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‘Tis the season: Panther athletes get set to play on a very different field

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The fall sports season starts on Friday, Sept. 18 at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

The wait is almost over.

After nearly six months without high school sports, the fall season is finally set to get underway tomorrow at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

Cross country, field hockey, boys’ golf, soccer and girls’ volleyball will all begin practice. Football and fall cheerleading were moved to February.

“These have been difficult times for all of us, but especially our kids,” said W-H athletic director Bob Rodgers. “I am so excited to see them back with their coaches and teammates. I’m not sure people truly understand how much being part of a team means to our students but I know this will help them deal with these uncertain times.

“Our teachers have been working so hard for the return to school and the same holds true for our coaches. I hope everyone remembers that this is uncharted territory for all of us and we will do the best we can to serve our students the best we can. We will learn as we go and adjust when necessary.”

There are a few major changes coming to some sports. Field hockey will be played 7-on-7 instead of 11-on-11. There will be no throw-ins, slide tackling or heading the ball in soccer.

“This season is most certainly challenging, but we will meet this challenge with a covered smile,” said boys’ soccer head coach Dave Leahy.

That feeling is universal.

“I’m very excited that we get the chance to play this season,” said girls’ soccer junior Kelsee Wozniak. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge with the new rules, but the fact we even are allowed to play is great.”

Said girls’ volleyball junior Lily Welch: “All of my teammates and I are super excited about having a season. Even though it’s hard under the guidelines, we have all been getting together and training with each other. We have also had the chance to be teachers and work with the incoming freshman and I love that.”

There also won’t be a state tournament, but Wozniak said she’ll have no issue staying motivated playing in the Patriot League.

“We play in a very strong conference with talented teams,” she said. “Our goal is to compete and win our league. That will drive us every day to work very hard as a team.”

Regardless of what this upcoming season will look like or even how it may play out, one thing is certain heading into it.

“I can’t wait to get started,” said boys’ and girls’ cross country head coach Steve George.

No football, cheerleading this fall

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Football and cheerleading have been pushed off from this fall to a “sandwich” season in February.

There won’t be any Friday night lights or Thanksgiving Day football this coming fall.

The MIAA Board of Directors has moved football and fall cheerleading back to the spring in a season it’s calling “Fall II,” that will run from Feb. 22 to April 25. Both are deemed high-risk sports.

“It is the best case scenario for our players and our seniors to get a season in,” said Whitman-Hanson Regional High football head coach Mike Driscoll. “Obviously, we would like life to be normal and have a regular fall season, but that is not the case right now. We will make the best out of the current situation and our guys will be hungry and ready to go come the end of February.”

W-H cheerleading head coach Alyssa Pietrasik also understands the move.

“We are disappointed that we won’t have our fall season, there’s something special and unique about those Friday nights under the lights and the extreme competitiveness of fall cheer,” she said. “But in reality, our day will come when the world is a safer place. Right now we need to buckle down and keep our distance so that we can get to business come February. But I will say that I can’t wait for that day to come.”

The regular fall season, which will include soccer, gymnastics, cross country, field hockey, girls’ volleyball, and boys’ golf, will start on Sept. 18.

The Patriot League will play its games in a bubble, which means schools will only play games against teams in their respective division (Keenan or Fisher). W-H is in the Keenan Division with Duxbury, Marshfield Plymouth North Silver Lake and Quincy. However, there are a few executions: boys’ soccer will face North Quincy, while field hockey and girls soccer’ and girls’ volleyball will play one game against Notre Dame Academy (of Hingham). The league will conclude play with the Patriot Cup, which will end no later than Nov. 20. There won’t be a state tournament.

“This  isn’t really about championships, it’s not about banners in the gym,” said W-H athletic director Bob Rodgers at last Friday’s school committee meeting. “It’s about giving kids participation — allowing them to be part of something.”

Codero, Harlow on AAU showcase All-Tournament Team

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Reese Codero (left) and Rylie Harlow (right) / Courtesy photos

Reese Codero and Rylie Harlow were named to the all-tournament team in their AAU showcase.

It is tough to ask for a better summer than the one Reese Codero and Rylie Harlow have put forth on the hardwood.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High rising seniors were once again named to the all-tournament team of their AAU showcase.

Codero, a Roger Williams commit, averaged 13.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 2 apg and 1.5 spg, while Harlow averaged 10.5 ppg, 8 rpg and 4 apg, leading the MT Elite Ducks Sapphire to a 3-1 weekend in the Ocean State Showcase.

“Rylie continues to be a steady contributor on both ends of the court doing whatever her team needed to be successful,” said head coach Dan Norton. “She is the captain of the Ducks sapphire ship.”

“Reese has multiple highlight-reel level plays, including a contested alley finish off a back screen,” Norton said. “She knocked down threes all weekend and got the rim at will.”

Codero commits to Roger Williams for basketball

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Reese Codero dribbles. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Reese Codero will play basketball at Roger Williams next season.

A three-sport varsity contributor at Whitman-Hanson Regional High, rising senior Reese Codero is taking her talents to the next level.

Codero has committed to play basketball at Roger Williams University, a Division III school in Bristol, Rhode Island, that competes in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

“I felt it was a good fit for me because I think I will be able to be successful academically but also challenged at the same time,” said Codero, who is planning to study criminal justice. “I have seen the team play a couple of times [and] I really admire their style. They are a type of team who plays together and not every girl for herself. They compete at a high level and I want to be a part of that.”

This past winter, Codero emerged as the Panthers’ starting point guard helping guide the program to its best regular-season record (14-6) since 2009-10 and first playoff win in eight years. She scored 7.1 ppg and dished out 3.2 apg en route to earning Patriot League All-Star status. And she is fully expecting to elevate her game as she writes the final chapter of her W-H basketball career.

“Before I get to Roger Williams, I am looking to grow not only as a player but as a person as well,” said Codero, who also plays soccer and softball. “I want to work on my game and have my weaknesses become strengths. I plan to keep improving everyday physically and mentally. During the upcoming high school season, I want to help my team compete for a league championship and to get better as a team.”

But before basketball, she’ll take aim at another league title in the fall in net for the girls’ soccer team.

Ben Rice set to shoot for a cause

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Ben Rice shoots a 3. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Ben Rice is set to take place in the A Shot for Life Challenge on Aug. 1 and to do so must raise at least $1,000.

Ben Rice hit a team-high 77 3-pointers during his senior season this past winter, helping to lead the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball team to a share of the Division 2 state title.

Now, Rice is ready to line up some more shots for an even bigger cause. Rice is one of 16 Massachusetts high school boys’ basketball players selected to take part in the A Shot For Life (ASFL) Challenge, which is scheduled to be held Saturday, Aug. 1 at Starland Sportsplex in Hanover. 

The event is a hybrid of a highly competitive basketball shooting competition and a fundraiser. ASFL is a multi-dimensional organization that raises money for cancer research, empowers athletes to use their abilities and talents for the benefit of others, and inspires hope. Funds raised by the A Shot For Life Challenge benefit the Dr. Curry Research Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. Each participant must raise at least $1,000. 

“After I was chosen I knew how important this event really is,” said Rice, who will play basketball at Connecticut College, this winter. “My goals are to have my fundraising total be well over the minimum of $1,000, to spread awareness about the cause to as many people as possible, and lastly, win the event.”

“Ben was one of the top shooters in the state his senior year and we all know he loves to shoot, so it’s great he can do something he is so passionate about and help so many people,” said W-H boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers. 

It is a competitive selection process to become A Shot For Life shooter, according to ASFL CEO and founder Mike Slonina. 

“We not only scout all prospective shooters closely, but we also interview for people of great character,” stated Slonina in a press release. “The selection process this year was heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying lockdown. This year more than ever, a player showing initiative and proactively wanting to use their talent for good carried a lot of weight. We are extremely proud of the 2020 roster as we welcome many new players into the A Shot For Life family. All of the participants involved in the A Shot For Life Challenge have committed to spend a significant amount of time and energy to raise money for brain cancer research. Their excitement and willingness to do so speaks volumes about who they are as people off of the court.”

To donate to ASFL for Rice, go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/2020-a-shot-for-life-challenge and type his name under the comment section. 

If the event is not able to go off as planned on Aug. 1, Slonina said they have contingency plans. 

“I am most looking forward to being able to compete with some of the best shooters I have ever heard of or played against and hopefully I have a great shooting day,” Rice said. 

A new bench boss: Rob Peters takes charge of boys’ hockey

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Rob Peters is the new boys’ hockey coach and he’s no stranger to the Patriot League.

Rob Peters knows firsthand what the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey team is capable of after serving as an assistant coach for Scituate the last two seasons. 

Not only did the Panthers go 2-0 against the Sailors last year during league play, but they also ended their season in the Division 2 South quarterfinals. 

“They’re (Whitman-Hanson) well respected, very difficult,” Peters said. “It’s always a dog fight to play Whitman-Hanson.”

Fortunately for Peters, he doesn’t have to worry about playing the Panthers anymore, after they hired him as their next head coach last month. 

“It’s definitely exciting being back behind the bench head coaching and kind of build off of a great, respected program,” Peters said. “I’m definitely excited to be a part of that.”

Peters succeeds Chris Googins, who stepped down to spend more time with his family, and Peters knows he has some big shoes to fill. Googins took the program from a one-win season in 2015 (his first season back in his second stint behind the Panthers bench) to its best campaign in at least 15 years this past winter, going 17-6-1 and earning a trip to the South semifinals. Peters said his philosophy mirrors the program’s current style quite well. 

“I like to coach a very disciplined, defensive-minded-first team, so I like having kids with good characters,” Peters said. “That’s what I saw as an outsider and then when I started to go through the interview process and learn more about Whitman-Hanson and who they are as a school and a community, there’s a lot of similarities with how I live my everyday life. As I went through the interview process, it reassured me that it was going to be a good fit.”

Peters’ duties at Scituate included running the power play, coaching the forwards and leading film sessions. Additionally, he owns and operates his own hockey skill development company. He also worked in community development and branding for the New Jersey Devils organization. 

“I think I’ll be able to add a little more versatility and a little more skill development [to W-H],” Peters said. 

A question for any new W-H boys’ hockey coach should be: How do you keep the program relevant?

“I want to try and have a little more input with their youth program,” Peters said. “I want to really get them excited to play for Whitman-Hanson hockey — kind of build from the bottom up.”

“Year after year, players change but the systems, the character, and everything that comes with the game mentally stays. If we create a family atmosphere, I think we can overcome anything.”

And the Panthers’ are going to have to overcome the graduation of a few key forwards in Patriot League All-Stars Adam Solari (23 goals, 11 assists) and Chris Stoddard (nine goals, 28 assists). However, they will return a league all-star in net, Bobby Siders, and freshman forward standout Matt Solari (18 goals, 14 assists). 

“I want to make the playoffs — that’s a big goal,” Peters said. “They had a really big year last year. We lost some key forwards but I think we are still going to have a great roster and character. I’m excited to see what these guys got. I want to get back in the playoffs — where they were last year.”

Whitman Area X baseball finds success

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With the high school and American legion baseball season being cancelled there was a potential for no baseball for the local high school players but Area x baseball was formed and started their season on July 6th. Whitman won the opening game of the season that night with a 6-2 win over Rockland. It was a great win and great to see these players who lost their spring and summers seasons out on the field playing again for the first time in a year. Tommy Marshall was the star on the mound coming in with the bases loaded and no outs and getting out of the jam and pitching shut out ball in relief. Offensive stars were Bobby Marshall and Chris Zalewski who each scored two runs and were on base 6 times.

On Monday night Whitman played against Pembroke who was leading the south region In Area x baseball. Whitman fell behind 6-2 but battled back to win the game 9-6. Ty Gordon and Tommy Marshall combined to pitch 4 innings of shut out relief. The offense was led by Cole Levangie who had 3 hits, Tommy Marshall who was on base all 4 times he batted and Chris Kenney who started 2 rallies and scored 2 runs. Jack Allen and Dan Bird also chipped in with 2 hits and ty Gordon came within inches of hitting the seasons first homerun.

Whitman also started a junior team in the Area x league and is off to a great start having only 1 loss. Ryan Mcdonald has picked up 4 wins on the mound. Sean Daggett, Sam and Ben Pace, Connor Sottak and  Matt Phelps have also chipped in with valuable innings pitched. Connor Sottak has been on fire at the plate, crushing the ball time after time. He has had plenty of help with Ryan Carroll, Sean Daggett, Josh Googins, Aidan Blake and Jake Falco putting up some great offensive numbers as well. Jack Carron missed the first couple games of the season but has played flawlessly in the field and at the plate since his return. Other team members who have helped get the new team off to the fast start are Ryan Hawley, Jake McAleer, Jake Googins and Manny Essling.

-head coach Mike Josselyn

Codero, Harlow have success on court

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Reese Codero looks on as Rylie Harlow dribbles the ball. / Courtesy photo

The childhood friends helped lead their program to a 5-5 record in the national tournament.

While some athletes treat the summer as an offseason, Whitman-Hanson Regional High rising senior girls’ basketball captains, Reese Codero and Rylie Harlow, are putting in the work.

The two are teammates on the AAU basketball team MT Elite Ducks Sapphire and lit it up over the weekend in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Indianapolis.

In their opener on Friday, the duo scored nine points apiece as the Ducks routed the Illinois Aristocrats, 65-44.

On Saturday, Codero scored a team-high 14 points and Harlow added 13, leading the Ducks to a 53-47 victory over Kessel Heat (Illinois) in their third game of the tournament.

Codero followed that up on Sunday, pumping in a co-team-high 11 points in a big 57-35 win over Nashville Stars Basketball Club.

The club finished its first tournament of the season with a 5-5 record.

Season Review: A championship run for boys’ basketball

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The Panthers celebrate a win at TD Garden. / Photo by: Sue Moss

This season’s boys’ basketball team earned the program’s first-ever state title.

Preparation for the state championship game was underway when Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ basketball head coach Bob Rodgers heard his phone ring. He had a hunch what it was going to be about.

“We just finished our film session and scouting report and we were about 15 to 20 minutes into the on-court portion of practice when I got the phone call,” Rodgers said. “I stepped out of the gym to take it and walked in and I could see the kids. We all knew it was inevitable.”

The Panthers Div. 2 state title game against Taconic was canceled. While the initial reaction was heartbreaking, Rodgers said it didn’t take long to put it into perspective.

“One thing I told the kids is to look up at the banners in the gym on that boys’ basketball league championship banner, there’s a co-champion in there,” said Rodgers, who wrapped up his 20th year on the Panthers’ bench. “Nobody knows what year it is. It’s such a great accomplishment for the kids to win our first-ever state championship. It’s not going to say co-champions, it’s going to say state champions. That’s what they are.

“We were all pretty confident we were gonna be able to complete it if we were able to play that last game.”

It’s tough to argue with that. The Panthers (25-2) hadn’t lost in nearly two and a half months and were riding a state-best 23-game winning streak.

“When I realized how good of a basketball team we were was when we were at Scituate,” Rodgers said. “Scituate was an outstanding basketball team and we played near flawless basketball and made a big statement (75-45 victory).”

One of many big statements for the Panthers, who knocked off Div. 1 contenders Brockton (75-70) and Mansfield (72-59) to win the Roundball Classic, and capped the season by getting over the hump at TD Garden with an 86-68 rout of Beverly. 

“The accomplishments of the team, to end the season with a win at the TD Garden,” Rodgers said, “so many positives we can take from it.”

The Panthers were buoyed by a balanced attack all season — led by senior captain Stevie Kelly. The Clarion University commit was a stat-sheet stuffer, recording 14 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game en route to being named Patriot League Keenan Division MVP.

“Stevie is a great story,” Rodgers said. “He was cut from the middle-school basketball team and he is somebody who has a tremendous work ethic and if he’s not good at something, he’s going to keep practicing it until he gets better at it. He’s like having another coach on the team. He’s one of the all-time best players that ever played at Whitman-Hanson.”

Many of Kelly’s assists were to fellow senior captain and Patriot League Keenan Division All-Star Ben Rice. Rice, who stands at 6-foot-7, knocked down 77 3-pointers, leading the team with 14.7 ppg to complement 5.9 rpg. 

“He just had such a passion and love for basketball and the basketball gods rewarded him by making him 6-7,” Rodgers said of Rice, who will play at Connecticut College next season. “I think he played his best basketball at the end of the season.”

Juniors Cole LeVangie (11.4 ppg, 5 rpg) and Nate Amado (13.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg) were also named Patriot League Keenan Division All-Stars. The captain-elects combined for 99 3-pointers. 

“They’re both incredible, multi-dimensional basketball players,” Rodgers said. “They can shoot it, get to the hole, they can rebound, they can handle it. They both have very similar styles of play. They’re both extremely coachable, very kind and outstanding leaders. I’m really excited about having them as the foundation for trying to continue what we’ve been having going on at Whitman-Hanson for a long time.”

Seniors Tommy Vassil (headed to play at Springfield Commonwealth Academy prep school next year) and John Zeidan were also key parts of the Panthers’ run this season. 

“I consider us to be a character-based program,” Rodgers said. “We try to be the best people we can be. Not perfect people by any means but my kids take pride that they’re role models for the younger kids in the community. They have been through the Whitman-Hanson experience as kids so they recognize the importance they have on the future of Whitman-Hanson basketball and take great pride in it. For me, that’s what makes this program special.”

Googins steps down as W-H boys’ hockey coach

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Whitman-Hanson Regional High is looking for a boys’ hockey coach.

After the program’s best run in at least 15 years, Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey head coach Chris Googins has stepped down.

“This is a huge loss for our school, but I get it,” said W-H athletic director Bob Rodgers. “Not only is Chris a tremendous coach, he is an even better father. His youngest son is playing hockey in college and he simply did not want to miss the opportunity to share that journey with him.”

Googins served six seasons as the boys’ hockey coach in the early 2000s before departing to take over the head coaching responsibilities at Framingham State University. He returned to W-H in 2016, as the Panthers skated to a one-win campaign. This past season, they won 17 games and earned a berth in the Div. 2 South semifinals. 

“Coach Googins touched all the bases as a high school coach,” Rodgers said. “ He taught his players so much more than just hockey and in his final lesson to the boys he showed them that family always comes first. We are fortunate that he will remain with our school in his current teaching position.”