniors returning that have a lot of experience and we’re looking forward to their leadership as well,” Floeck said.

Defender Betty Blake and midfielders Katie Korzec and Taylor Kofton (2016 All-American) were also cornerstone pieces who have graduated as well.

2017 All-American Lauren Bonavita and her 43 goals last season and school-record 113 leaves the toughest hole to plug, and Floeck isn’t even going to try to do that.

“It was a one-man wrecking crew,” the 23rd-year head coach said of Bonavita. “It’s a huge void, but we’re not trying to fill that because that would be huge mistake on our part to put that kind of pressure on anybody, so we’re trying to look at doing it differently, but certainly when you have a player of that type of talent, it’s always a big loss.”

Floeck said he believes his team’s balance and depth are its two main strengths.

“We have people who can play multiple positions,” he said. “We have quite a bit of pace, we’re a pretty quick team, but we’re young so there’s going to be some growing pains along with that but it’s nice because they don’t know what they don’t know yet so it gives us a great opportunity to teach.”

The most notable multi-faceted Panther is Boston College-bound senior Sammy Smith.

Smith, who was voted a Patriot League All-Star, first-team EMass and all-state as a defender last season, can also play up the field and play it well.

“We’re still playing around with that depending on how some other things go, but she’ll probably play a little bit of both (positions),” Floeck explained. “She’s phenomenal.”

Smith will also captain the Panthers alongside classmates — defender Olivia Johnson and goalkeeper Skylar Kuzmich.

This will be Kuzmich’s fourth year in W-H’s net.

“[We want to] get as far as we can in the tournament,” Kuzmich said. “We’re actually going to have a really good year, I can feel it. We have a lot of good freshmen coming in.”

Other than W-H’s three senior captains, most of its experience comes from its underclassmen, such as the likes of juniors Riley Bina, Zoe Cox, Anika Floeck, Delaney Hall and Samantha Perkins as well as sophomore Alexis Billings.

However, despite the youth, Kuzmich, a Hofstra University commit, still has high expectations.

“I think we’re going to do really well and get really far this year,” she said.

W-H opens the season on the road Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 5:15 p.m. against Notre Dame Academy of Hingham.

“Right now, in all honesty, and I don’t want to sound clicheish, but because we’re so young, we want to be better today than we were yesterday,” Floeck said.

Season Preview: Leahy, W-H boys’ soccer team positive and optimistic

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The Pathers’ during their Aug. 25 scrimmage against Bridgewater-Raynham. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ soccer team is rallying around positivity.

As he enters his second season at the helm of the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ soccer team, Dave Leahy is preaching the same message to his players as when he first got there.

“Last year it was to be positive and I think every single year, the goal is to be positive and make each player try to bring out the best in each other,” Leahy said.

His reasoning is straightforward.

“I think negativity gets the opposite (of success), so positivity helps people feel like they can do their best,” Leahy explained.

Leahy’s logic seemed to have played at least a part in the Panthers’ success last season, of course with player production accounting for a big chunk. W-H finished with 11 wins (10 more than the previous season), cracked the postseason for the first time since 2014 and even won a game (2-1 over Catholic Memorial) in them.

“Well, we were the first team to make playoffs in a while so it proves that we can get there,” current junior captain Stevie Kelly said.

Positivity doesn’t just translate into wins, but also acts as a way to pull the Panthers closer, especially at the outset of this fall. In addition to graduating a skilled crop of seniors — headlined by former captains Anthony Pasciuto (goalie and Patriot League All-Star), Kyle Nehiley (forward and Patriot League All-Star) and Cameron Rogers (defender) — W-H had a trio of unexpected departures that tested its program.

“We had a few really talented players [leave us],” Leahy explained. “We had an injury, and a private school and then going to another public school, and that happened in the last two weeks.

“But what happened was the team kind of just came together instead of separating and kids realized there was opportunity where maybe there wasn’t as much before.”

The Panthers may have had a few talented players exit for a variety of reasons, but they return a solid core.

Kelly provides a steady presence in many facets of the game at centre-back.

“Last year he was all hustle and just won balls for us,” Leahy said of his captain. “This year he’s our field general and he’s the intelligent guy leading our defense. The maturity, and the leadership and growth is just great to see.”

Senior Matt Hickey and juniors Kyle O’Connor and Cezar Zurita return in front of the net as well.

“I think our strength right now would probably be our defense and possessing,” Kelly said.

Along with Kelly, junior Jason Brodeur will also captain the Panthers. The junior midfielder was their leading goal scorer last fall with nine.

“He’s a talented kid,” Leahy explained. “Everything he has for weaknesses he made sure that he worked on in the offseason. He wants to be as good as he can so he doesn’t just work on his strengths, he works on his weaknesses.”

Senior Nolan Clack (two goals and four assists in ’17) and sophomore Brendan Nehiley (seven goals and five assists) also both provide some playmaking ability and experience in the middle.

The goalkeeper position is still up for grabs between senior Griffin Nickerson and junior Andrew Sullivan.

“Right now, we have two strong contenders,” Leahy said. “It could be that they split time, who knows?”

The Panthers open their season Saturday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. with a home game against Cohasset.

“I think that we can play good, successful soccer,” Leahy said. “I’m not sure what the overall record will be at the end of the year, but we’ll play some good brand of soccer and we’ll play good defense and we’ll play together.”

Season Preview: Panthers football team preps for a new season

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The Panthers practice on Tuesday, Aug. 21. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High football team returns eight starters on both sides of the ball and boasts a senior class of 19 as it prepares for a pivotal season.

Seven days after the 2017 campaign concluded, upperclassmen on the Whitman-Hanson Regional High football team began rallying their teammates to get into the weight room. Preparations for this fall were already underway.

The Panthers were coming off their third straight 7-4 campaign, which included a first-round playoff exit. But unlike the previous two, it was capped by a disappointing 23-12 loss to their longtime Turkey Day rivals, which left a sour taste in their mouths heading into the offseason.

“Same 7-4 season back-to-back years and back-to-back first-round playoff losses, just lost to an Abington team on Thanksgiving,” said senior captain Mike Connors, who’s been on the team since he was a sophomore. “It’s obviously not the best way to end the season, so yeah, we have a lot of momentum going into the season.”

The winter, spring and summer months were certainly long, and consisted of visits from many high-profile colleges, workouts with Marines and strength and conditioning with a current Springfield College linebacker.

While eighth-year head coach Mike Driscoll acknowledged dropping that last game motivated his players in the offseason, thus making them better, it’s time to turn the page.

“We told the kids in our first meeting that that’s a totally different team,” Driscoll explained. “It’s a new team so you can’t really reflect back.”

It’s not much of a new team personnel-wise as the Panthers are down just four starters from a season ago. In terms of experience, it’s like night and day compared to last fall for Driscoll, who returns eight starters on both sides of the ball.

“Each year you get bigger and stronger and more knowledgeable, so you kind of hit the ground running, where in the past we’d always be implementing new people,” Driscoll said. “It’s like you never left the field, but yet it is a new year with new expectations and new beginnings for them.”

The slew of returnees, many of whom have been starting since they were a sophomore, have the Panthers, who finished 3-2 in the Patriot League last fall, garnering a lot of attention from around the state. However, it’s just like any new season to Driscoll.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on the kids,” Driscoll explained. “To us, it’s been Day 1 and Day 2 like any other time, so we treat it that way as a staff. If we are looking at it like pressures and expectations we’re probably leading us down the wrong path.”

Not only does W-H return an experienced group of starters, but it will carry a senior class of 19, which puts even more of an emphasis on winning.

“This senior year is something huge for us,” Connors said. “It’s our last year together, we expect to go far.”

GETTING DEFENSIVE

While Connors is a key senior captain, he’s more pivotal at middle linebacker, where he led the team with 104 tackles last season.

“He’s a difference maker in the middle for us,” Driscoll said. “He’s the big, strong football player.”

Starting in front of Connors on the defensive side of the ball at the defensive end is returning starter and fellow senior captain Quinn Sweeney, who totaled a team-high 16 tackles for loss last season and six sacks. Driscoll coined Sweeney as the ‘energy guy.’

“He loves football,” Driscoll said. “He lives for this stuff and he’s going to have an amazing season, I just see it already. He’s just the type of kid who can get off the ball and he’s worked on a lot of his quickness.”

THINKING OFFENSE

Sweeney also holds down a post at tackle on offense, where he is tasked with creating time and paving holes for dual-threat quarterback and senior captain Ethan Phelps.

Phelps, who also assumed his starting role in 10th grade, garnered over 2,600 total yards and 32 touchdowns in 2017. Driscoll said he believes Phelps can be even better.

“We’re really working with him a lot to take it to the next level so he’s like another coach on the field, and that’s something he’s striving to do and he’s working on that, to be more of a general at all times,” Driscoll said. “He’s never going to be satisfied unless it’s perfect. He knows our offense, so he worked hard to get better as a passer.”

To Phelps’ advantage, he won’t have to worry about developing a rapport with his main playmakers because the Panthers return nearly all of them. Out of the backfield, Connors (80 carries for 484 yards, 3 TDs in ’17) and classmate Brendan Frawley (78 carries for 447 yards, 2 TDs) enter their third year together.

“Frawley is more of speed and [a] slasher and Mike’s more going to run you over and get tough yards,” Driscoll explained.

The W-H head coach added he wants to get senior Billy Martell, who rushed the ball just once last season, some more touches.

“Billy’s the fastest player on the team so we’re going to use all of them three now,” Driscoll said. “It’s going to be tough to defend.”

At wide receiver, Phelps welcomes back six of his seven top targets. As a unit, the returnees — led by Martell (12 receptions for 153 yards, 2 TDs) and senior captains Jacob Nixon (23 receptions for 211 yards, 3 TDs) and Rian Schwede (19 receptions for 300 yards, 2 TDs) — hauled in 74 percent of Phelps’ competitions and accounted for 73 percent of his yards in the air last fall.

“[We have] three great receivers there, three kids who can get the ball in space and make things happen and run the deep and short routes,” Driscoll said. “[They’re] a great group of kids.”

At kicker, Jake O’Brien (18 of 19 on PATs and 3 of 3 on FGs) is back for his third year as the starter.

“In my opinion, he’s one of the top five kickers in the state,” Driscoll said.

Key losses for W-H from last season are center and defensive lineman Riley Holland, wide receiver and cornerback Brett Holmes, linebacker Jack Kelly and offensive tackle Hunter Dunn.

“They were a great working group kids who set a huge tone for our team,” Driscoll said.

ATHLETICISM, EXPERIENCE

As for what is going to propel the Panthers past a 7-4 record this season, it’s tough to overlook their athleticism and experience.

“These kids worked hard over the offseason with the strength and conditioning and just overall knowledge in everything we do,” Driscoll said. “They know how to practice. They know our schemes and that’s huge from a classes aspect and for them, it makes their job easier as student-athletes. You’re not worried about studying the playbook when you already know it, so that’s a huge advantage for us.”

The Panthers open their 2018 campaign at home Sept. 7 against non-league foe Marshfield at 7 p.m.

“Our goal has always been to win the league championship and that’s what we’re striving for, that’s what we’re working towards,” Driscoll said. “So, in order to achieve that, we’re going to have to have a better record than 7-4.”

A chat with … Whitman-Hanson AD Bob Rodgers

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A question and answer with Whitman-Hanson Regional High athletic director Bob Rodgers.

This year marks Bob Rodgers’ eighth as the athletic director at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

Last year was an exhilarating one as multiple school records were shattered, a state title was brought home on the mat and seven teams earned postseason berths.

Rodgers chatted with the Express about his position, improvements in athletics, what he’s looking forward to in 2018-19, and more.

Q: How have you seen your position as an AD change?

A: “Well, the biggest change for me has been just the increasing amount of sports that we now offer. We’re now up to 27 sports and we have a lot more opportunities for girls at Whitman-Hanson with the addition of field hockey, gymnastics and swimming. With the additional teams, managing more people, more kids and families, so I guess that’s been the biggest challenge.”

Q: What’s your favorite part about being an AD?

A: “Just being able to have a positive impact on the school experience of so many kids and recognizing the important personal growth that kids go through when they have an opportunity to be part of a team and compete. I recognize that what happens in the classroom is the main reason why kids go to school, but I do think that having that extra experience of being part of a team, dealing with adversity, understanding work ethic, it all kind of goes hand in hand for kids. And, so being an AD, it allows me to have a direct impact on so many students and a part of the education process that is, I think, so vital to a young person’s growth; the ability to play on a team, the ability to challenge themselves to recover from adversity, to feel a connection to something. I take great pride in the athletic program that we have at our school because I think it touches all those bases.”

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

A: “The role of an athletic director is if you were to look at the job description, it would be several pages long. You are a personnel person in terms of hiring coaches. You’re a budget person because you have to deal with the financial aspect of running the program. Secretarial stuff because you have to deal with schedules and paperwork through the MIAA. You have to be a lawyer because you have to know all the rules and regulations. You have to be a psychologist because you have to deal with a lot of different personalities and you have to be a mentor, somebody who can help your coaches grow as coaches so they can serve our students. Then, it’s really everything else that comes in between. There’s a lot of public relations to it to make sure people understand what’s going on and understand the value of what we’re doing. Fundraising. It’s just a job that keeps me busy.

“When I decided to pursue this eight years ago, I realized that I didn’t know back then really what I was getting into, but it’s been rewarding and I’ve enjoyed it even though it takes a tremendous amount of time. You’re basically on the clock 24/7. There’s just always something going on.”

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

A: “Well, there were so many great moments. I think that watching our boys’ soccer team that had struggled the previous couple of years make the tournament and then win an exciting game in overtime, that first-round game that they had. To watch the great performances that the gymnastics team had. But really each sport, I could probably pick something out from each sport. Although we all love to win, [it] isn’t really the end all and be all of the athletic experience.”

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

A: “Well, the big project that we completed a year ago was the replacement of the turf field and that was the biggest, most expensive and challenging. We’re right now in the process of adding a state-of-the-art scoreboard to our athletic field which has been a big challenge. It’s very expensive, but it’s really going to make a big improvement to our school. We added scoreboards to both the baseball and softball field, which I think fans are going to really appreciate.”

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: “I don’t want to put too much pressure on them, but we’re all really excited about the football team because they’ve worked so hard. It’s really a very experienced group. I think we have over 20 seniors on the roster. We have a phenomenal quarterback and he’s a great leader. You watched the progression that it’s made over the last few years, I think that they’re poised to really do some damage.

“It’s going to be a challenge because we have a very tough schedule; we purposely did a tough schedule. The non-league schedule’s hard, we’re playing Marshfield and New Bedford to start the season — two big schools — much bigger than us. Then our league schedule is tough with both Hingham and Duxbury, but I really think we’re going to see big things from them.”

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

A: “ I think that football opener (Sept. 7) is one that’s going to be really exciting to kind of kick off the season and get everyone really excited. We’re home against Marshfield. All the schedules are available online and I’d encourage fans of Panther Nation to go out and go to all the different sporting events that we have.”

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

A: “I’m looking forward to watching them savor every moment because it goes by so fast, especially for those seniors going into their final year of high school, to get everything out of the experience that they can. I’m hoping that the whole experience will help them grow as people, help keep them stay healthy and happy and helps build our school spirit and our community spirit.”