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A flair for heroics: O’Brien hits game-winning field goal, W-H upends New Bedford

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Before the season even started, Mike Driscoll let his feelings be known of his senior kicker Jake O’Brien.

“Jake is a big, big, big part of our team,” said the eighth-year Whitman-Hanson Regional High football coach back in August. “I’ve never had a kid who you feel confident trotting him out there from 40, 45.”

On Friday night, Driscoll’s confidence was tested as was O’Brien’s poise. 

After a Mike Connors run advanced the ball to the New Bedford 17 and two timeouts thereafter, O’Brien got his time to shine in front of a packed Dennis M. O’Brien Stadium. 

With four seconds remaining and the score knotted at 6, the fourth-year varsity kicker knocked in a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired to send the Panthers to a 9-6 victory.

“When it came time to do it, I wasn’t really thinking, just kind of instinct — all this practice time I’ve put in for a long, long time finally paid off for me tonight,” O’Brien said.

With 3:09 left, W-H (2-0) forced New Bedford (0-2) to punt after just a 17-second drive. On the punt, senior Billy Martell drew a catch interference call, which advanced the ball to the Whalers 40. Martell then bulldozed his way ahead 14 yards to get the Panthers inside New Bedford territory.

“I knew when Billy got that run we were in position there. He said we were good from inside 30, in warmups he was booming them in from like 45, so I felt pretty confident. He wanted the ball on the right hash and Mike (Connors) knew that, so Mike got it to the right hash and Jake came through.”

Junior John Zeidan – starting under center for senior quarterback Ethan Phelps (illness) – followed up Martell’s run by hitting senior Ryan Downing, who just had an interception, in stride down the left side for a 21-yard completion with time winding down to get into field goal range.

“I was a little nervous,” Zeidan said. “I knew what he had to do to win the game. I knew the plays.”

The Panthers struck first in this one with 37.4 seconds remaining in the first half when Connors plowed his way to pay dirt from 1 yard out. A 37-yard throw from Zeidan to senior captain Jacob Nixon keyed the drive.

Tru Williams countered for the Whalers in the third, hitting Joey Alverio on a 9-yard pitch and catch to even the score at 6.

W-H’s defense was sparked by senior captains Connors, Rian Schwede and Quinn Sweeney, along with Downing and seniors Nate Beath and Ryan Trongone.

The Panthers begin league play next week when they travel to Hingham (1-0) at 7 p.m.

“We’ll enjoy this for a little while and they we’ll get right back at it,” Driscoll said.

Defense dominant, offense outstanding in Whitman-Hanson football’s 41-13 victory over Marshfield

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Panthers football dominates Marshfield for season-opening victory.

Coming into Friday evening’s season opener, head coach Mike Driscoll was wary of his Panthers’ opponent — Marshfield. 

The Rams have been a perennial high school football powerhouse, boasting a pair of Super Bowls (‘09 and ‘14) since Whitman-Hanson’s last (‘01). Also, a change at the helm over the offseason led to former Hingham head coach Chris Arouca, who’s had his success against Driscoll (2-1, including a two-game winning streak dating back to ’16), taking over the Rams. 

However, it only took 11 minutes for that wariness to wear off as W-H jumped out to a two-touchdown lead after the first quarter and cruised to a 41-13 home triumph over Marshfield in a non-league tilt. 

“It feels pretty good now that it’s over,” Driscoll said. “I knew that they were going to be ready to play and they really came to play tonight.”

Senior Panthers dual-threat quarterback Ethan Phelps led the offense, garnering 187 total yards and four touchdowns. 

“It’s great to get a win under our belt,” Phelps said. “Everyone contributed.”

Phelps found pay dirt twice in a 5:34 span in the opening frame to put the hosts up 14-0 after one. 

The grounding and pounding carried over into the second quarter when rushing scores from seniors Billy Martell and Nate Beath, of 10 yards and one yard, respectively, gave the Panthers a 27-0 cushion. 

Phelps finished the quarter by flashing his arm, connecting with classmate Brandon Frawley for a 10-yard TD, to make it 34-0 at the half.

A 21-yard TD catch by CJ Guiliani from Phelps with 2:09 left in the third, coupled with a Jake O’Brien extra point, capped the Panthers’ offensive onslaught at 41.

“We try to spread it around,” Driscoll said. “We have so many weapons that we wanted to use them.”

Marshfield struck for two scores in the final frame. 

Senior captain Quinn Sweeney sparked the Panthers on defense with 10 tackles, while classmate and fellow captain Rian Schwede recorded an interception and had three catches for 48 yards. 

W-H will host New Bedford next Friday at 7 p.m. in another non-league contest. 

“We’ll enjoy this tonight and come tomorrow, we’ll be on to New Bedford so it’s gonna be a challenge there itself — a big, strong team coming into town.”

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: 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.”

Life’s ‘a little crazy,’ but Ethan Phelps thrives on it

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Ethan Phelps delivers to the plate in a May 4 3-2 win over Hanover. / Photo by: Sue Moss

It’s been a hectic few months for Ethan Phelps, a junior two-sport athlete at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

It was directly after the conclusion of the Whitman-Hanson Regional High baseball team’s 7-5 victory over North Quincy on Monday, Ethan Phelps — still in uniform after knocking in the game-winning run — hurried up to the high school to write teacher appreciation notes as part of his National Honor Society duties. That is just a glimpse into what has been a jam-packed few months for the junior.

On Saturday, it was much of the same for Phelps, who roams center field for the Panthers. After taking the SATs in the morning, it was straight to the baseball field for an afternoon tilt against Duxbury.

“It’s been hectic,” Phelps said. “I mean, I’m absorbing all of it and taking all of it in, I’m really enjoying it, but yeah it’s been a little crazy.”

For Phelps, it’s a good busy that stems from his dedication on and off the field as a multi-sport athlete.

It was at the outset of his sophomore year when Phelps was in a quarterback battle to assume the reins under center for the W-H football team. Since then, he has accounted for 56 touchdowns and helped guide the Panthers to back-to-back playoff berths.

“Ethan is an incredible dedicated student-athlete,” W-H football head coach Mike Driscoll said. “What everyone sees on the field is also what you get in the classroom, a student who gives it his all and is not satisfied with anything but the best possible result.”

His talent on the gridiron — which has been assisted by hours of work in the weight room — along with his 4.2 GPA, are two traits that landed Phelps the MIAA Student-Athlete of the Month Award in November. They’ve also earned him some high-level college football visits.

All within a two-month span, Phelps toured Williams College and Bryant University, along with Ivy League schools Dartmouth and Harvard.

“I’m leaning towards academics,” Phelps said of what he’s looking for in a school. “I’d rather use football to get into an even better academic school.”

On the diamond, Phelps and the Panthers are in the midst of the heart of their season, fresh off a five-game week that began April 30.

Phelps took the ball last Friday for his first career start and hurled eight innings of two-run ball as W-H knocked off Hanover, 3-2. Phelps tossed 83 pitches — 67 for strikes — in the extra-innings win.

“He throws gas,” W-H baseball head coach Pat Cronin said. “He’s got untapped speed and easy power. He’s such a gamer, he wants it badly. I’m glad he’s on our side.”

The next week doesn’t get any less chaotic for Phelps, with three advanced placement exams, a college visit to Middlebury and four baseball game on his docket.

“In the classroom, I obviously want to maintain my grades,” Phelps said. “Then, on the baseball field I think all of us will come together and maybe make a state championship run.”

Jack Kelly agrees to play for Bridgewater State

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Jack Kelly runs down field in the Panthers’ game against Abington on Thanksgiving. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Jack Kelly will play football at Bridgewater State University next season.

Whitman-Hanson Regional High senior Jack Kelly has committed to play football at Bridgewater State University.

“Bridgewater State is a great school for education,” Kelly explained. “My father attended there, and I am going to be a physical education major.

“The coaches who recruited me were in constant communication with me all throughout the season, and immediately made me feel a part of the program. The coaches stressed academics just as much as they did football. College football is a big deal, but they are also preparing us for our careers and to be successful in life.”

Kelly said he began being recruited by the Bridgewater State coaching staff after the New England Elite Football Clinic at Bentley University in July.

“After meeting them at the camp, the coaches stayed in constant communication through email, text and phone calls throughout the season,” Kelly said. “After the coaches had me up for two games in the fall, that solidified that Bridgewater [State] was the perfect fit for me.”

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Kelly played two years for the Panthers, having moved to Whitman his junior year from Brockton, where he played his freshman and sophomore campaigns as a Boxer.

This past season, Kelly started at linebacker for the Panthers and recorded 47 tackles, seven for loss, and broke up three passes.

W-H football head coach Mike Driscoll lauded Kelly’s worth ethic.

“Jack was a very, very hard worker,” Driscoll said. “He really attacked the weight room hard last offseason to get stronger and that’s why we moved him to linebacker, because he played some defensive back for us, but he worked so hard in the weight room and got so strong that we knew we had a position for him and he earned it.”

Kelly said his most memorable tilt as a Panthers was Oct. 6 when W-H defeated Plymouth North, 28-24, in the last minute.

“They were a big, physical team, and as a defense we rose to the occasion and got many hard-fought stops in the second half, which allowed us to pull out a huge win late in the game,” Kelly said.

Driscoll said Bridgewater State is landing a hard-working kid, who is going to give it 100 percent every day in Kelly.

“He’s a smart kid, he’s a good kid,” Driscoll said. “They’re getting a well-rounded individual.”

Kelly said the two main facets of being successful at football he learned as a Panther were hard work and preparation.

“At Whitman-Hanson, the entire program bought into offseason workouts,” he said. Not only did it make us bigger, faster and stronger for the 2017 season, but it really brought us together and united us as a team. For me, as a linebacker on defense, coach [Keith] Sweeney had us thoroughly prepared week in and week out with film work and attention to detail every day at practice.”

Bridgewater State, which competes in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference of NCAA Division III, finished 2-8 last season.

“College football will be a big adjustment, going from playing against boys to playing against men,” Kelly said. “However, having played for many great coaches along the way, I will be ready for the next change in my football career.”

Brett Holmes signs with Colby College

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Brett Holmes hauls in a pass against Silver Lake. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Brett Holmes will play football at Colby College next season.

Whitman-Hanson Regional High senior Brett Holmes has committed to play football at Colby College.

Holmes, who has only received two B’s throughout high school and is a member of the Business Honor Society, said the choice came down to finding a school that would challenge himself academically and set him up for a bright future.

“When I went to other schools, they tended to focus on Brett Holmes as a football player, and how they will make me a better football player,” Holmes said. “When I went to Colby, they emphasized making me a better man as well as a better football player.

“They want to make their players better people and players, rather than just a good football player, and they do so by requiring players to do community service, and mandatory academic sessions.”

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound Holmes was a three-year starter at cornerback and a two-year starter at wide receiver for W-H.

This past season, Holmes, who served as a captain, was a ball hawk on defense, intercepting a team-leading four passes. He also ranked third on the Panthers with 59 total tackles. On offense, Holmes tied for first on the team with 23 receptions and led W-H with 306 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

W-H football head coach Mike Driscoll, who also coaches Holmes on the boys’ indoor and outdoor track teams, lauded his leadership.

“Brett was an amazing leader, he does everything right off and on the field,” Driscoll said of Holmes, who was the Panthers’ Patriot League Scholar-Athlete recipient. “His hard work rubbed off on the other players and he showed the younger guys that hard work pays off. Colby is getting an amazing-student athlete, with first-class speed, a work ethic that is second to none and a winner.”

Holmes, who was a league all-star this past season, said his most memorable game as a Panther was his final at Dennis M. O’Brien Field – a 21-14 victory over Marshfield on Nov. 10. He hauled in three passes for 64 yards and a touchdown and came away with an interception in that one.

“Marshfield was fun because it was my last game on the field I had been playing on my entire life, and we were playing a top program that honestly thought they were going [to] roll us,” Holmes said. “Everybody on the team played great, and it was just a fun experience to be playing on that field with my friends for the last time. The sub-20-degree wind chill wasn’t too fun though.”

Holmes said the main lesson he learned during his tenure at W-H that he hopes to carry over to the collegiate level is just hard work.

“W-H taught [me] that you have to work for whatever you want, on the field, off the field, anything, you have to go and work for it,” he said.

Colby, which competes in the New England Small College Athletic Conference of NCAA Division III, finished 1-8 last season.

“Right now, I’d be quite the undersized defensive back, but if I can put on some muscle it’ll help,” Holmes said. “I expect to succeed by just doing whatever the coaches ask me to do.”

Holland commits to Trinity College

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Rilley Holland (center) readies to snap the ball during the Panthers’ game against Barnstable. / Photo by: Sue Moss

During Riley Holland’s four seasons on the offensive line, the Panthers’ rushing attack saw an immense amount of success — accumulating 9,339 yards and 102 touchdowns.

Whitman-Hanson Regional High senior Riley Holland has committed to play football at Trinity College.

“I looked at what school is going to give me the best chance to get a good degree, mixed with the best chance to play high-competitive football and Trinity fit both perfectly for me,” Holland said.

The 6-foot-2, 285-pound Holland was a four-year starter on W-H’s offensive line. He spent his first two seasons at left tackle, before shifting over to center, where he was tabbed a two-time Enterprise All-Scholastic. This past Thanksgiving, Holland set a school record with his 44th consecutive start.

During his four seasons on the offensive line, the Panthers’ rushing attack saw an immense amount of success — accumulating 9,339 yards and 102 touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, Holland, who manned a post on the defensive line since his sophomore campaign, totaled 144 tackles and 4.0 sacks over his high school career. Holland, a captain this past season, is also a two-time Patriot League Keenan Division All-Star on the gridiron.

W-H football head coach Mike Driscoll, who just concluded his seventh season at the helm of the program, said Holland is the best all-around lineman he has ever coached.

“Riley brought a toughness to the offensive line and an overall understanding of the scheme [which] was huge on game days,” Driscoll said. “Riley will get to work right away for Trinity and it will not surprise me if he starts next year, he will help them big time.”

At Trinity, Holland will be reunited with former W-H trench-mate Matt Evans, whom he spent two years with on the Panthers’ offensive line.

“Knowing someone there and being able to talk to him about the school and the chances you get was definitely something that I enjoyed throughout the process,” Holland said.

Holland said his best moment playing for W-H, which boasted a 25-19 record during his time there, was on Thanksgiving of his junior season, when the Panthers came roaring back from a three-touchdown deficit to defeat Abington, 29-28.

“Being down 21-0 and coming back to win that game, that was huge,” Holland said.

Trinity, which competes in the New England Small College Athletic Conference of NCAA Division III, finished 8-1 last season.

“I just want to go into camp next summer and compete as early as I can,” Holland said.

Season Review: ‘Getting closer’: Panther football focusing on growth beyond scoreboard

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The Panthers run out onto the field Oct. 13 for their game against Hingham. / Photo by: Sue Moss

For the third straight season the Panthers boasted a 7-4 record and made a trip to the postseason, falling in the first round.

The direction of the Whitman-Hanson Regional High football team continues to trend upward as it heads into the offseason.

For the third straight season the Panthers boasted a 7-4 record and made a trip to the postseason, falling in the first round.

“I told them, ‘We’re not going to focus on the last game, we’re going to focus on the seven wins that they had and they showed improvements,’” W-H head coach Mike Driscoll said. “We’re getting closer.’’

That last game Driscoll is referring to is the Panthers’ 23-12 loss to Abington on Thanksgiving — which for the first time all season, W-H didn’t hold a lead.

Although it may appear the team is stuck in neutral, it certainty is not. In W-H’s losses last season, it wasn’t always competitive as one came by over 30 points and two were dealt to it by 20 or more points. The other came by 11 points. The Panthers lost all four games by a combined 91 points, a number that dropped significantly this fall.

This season, in their Week 3, 23-9, defeat against Duxbury — a game in which W-H held a brief lead (7-0) — it was a six-minute span in a game that spiraled out of control for the Panthers. Three weeks later, the Panthers were driving on Hingham to win the game, when junior signal caller Ethan Phelps got banged up, forcing him to head to the sidelines, where he watched them fall, 28-21. Against Stoughton in the first round of the playoffs, the Panthers led by nine at halftime, but were held scoreless the rest of the way, resulting in a 30-21 loss. Against Abington, despite not maintaining a single advantage, the Panthers still only trailed by one, 13-12, at halftime.

“We see the improvements,” Driscoll said. “We’re certainly a better football team this year than we were last year. I think we’re moving in the right direction. The season could have been totally different if we could have finished off some of those games.”

The Panthers, despite their inability to close things out in those contests, still flashed grittiness in a few nail-biting wins. In their season opener, it was a late Phelps score in the waning minutes, coupled with a goal-line stand with two seconds remaining, that pushed them over Plymouth South, 23-18. On Oct. 6, Phelps took a QB keeper 60 yards to pay dirt with 50 seconds remaining as the Panthers edged Plymouth North, 28-24.

One constant in W-H’s comebacks was Phelps, who was one of several then-sophomores to assume significant roles for the Panthers last fall. In his second campaign under center, Phelps rushed for over 1,400 yards yet again and found the end zone 18 times. However, it was his enhanced passing game that made him more of a threat this season as his completion percentage rose nearly two percent and his touchdowns doubled to 14 as he passed for over 1,000 yards for the second straight season.

GAINING GROUND: Wide receiver Brett Holmes runs the ball vs. Abington in the Panthers’ 23-12 Thanksgiving game loss. He notched four catches for 21 yards and a touchdown. / Photo by: Sue Moss

“He worked hard to become a better passer, and he’d like to throw the ball every down, [but] we like to run it first,” Driscoll said. “He’s got that it-factor and he can take it to the house from anywhere on the field. The thing with Ethan is he’ll continue to work at it and get better and we’ll have our talk and see what he needs to improve on, but he’s just a very talented young man.”

On the receiving end of 46 percent of Phelps’ completions were fellow juniors Jacob Nixon and Rian Schwede as the two combined for 42 receptions, 511 yards and five scores. Out of the backfield, juniors Brendan Frawley (78 carries for 447 yards, 2 TDs) and Mike Connors (80 carries for 484 yards, 3 TDs) put forth solid seasons. Connors also spearheaded the Panthers’ defense with his team-leading 104 tackles, a number he nearly doubled from last season.

“Mike Connors is on another planet,” Driscoll said.

Driscoll also noted he was pleasantly impressed with the play of junior linemen Quinn Sweeney, who led the team in sacks, and Ryan Trongone.

“Quinn Sweeney started every game for us at right tackle, [and] we weren’t sure if he was going to be able to play offense, but he was fabulous, so wasn’t Ryan Trongone, [a] two-way lineman for us,” Driscoll said. “Two guys who really stepped up to the plate and had great seasons.”

While the junior class garners much of the attention for W-H, Driscoll reiterated it was his senior captains – Hunter Dunn, Riley Holland and Brett Holmes – that kept the club together.

“They work hard, they [lead] by example in school first, in the community and out on the football field,” the seventh-year Panthers head coach said.

Driscoll said despite his club not being where it wants to be just yet, it’s getting close.

“I’m very proud of this team,” he said. “I’m very happy with the way that the seniors handled things and I’m very happy with the way we’re moving.”