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Season Preview: Boys’ indoor track has some big shoes to fill

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Returner Billy Martell last season. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The boys’ indoor track looks to build over the season.

Head coach Mike Driscoll’s expectation of his Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ track team is for it to show constant improvement.

The Panthers, who finished the year 2-3 last winter, have some large voids to fill with the graduation of all four of their Div. 3 All-State qualifiers in Brian Edwards, Brett Holmes, Andrew Newman and Jack Ryan.

“Those holes are big with those guys, and they create some problems in our lineup, but there will be kids stepping into their roles,” said the team’s sixth-year head coach. “I don’t know if they can say they’re going to step into Jack Ryan’s shoes or a Brett Holmes’ shoes or Andrew Newman’s shoes, but we certainly have kids who are ready.”

W-H does return its fair share of talent. Senior captain Billy Martell emerged last season as one of its top sprinters and relay runners. This season, he’ll throw the shot put in addition to running the 55-meter dash, 300-meter dash, long jumping and running a leg of a relay.

“He’s just a fast kid,” Driscoll said. “He can throw the shot put up to 40 feet. He fills a lot of holes on a track team.”

Martell, along with fellow senior captain Dan Kline, classmate Brandon O’Brien and junior Kyle O’Brien, are at the center of the Panthers’ strength – their sprinting.

“We feel like the sprinting group is our top group,” Driscoll said. “We have some really good distance runners, too.”

The distance runners are led by a bevy of cross country runners from the fall.

Senior captain Shane Schraut, a boys’ cross county captain, will run distance and relay in addition to hurdling as well.

“He’s a great leader and a passionate kid about track,” Driscoll said. “He’s very dynamic. He can cover a lot of ground in a lot of events. He can go from the 600 down all the way down to the 55 dash.”

Other cross country runners in the fall bolstering the Panthers in the distance events will be junior Brandon Hager and sophomores Liam Cafferty, Theo Kamperides and Chris MacDonald.

Kline will also throw shot put, and chip in running a relay and hurdle.

“Dan is one of the best hurdlers in the league,” Driscoll said. “He’s a very hardworking kid.”

Junior Pat Bui fills gaps in the 55-meter dash, 300-meter dash and shot put.

The Panthers are back in action Friday, Dec. 21 at 4:30 p.m. against Hingham at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury.

“We’ll see where we matchup with Hingham,” Driscoll said. “We still might have enough depth to win a league championship but we’ll compete.”

A look back at Week 2

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A look back on Week 2.

The winter action is in full swing at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

Boys’ basketball (1-1) received 21 points from junior Ben Rice and 15 from classmate Colby Ahern to defeat Quincy, 63-52, in its opener Tuesday, Dec. 11. The Panthers outscored the Presidents 36-20 in the second half to erase a five-point deficit. …On Friday, W-H fell on the road, 58-55, to Hingham. Sophomore Cole LeVangie paced Bob Rodgers’ club with 14 points.

Girls’ basketball (0-2) fell to Quincy, 57-44, on the road in its opener Tuesday, Dec. 11. Junior Brittany Gacicia was the Panthers’ high scorer with 11. … On Friday, Jenna Olem’s team hosted and fell to Hingham, 42-34. Senior captain Olivia Johnson dumped in eight points and snatched seven boards in the defeat.

Boys’ hockey (1-1-1) skated to a 4-4 tie against Silver Lake on Wednesday, Dec. 12. Junior Eddie Collins scored twice, while senior captain Ed Scriven and junior assistant captain Adam Solari both added goals. … On Saturday, despite a hat trick from junior Chris Stoddard, W-H still fell to Scituate, 5-4, in a back-and-forth affair.

Boys’ indoor track (1-0) edged Duxbury, 51-49, Wednesday, Dec. 12. Wins came from sophomores Liam Cafferty (mile, 4:58.41) and Theo Kamperides (2-mile, 10:48.76), juniors Brandon Hager (1,000m, 2:54.19) and Pat Bui (300m, :40.85) and senior captain Dan Kline (55m hurdles, :09.62).

Girls’ indoor track (0-1) fell to Duxbury, 59-41, Wednesday, Dec. 12. Senior captain Ally Bartlett (:09:70) produced a win in the 55-meter hurdles as did sophomore Izzy Amado (3:24.15) in the 1,000-meter run and senior Maeve McDonough (12:59.17) in the 2-mile run.

Boys’ swimming/diving (1-1) fell to North Quincy/ Quincy, 86-78, on Monday, Dec. 10. … The co-op upended Randolph, 91-71 on Friday.

Girls’ swimming/diving (2-0) swam past North Quincy/ Quincy, 99-80, on Monday, Dec. 10. In the 100-meter backstroke, junior Madison Navicky clocked in at 1:13.47. … On Friday the co-op defeated Randolph, 88-50. Navicky qualified for states and junior Nikki Kamperides set a personal-best in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:23.59.

Wrestling (1-8) was downed by Plymouth North, 48-30, Wednesday, Dec. 12. Wins via pin came from sophomore Matt Butler (126 pounds), senior Joel McInnis (152), junior captain Tyler Cullinan (170), freshman Jason Rapoza (182) and senior captain Christian Schneider (195). … On Saturday, the Panthers went 1-4 on the day in a super-quad meet. The victory came against Pembroke by a score of 41-39, while the losses came to Marshfield (42-39), Toll Gate, Rhode Island (42-39), Oliver Ames (60-18) and Duxbury (54-23). Butler finished the day 4-1 to lead Gary Rabinovitz’ young team.

*Express weekly roundups consist of games from Monday to Saturday.

Season Preview: Panthers wrestling team no longer lacks experience

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Tyler Cullinan records a pin in the Panthers’ opener. / Photo from: Gary Rabinovitz

The Panthers look to snap a streak of two seven-win seasons.

What was once a weakness is now a strength for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High wrestling team.

“We were very young last season and all of our returning wrestlers gained valuable varsity time,” said third-year head coach Gary Rabinovitz. “In wrestling, experience and mat time counts and we have a lot of that returning this year. Taking your licks one year makes you a better wrestler the next.”

The Panthers return all three of their Div. 2 South Sectional qualifiers and their top two wins leaders, as they try to push past the seven-win mark, where they’ve been stuck on for the past two winters.

“The goal has been to grow this program to the next level and that has not changed,” Rabinovitz said. “We will look to improve on our dual meet win-loss record and then qualify several wrestlers for the D2 state championships in February.”

The program’s youth is its best chance to propel it to the next level. Junior captain Steve Brooks returns to the mat to compete in the 152-pound weight class yet again after posting a team-leading 19 victories and 15 pins to qualify for Div. 2 South Sectionals last season.

“Steve worked hard in the offseason wrestling at Dungeon Training Center in Hanover,” Rabinovitz said. “With two sessions of offseason wrestling under his belt, Steve should be a more competitive wrestler this year.”

Sophomores Matt Butler, Damari Goldsmith-Greene and Myles McInnis headlined an impressive core of freshmen to hit the mat last season. The three combined for 38 wins. Butler returns to the 126-pound weight class after he ranked second on the team with 16 victories, placed in three tournaments and qualified for the Div. 2 South Sectionals.

“Matt Butler brings a lot of energy and experience to this year’s team,” Rabinovitz said.

Goldsmith-Greene produced 11 victories and 55 points out of the 132-pound weight class last winter. “Damari has been working very hard every day in practice and looks like a seasoned veteran,” Rabinovitz said. “Damari will start the season in the 138-pound weight class and looks to drop to the 132-pound weight class before too long.”

Myles McInnis also racked up 11 victories, but in the 106-pound weight class. This winter he’ll compete at 113 pounds. His brother Joel McInnis, a senior, was the team’s other sectional qualifier after a 12-win season at 145 pounds, a weight class he’ll return to.

“Both were varsity starters last season and have tons of experience,” Rabinovitz said.

Junior Tyler Cullinan will serve as one of the captains and bump up to the 170-pound weight class from 160, where he tallied 11 wins last season.

“Tyler surprised many as a wrestler last season with a deadly headlock that I know he will be using again this season,” Rabinovitz said.

Junior Matt Rock will provide the team with some much-needed depth due to his ability to compete at both 120 and 126 pounds. Senior captain Christian Schneider is back from a knee injury and will wrestle in the 195-pound weight class. A pair of freshmen in Joe Boss (106 pounds) and Jason Rapoza (182) will be looked upon to have an immediate impact.

“I look for this team to grow week after week so that we peak at the proper time, that being sectionals and then the state tournament,” Rabinovitz said.

The Panthers return to mat Saturday at Dec. 15 beginning at 9:30 a.m. for a super-quad meet in Marshfield. 

“Dec. 19 at Silver Lake will be a real barn-burner, as we have split the last two seasons,” Rabinovitz said. “Jan. 30 should also be a big match with Duxbury as we surprised them last year at Duxbury.”

Season Review: Football team seniors made their mark from the start

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Seniors with trophy. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The senior-laden Panthers went 8-3 on the season.

When they were freshmen, Whitman-Hanson Regional High football head coach Mike Driscoll knew there was just something different about this season’s group of seniors.

“There were a bunch of them,” Driscoll said. “They started with like 40 kids and they were rolling people and playing good football.”

But the success isn’t what caught his immediate attention.

“You could tell the core of the kids really loved the game,” Driscoll said. “We kind of knew coming into their sophomore year that we were going to get something out a few of the kids. We knew early on that they were going to be a pretty good group.”

As sophomores they helped lead the team to a 7-4 season, as juniors they did the same, but in their final seasons the 16 of them helped Driscoll hit a mark he hadn’t since his first year as head coach. That’s the eight-win plateau.

“I told the seniors how proud we were of them for their four years in the program, and I told the younger guys to remember how it feels and do what those kids did and just continue on what they did,” said the eighth-year head coach.

The Panthers posted statement wins over Marshfield (41-13) in their opener, Quincy (39-0), Silver Lake (29-6) and Abington (16-0) on Thanksgiving.

“They were a hard-working group,” Driscoll said. “They were a resilient group and they were talented.”

With its offense working through some changes throughout the season, W-H’s defense was its one constant, as it recorded three shutouts and surrendered just 11.7 points per game. The unit was led by senior captain and league all-star Mike Connors. The middle linebacker racked up a team-leading 100 tackles.

“Mike is the quarterback in the middle and made our defense run,” Driscoll said. “He knows the game inside and out and it pays off. Mike is a student of the game.”

While Connors shored up the middle, senior Billy Martell was the rock in the secondary, recording 52 tackles and three interceptions from his safety position. On offense, he chipped in 518 rushing yards and three scores. The two-way threat was also a league all-star.

“He’s very dynamic in the backfield but his defense was really, really impressive at safety,” Driscoll said. “You didn’t have to worry about too much with him in the back.”

Senior captain Quinn Sweeney and classmate Ryan Trongone were also two-way stars for W-H on the line. Sweeney was second on the team with 85 tackles and led it with 24 tackles for loss and seven sacks en route to a league all-star selection. Trongone was second on the team with 17 tackles for loss to go with 65 tackles.

“They’re the heart and soul of the team,” Driscoll said. “[They’re] gritty, tough and hard-nosed football players. They played great, but they also practiced great.”

Senior Nate Beath, a transfer from Pembroke, was a three-way asset for W-H due to his punting (31.8 punt average), blocking, rushing (244 yards, two TDs) and tackling (58 tackles and 5.5 sacks).

“Nate can do it all, he’s a really, really good football player,” Driscoll said. “I wish we had him in our program for all four years because I think he’s a legit player. He’s as good as they come.”

On offense, senior captain Ethan Phelps rushed for 654 yards and 12 TDs and was tabbed a league all-star.

“He could see the field pretty well,” Driscoll said. “We knew he was a great runner so he stepped into that role and from Day 1 he moved forward and got better at it as the season went on.”

It’s tough to find one player who had a more immense impact on the offense than senior captain Rian Schwede, who switched from wide receiver to fill a void at quarterback early in the season. In an Oct. 15 win over Quincy, he ran for, caught and threw a TD.

“Without Rian, we don’t win eight games,” Driscoll said. “That’s a fact. Rian Schwede gave up being an allleague receiver to switch to quarterback to help the team and that shows a lot about him as a person and his character.”

Driscoll said that while he’s graduating significant talent off this season’s roster, he’s optimistic about what the future holds for his program that finished off the year with a combined freshman, JV and varsity record of 20-1.

“We won a lot of football games this fall,” he said. “These kids know how to win, they work hard. They’re already working hard. We think we’re in good shape. We’re not where we want to be yet but we’re going to get there.”

Season Preview: Health, leadership key for boys’ hockey

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Senior captain Ed Scriven (top), senior assistant captain Owen Manning (bottom left) and junior assistant captain Adam Solari (bottom right). / Photo by: Sue Moss

After missing out on the tournament by two points last season, the boys’ hockey team is healthy and ready to go.

After an injury-riddled second half of the season led to the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey team missing out on the playoffs by two points last winter, everyone’s healthy, and the team is looking to show what it can do when it has a clean bill of health.

“It’s safe to say one of the goals is to qualify for the state tournament,” said ninth-year head coach Chris Googins, in the third season of his second stint with the club. “It hasn’t happened for a while and it would be pretty neat for the kids.”

Sophomore defenseman Kevin Willis, who sustained a torn ACL last season, is one of the key players back from injury for the Panthers. He, along with classmates Jack Allen and Josh Pike and junior Reed Watson, will see significant time on the blue line.

“I’d say the level of importance on defense is our strength,” Googins said. “It’s one of the first couple of things we discuss through the course of the year, whether on or off the ice, and they really bought into it the first couple of days it looks like they’ve been doing a good job just defending.”

Junior forward Chris Stoddard, who was tied for fifth on the team with nine points through 12 games last winter, was sidelined for the final three weeks. This season, he’ll be joined by classmates John Hagan and Eddie Collins on the second line.

“They’ve been in the program for three years,” Googins said. “There’s high expectations for that group.”

LEADERSHIP

On the first line for the Panthers will be senior captain Ed Scriven, senior assistant captain Owen Manning and junior assistant captain Adam Solari. All are multi-sport captains and provide the team with substantial leadership.

“We have three really good captains this year,” Googins said. “They’re also good mentors.”

Scriven’s 11 goals were second on the team last season, and he’ll be relied upon heavily to make up for the production lost with the gradation of league all-stars Korey Howard and Alex Uva, who combined for 27 goals and 26 assists.

“Ed’s got a dynamic shot,” Googins said of Scriven, who also captained the golf team. “He’s got a very hard shot, and he’s put in a lot of time. He’s put in a lot of work in the offseason. He’s a very good and a very fluent skater with a dynamic shot, so that’s a good combination to have in high school hockey.”

Manning, who was also a golf captain, scored seven goals and dished out six assists last winter.

“Owen is a highly respected kid on and off the ice,” Googins said of Manning. “Owen brings a nice level of grittiness and he’s got a real good hockey IQ. He knows when to shoot and he knows when to pass. I consider him to be one of our top playmakers.”

Solari’s eight-goal, 11-assist campaign last winter shined a light on what he can bring to the table. But so did his election as an assistant captain.

“It speaks for himself as a junior to be elected a captain by his peers,” Googins said of Solari, who also captained the boys’ cross country team. “He’s very well respected by his peers. He’s got a really quick release, a real quick release, and he’s got a knack for the net, and I’m hoping that can carry over from last sea son.”

In net, it’s a three-player battle between junior R.J. Flynn, sophomore transfer from Archbishop Williams Bobby Siders and freshman Erik Dean to take over the reins from Ricky Welch.

“Competition is healthy, it really is,” Googins said. “It makes everyone better.”

The Panthers open the season Saturday, Dec. 8 at 3:10 p.m. at Hobomock Arenas against league opponent Pembroke.

“The kids are very receptive to learning, very knowledgeable of the game,” Googins said “They know the level of intensity that needs to be present at practice, and there’s minimal motivating at practice because it’s pretty up tempo. They know what the barometer is now.”

Season Preview: Lots of depth on girls’ basketball team

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Jenna Olem talks to her team against Scituate last season. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Panthers return a lot from a team that posted an eight-year best 13-9 record last winter, as head coach Jenna Olem begins her sixth season at the helm.

For the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ basketball team, the pieces to the puzzle are there, now it’s just about connecting them.

“It has a been a four-year process of them all coming together for this year particularly,” said sixth-year head coach Jenna Olem.

The Panthers return all but three players from last winter’s roster that led the program to an eight-year best 13-9 record. Almost all the seniors have been with Olem since at least their sophomore seasons, while the returning three juniors and two sophomores received significant playing time last season. The core showed signs of greatness, displayed by their 7-0 start last season, but stumbled down the stretch, going just 6-9 the rest of the way. Olem said she believes this season’s team is more prone to halt a slide like that.

“I think last year, we did have a younger team, with only two seniors,” Olem said. “The juniors, now seniors were getting their first taste of real playing time as were the sophomores and freshmen. It’s natural to hit some bumps within the mid-January stretch, but I think the girls are experienced enough to stop the bleeding quickly when they face adversity.”

Senior two-year captains and Patriot League All-Stars Kathryn Dunn and Erin Leahy will lead the way once again this winter.

Dunn led the team in nearly every statistical category last season, including points (11.3), assists (1.9) and steals (1.8). Her 5.7 rebounds per game, ranked second. Dunn will be used mostly as a stretch four to open up the court.

“Many of our offensive sets will be designed to get the ball in her hands to lead the offensive attack,” Olem said. “To be honest, I think Kathryn is capable of doing even more for us this year, especially as far as scoring goes. I want her to have that confidence that if she has a chance to score, we want her to score first.”

After being used mainly down low last season, Leahy will slide back into the point guard role, where she was as a sophomore.

“Her ability to see the floor, control the pace of play and handle defensive pressure are crucial,” Olem said. “Erin also presents a problem to opposing defenses because she is so much bigger than most guards. She can shoot the three, post up, and find the open man.”

Sophomore Reese Codero (4.1 ppg last season) will start at the two guard, joining Dunn and Leahy in the starting lineup. Junior Brittany Gacicia and senior Meg Henaghan are the front-runners to round out the starting lineup at small forward and center, respectively. However, Olem said she doesn’t read too much into who takes the court for the opening tip.

“The great strength about this team is that there is no real drop off between the starters and the people coming off the bench,” she said. “Everyone has something to offer. I think the versatility of our roster is balanced that we can fit a lot of people into the starting lineups depending on matchups, so I believe it will change through out the season.”

Olem said that when the 6-foot-2 Henaghan is on the court, she’ll look to her to provide a steady presence down low, due to the team’s lack ofheight elsewhere.

“She can take up space in the paint, block or alter shots and get rebounds,” Olem said. “She will have to use her skillset and her body to be that dominant player on the boards and anchor the defense down low.”

With Henaghan providing the Panthers with just about their only size down low, as opposed to last season when senior captains Halle Julian and Alyssa Nicholson clogged up the paint, Olem said their offensive philosophy will differ.

“We will be more dependent on playing with more guards, instead of traditional post play as we’ve done in the past,” Olem said. “We have so many players who can do a variety of things with the ball. Because they are mostly interchangeable skill-wise I feel confident I can use them in a variety of positions. We will have more of a spread offense look and continue to run.”

However, their aggression on defense, set and embodied by senior Olivia Johnson, will not change.

“[Olivia] brings that unbelievable sense of competition to everyone and is an absolute game-changer on the defensive end,” Olem said. “I think defense obviously sets the tone and shows the toughness of the team and will be something that we stress every day in practice. We will press and mix up our defenses depending on matchups.”

Olem noted she was pleasantly surprised to see the improvement of both junior Hannah Damon and sophomore Rylie Harlow, while she’s excited to see what junior Olivia Martin will bring to the offense this season.

The Panthers begin their campaign Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. on the road against Patriot League foe Quincy.

“There is no considerable drop off from one player to the next and many of the players have interchangeable skills, which is nice to have,” Olem said. “I think that on any given night, a different player will have an opportunity to help the team win.”

Season Preview: WHSL girls’ hockey is much improved

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Emily McDonald of Whitman keys the returnees back for WHSL. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The WHSL looks to move on from a 2-18 season last winter.

For the Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake high school girls’ hockey team, it’s a lot more clear heading into this season than it was going into last winter, when it returned just eight players.

“It was a shock to all of us,” said fourth-year head coach Kevin Marani of the lack of familiar faces to start last season.

With the exception of a select few, Marani had no idea who was going to play, or even who could play and where.

“Last year was a trying year,” he said.

While it was a trying season, it certainly wasn’t a lost one for WHSL, which went 2-18 overall with both wins coming in the final month. The Panthers had 15 new faces, 11 of whom were freshmen.

“The first part of any freshman year, you’re just learning,” Marani said. “You think you know high school hockey and speed and you don’t.”

Nine of those now-sophomores are back, along with a handful of upperclassmen, while a former league all-star has returned and a few incoming freshmen have impressed, all combining to put WHSL in a good spot this winter.

“The experience that we have with all the sophomores that we have along with the return of [Alyssa Murphy] and there are a couple freshmen are going to be helpful for us,” Marani said. “The newness of playing in high school hockey is gone and now it’s experience. Confidence breeds success.”

Yes, junior Alyssa Murphy (Kingston), who played for the junior hockey team Walpole Express last season, has returned.

“She’s just a great kid, a great hockey player,” Marani said.

Murphy scored 20 goals and dished out 23 assists as a freshman. WHSL scored just 31 goals last winter.

“When we let up a goal, we’d be defeated,” Marani said. “We could not score. She’s also a lot faster from when she was a freshman, she’s probably one of our faster, if not fastest girls.”

Murphy will captain the team with senior Maddie Soule (Hanson).

“She’s a great leader and great kid,” Marani said of Soule “I believe the two captains that we choose, we could not be happier.”

Emily McDonald (Whitman), who scored three goals last season, will be looked upon to produce even more in her sophomore campaign.

“This year, I can see the strength,” Marani said. “She’s stronger. Her shot’s better. Her passes are more crisp, pure strength.”

Sophomores Caity Hazley (one goal, nine assists last season) and Ellie Grady (one goal, two assists), both of Kingston, also provide some goal-scoring potential on the wing.

Senior Zoe Lydon (Hanson) and sophomores Neve Corkery (Kingston) and Caleigh Thompkins (Kingston) will help sure up the blue line with the transfer of junior Natalie Nemes (Kingston), the team’s lone league all-star last season, to Tabor Academy.

GOALKEEPERS

After entering last season with no goalies, the Panthers embark on their upcoming campaign with two sophomores Kat Gilbert (Halifax), who is the starter, and Rylee Moran (Whitman). Both have been working with a goalie coach brought on about midway through last season.

“Kat had started and just didn’t know the nuances of being a goalie and this summer, both her and Rylie have gone to multiple, multiple goalie clinics and it’s just about knowing how to play the position,” Marani said.

Marani said he’s put a heavy emphasis on improvement in two key areas thus far that go hand in hand with success in the win column.

“It comes straight down to passing and shooting, and that’s something these girls have been working on in every practice, along with [then] going home and shooting against a garage door or a wall and passing it against a wall,” he said “They see the teams we play and how good of a passing team they are. If we can improve our passing and our shooing, hitting the open net, we’ll score a lot of goals.”

Marani said he’s excited to see what his sophomore-driven team does in the future.

“Going through tough times makes you closer,” he said. “You can either get closer or start fighting with each other. They want to take a team that was 2-18 and make the state tournament and maybe one day win a league championship. There’s still three years to go. They’re only going to mature more and they do have the talent.”

WHSL will open the season Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. against Dennis-Yarmouth at Troy Kent Arena.

“I just want to see competitiveness,” Marani said. “I want them to be a competitive team. Go out and play like you can win and let the chips fall in the net. If we don’t win, that’s fine. I want to see we’re competing and improving every game and if we can do that by the end of the year, we’re going to be fine.”

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

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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.”

Panthers stem the Green Wave: W-H football finally hits 8-win mark, gobbles up Abington 16-0

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Entire team with Dennis. M. O’Brien Trophy. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Panthers received big-time production from their seniors en route to a Turkey Day win over Abington.

When the Whitman-Hanson Regional High football team bowed out of the playoffs, the heartbreak didn’t last for long.

“After one or two days, we said, ‘We need to step it up and let last week go. The past is in the past. We’re now in the present and we need to move on,’” W-H senior captain Quinn Sweeney said of the team’s emotions after a 21-13 loss to North Attleboro in the first round of the playoffs.

Yes, the disappointment still lingered, but the Panthers still had something to play for, and that’s where they shifted their attention. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Panthers – 5-3 at the time – were aiming to win eight games, a feat the program hadn’t accomplished since 2011. Reaching the eight-win mark was personal, especially for most of the 21 seniors who watched this team go 7-4 for the past three seasons, and played major roles in the past two.

“The next week comes,” Sweeney said, “and we’re like, ‘Bishop Feehan. We have three more games together as a team. We need to finish strong.’”

The Panthers knocked off Feehan, 21-20, and fended off Bridgewater-Raynham, 15-14, the following week to put them one win away from No. 8 with a Thanksgiving tilt with rival Abington standing in their way. After three-plus hours of football in the subfreezing temperatures, they can finally call themselves an 8-3 football team.

Backed by a dominating defensive effort and a second-quarter scoring spurt, W-H shut out Abington (8-3), 16-0, in the 108th Thanksgiving Day meeting between the two.

Senior captain Ethan Phelps starred out of the backfield for W-H, carrying the ball 16 times for 148 yards.

Leading 6-0 after a Nate Beath (seven carries for 69 yards, TD) 6-yard TD run, Phelps took a handoff and darted 65 yards inside the 25-yard line. A few plays thereafter, senior Jake O’Brien drilled home a 23-yard field goal.

On the ensuing kickoff, a Green Wave fumble landed in the hands of Panthers senior Ryan Downing. On the next play, Phelps connected with senior captain Rian Schwede on a 25-yard TD to put the Panthers up 16-0 with less than a minute remaining in the first half.

“It feels so good,” said an emotional Phelps after the game. “I’m just really happy we could pull it together and go 8-3.”

W-H’s defense, keyed by three fumble recoveries by Beath, took care of business the rest of the way.

Driscoll stressed the importance of his strong senior class playing in their last ever high school football games.

“It’s all about the seniors,” Driscoll said. “The seniors carried this game today.”

Season Review: Freshmen kick it into full gear for girls’ soccer

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Freshman Nora Manning. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The freshmen accounted for nearly 53 percent of the Panthers’ goals this season.

Coming into the season, 23-year head coach David Floeck wasn’t sure what to expect out his Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team.

The Panthers were looking to make up for the graduation of nine seniors, most critically Lauren Bonavita, who cemented herself in program history with a 43-goal senior season to become its all-time leading goal scorer with 113.

He knew his team was going to be young, and that one girl wouldn’t replace the foot of Bonavita, it was going to be a joint effort. But if you told him over half (27 of 51) of his team’s goals would come from freshmen, he would have never imagined.

“Certainly, I think the impact our freshmen had was a nice surprise,” Floeck said.

Freshman striker Kelsee Wozniak led the way with 11 tallies to go with seven assists for the Panthers, who finished the season with a 14-2-4 record after a Div. 1 South quarterfinals loss to Hingham, 2-1. Along with being named a league all-star, she was selected as First-Team All-Eastern Mass.

“For her to come in as a freshman and lead our team in scoring was certainty a tremendous accomplishment,” Floeck said.

Wozniak pumped in multiple goals on numerous occasions, including a hat trick in a 5-1 season-opening win against Notre Dame Academy of Hingham.

“She’s very good technically, her skills are excellent and she’s an outstanding athlete,” Floeck said. “You put those two things together with the fact that she’s an extremely competitive kid, and that is what makes her so special.”

Fellow freshmen Olivia Borgen and Nora Manning added eight goals apiece, which was good for second on the team.

“Olivia Borgen, who is a very talented player, some of her development is going to be around just getting stronger,” Floeck said.

“Nora brings great athleticism and speed, and hopefully she will continue to get better in the technical part of the game and kind of understanding her role as a striker.”

However, scoring wasn’t the Panthers’ strength, as they tallied just 51 goals on the season, a nine-year low for the program, according to Floeck.

“Last year with Lauren scoring all the goals, we were still a really good defensive team, and maybe that got overshadowed a little bit,” Floeck said. “I think this year we really relied on that defensive posture that we’ve had, and that was kind of our strength.”

In net, four-year starter, senior captain Skylar Kuzmich, helped the team to eight shutouts. The Hofstra-bound goalkeeper was named a Patriot League All-Star and was selected as First-Team All-Eastern Mass.

“She’s been rock solid for four years, and from a coaching perspective there’s something great when you know game in and game out you’re going in with a goalkeeper who is confident and can play at a high level,” Floeck said. “It’s not always easy to find goalkeepers who can do that.”

In the back, Patriot League All-Star and junior Samantha Perkins, classmate Erin Wood, senior captain Olivia Johnson and freshman Ava Melia were standouts.

In addition to netting seven goals, Boston College-bound senior captain Sammy Smith often defended and most of the time locked down the opposing team’s best offensive talent. She was named an All-American, selected as First-Team All-Eastern Mass. and tabbed a Patriot League All-Star.

“Sammy is just a dominating presence on the field, whether it’s in the back, whether it’s in the midfield, she just can turn a game around with her speed, her athleticism, her skills,” Floeck said. “There’s not another Sammy Smith out there.”

Floeck said the high point of the season was Oct. 1 when the Panthers battled Hingham to a 0-0 tie on the road.

“We felt like our team, for that point of the season, really showed they could compete against one of the best teams around,” Floeck said.

“From there we felt like, if we could just fix some of the little things, that we were going to be a team that was tough to beat.”

Three weeks later, the Harborwomen knotted W-H up, 1-1, at Dennis M. O’Brien Field. The Panthers fell into an early 1-0 hole, which was a problem all season, before junior Riley Bina (six goals) scored the equalizer late.

“We had a number of times where we fell behind teams,” Floeck said. “What this young team showed us is they were very resilient and didn’t get down too much on themselves.”

W-H hung with Hingham all season in the Patriot League Keenan Division standings, but a 2-2 tie against Plymouth South in late September proved costly for the Panthers as the Harborwomen won the division by one point.

“I do think we were good enough to win the Patriot League, and I don’t know if I would have said that coming into the season,” Floeck said.

Floeck said he’s looking to see improvement in the goal scoring department next season, but noted it’s not going to happen overnight with such a young nucleus.

“We had games where we really struggled scoring and that’s why we tied more games than we’re probably accustomed to,” Floeck said. “I think that’s going to come with the continued growth of these young players, and that’s what’s encouraging that they’re young, so we know that they’re only going to get better.”