Luckily, we just made a ton of money selling pictures of Michael Phelps jay-walking on eBay. Now we’re going to triple it by correctly predicting the winners of the Clark Tournament.
This year, probably more than ever, the debate between parity and just a good, old-fashioned down year for super-talented teams rages on. That’s why if you’re basing your Clark picks on the “this team beat that team and that team is better than the other team” theory you’ll have no shot. Just like SATs and selecting a wife, go with your first gut instinct.
Here’s ours:
SMALL SCHOOLS Round 1:
Maynard over BMR – But barely. No offense to our readers who are over 6-foot-11, but this is a tourney usually controlled by guards and Maynard’s Fowler might be about to pull off some back-in-the-day Jarreau DeLeon-type stuff. Showing our age and our ample supply of useless knowledge…
Clinton over Grafton – Pay no attention to where the CMass magazine is produced. We’re illegal aliens in Clinton, not born and bred. There’s just always an upset here and if – huge if – Clinton handles any pressure the Indians may throw, we like their chances.
WB over Lunenburg – Toughest one to call. It’s a push talent-wise, so we’re leaning toward the team that’s been there (and won the head-to-head match earlier). Lunenburg is a team that will be heard from this postseason, though. Just sayin’.
Sutton over Millbury – The Sammies have proven, maybe not beaten, but proven they can play with anyone. That’s going to come in handy later.
Round 2:
Maynard over Clinton
Sutton over WB
Final:
Sutton over Maynard
LARGE SCHOOL Round 1
Southbridge over Oakmont – As one of “those morons who don’t know anything about basketball” who votes in Jim Wilson’s weekly media polls, we’ve had a front-row seat on the Southbridge bandwagon all year. Not getting off now.
Northbridge over Shepherd Hill – Northbridge is playing as well as any D2 team not located in Fitchburg right now.
Groton-Dunstable over Hudson – This is the annual Clark game that you think could be a 95-90 game and will probably end up being a pitcher’s duel. In the end, though, the Hawks’ lack of height might be a problem.
Quabbin over David Prouty – Not many teams play the kind of defense the Quabs are capable of playing.
Round 2:
Northbridge over Southbridge
G-D over Quabbin
Final:
G-D over Northbridge
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
WB hoop game moved to University of Maine (and other news)
This article was going to be what they in the business call an “editorial.” But, an editorial usually involves taking a stance on a controversial or divisive issue and making a case as to why your opinion is right and the other side is wrong. The editorial idea has been put on hold because this particular argument is just too easy. We’re talking Shaq versus Ozzy in a game of one-on-one easy. There’s no sense in debating the newest football realignment. All you need to know is that the top two teams in each division – at least in terms of records – will not play with one of the 75 championships on the line. Booooooo! Next subject.
If you thought the AHL All-Star game got area sports fans fired up, wait until you head over to Clark U in the next couple weeks. Simply the best athletic event the area can call its own is the Clark Tourney and it’s here. We’ll offer some thoughts on it later in the week, but there has already been a major bit of news to report. Should West Boylston advance to the championship game in its bracket, the MIAA has already decided to move the game from the Kneller Athletic Center to the University of Maine.
Anyone who watched ESPN Wednesday knew it was national signing day for the nation’s top high school football prospects. It was great for the kids who received their choice of four free years of education or two free years to steal things, treat classmates like garbage and smoke weed before heading to the NFL, but everything else about it was gross. Having signees announce their choice of football factory live on ESPN is just going a little overboard. In fact, the only circus we’d like to see live on ESPN is when Stu Scott and Jim Rome get attacked and eaten by pterodactyls. (Terra dak tulz).
There’s plenty more to complain about and basketball to discuss, so check back often and often.
If you thought the AHL All-Star game got area sports fans fired up, wait until you head over to Clark U in the next couple weeks. Simply the best athletic event the area can call its own is the Clark Tourney and it’s here. We’ll offer some thoughts on it later in the week, but there has already been a major bit of news to report. Should West Boylston advance to the championship game in its bracket, the MIAA has already decided to move the game from the Kneller Athletic Center to the University of Maine.
Anyone who watched ESPN Wednesday knew it was national signing day for the nation’s top high school football prospects. It was great for the kids who received their choice of four free years of education or two free years to steal things, treat classmates like garbage and smoke weed before heading to the NFL, but everything else about it was gross. Having signees announce their choice of football factory live on ESPN is just going a little overboard. In fact, the only circus we’d like to see live on ESPN is when Stu Scott and Jim Rome get attacked and eaten by pterodactyls. (Terra dak tulz).
There’s plenty more to complain about and basketball to discuss, so check back often and often.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
CLARK THOUGHTS, BEST SCORER, DIRTBAG ARTISTS
We were just sitting around waiting for Obama to pay our mortgage and melt the ice on our driveway, so we had some time to come up with a few observations about 1,000-point scorers, the secret workout that has given nine players on one local high school the ability to dunk, who’s really going to win the Clark Tournament and some of the dumbest words in the English language. Plus, when you hit the “click here” link, 50 percent of you absolutely, 100 percent are guaranteed to be insulted. So, click here to read more.
First off, the best basketball player in the state is neither in CMass nor that basketball hotbed that often gets confused with Rucker Park, EMass. She is in Western Mass. Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir of New Leadership in Springfield is the new all-time state scoring leader. The Girl From Springfield surpassed the former record holder, the lovely and talented Becky Lobo last week. By the time she’s done, the Girl From Springfield, headed to Memphis on a full ride, will eclipse the 3,000-point mark and unless the next Michael Beasley transfers to Maynard as an eighth-grader, it probably won’t happen again. Here’s some quick math to put that into perspective. Let’s take a very good CMass sophomore, say Richard Rogers from SJ. He’ll play right around 20 games per year for three years. That means in those 60 or so contests, he’d have to toss up 50 per to get near 3,000. Good job by the Girl From Springfield.
We’ve been on a mission to figure out who’s for real in D2 boys, who will compete in the Clark and in the playoffs and we still can’t figure it out. We tried comparing two leagues, the Mid-Wach C and the SWCL. Seems about even, but, for what it’s worth – and admittedly, it’s not much, we give the slight edge to the MWC. It could be argued that that league’s best player is Lunenburg’s DJ Guillette, who we witnessed shred Clinton Friday night. The junior is the real deal on offense: Slashes to the rack, finishes strong, has a nice touch from the outside and hits his free throws. We have a hunch Lunenburg will at some point in March pull of an “upset,” not only because they have a go-to scorer, but also because they have reliable guard play and the personnel to simply outrun teams.
Take a small break and just read this short paragraph. A word that should make you angry is “artisan.” A really contrived synonym for artist, people who describe themselves as an “artisan” are people who spend their time working on making necklaces out of recycled cans and “waiting to be discovered.” The older folks know exactly what we mean and you younger kids will hate them just as much when you have to pay taxes.
Here’s the insult we promised. Everyone who weighed in our WWE-like manufactured debate about LeBron versus five local high school players and said LeBron would win is just a silly goose.
Finally, it’s been called to our attention that just about every player on the Mohawk Regional basketball team can dunk. We obtained secret footage of the workout that made it possible. Check it out.
Stay gold.
First off, the best basketball player in the state is neither in CMass nor that basketball hotbed that often gets confused with Rucker Park, EMass. She is in Western Mass. Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir of New Leadership in Springfield is the new all-time state scoring leader. The Girl From Springfield surpassed the former record holder, the lovely and talented Becky Lobo last week. By the time she’s done, the Girl From Springfield, headed to Memphis on a full ride, will eclipse the 3,000-point mark and unless the next Michael Beasley transfers to Maynard as an eighth-grader, it probably won’t happen again. Here’s some quick math to put that into perspective. Let’s take a very good CMass sophomore, say Richard Rogers from SJ. He’ll play right around 20 games per year for three years. That means in those 60 or so contests, he’d have to toss up 50 per to get near 3,000. Good job by the Girl From Springfield.
We’ve been on a mission to figure out who’s for real in D2 boys, who will compete in the Clark and in the playoffs and we still can’t figure it out. We tried comparing two leagues, the Mid-Wach C and the SWCL. Seems about even, but, for what it’s worth – and admittedly, it’s not much, we give the slight edge to the MWC. It could be argued that that league’s best player is Lunenburg’s DJ Guillette, who we witnessed shred Clinton Friday night. The junior is the real deal on offense: Slashes to the rack, finishes strong, has a nice touch from the outside and hits his free throws. We have a hunch Lunenburg will at some point in March pull of an “upset,” not only because they have a go-to scorer, but also because they have reliable guard play and the personnel to simply outrun teams.
Take a small break and just read this short paragraph. A word that should make you angry is “artisan.” A really contrived synonym for artist, people who describe themselves as an “artisan” are people who spend their time working on making necklaces out of recycled cans and “waiting to be discovered.” The older folks know exactly what we mean and you younger kids will hate them just as much when you have to pay taxes.
Here’s the insult we promised. Everyone who weighed in our WWE-like manufactured debate about LeBron versus five local high school players and said LeBron would win is just a silly goose.
Finally, it’s been called to our attention that just about every player on the Mohawk Regional basketball team can dunk. We obtained secret footage of the workout that made it possible. Check it out.
Stay gold.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
HUDSON HIGH VS. LEBRON. 5 on 1. WHO WINS?
A local high school team will get its shot at LeBron and nobody’s quite sure what will happen. We’ll explain later in this article. But, first a few observations about some basketball. The season is old enough now where we can safely say that there are no runaway favorites in any division.
Here’s a quick peripheral opinion of the races and how they may shape up as the season winds down. D1: The favorites: SJ, North, Fitchburg. The Team or Teams none of the favorites will feel very good about playing in an elimination game: Marlboro, Wachusett, South, Doherty. The deal: Can we please recognize that Fitchburg is also a basketball town? With no superstars, the Raiders do, in fact, play “a tough schedule.” That’s a fact. Because the Burg is sorta out of the way from Worcester and extensive media coverage, we don’t get to see their players “grow up” the way we do with players from the I-High and the Worcester privates. Because these guys weren’t grabbing headlines from a few good games as sophomores, doesn’t mean they can’t play.
D2: The favorite: Groton-Dunstable. Teams they might not want to play: St. B's (obviously) Tantasqua (obviously), any team from the Mid-Wach C, including but not limited to Hudson, Clinton, Oakmont, Lunenburg, or Grafton and Northbridge.
D3: Favorite: Sutton. Teams that have a shot to take down the Sammies: Whitinsville, Maynard, Nashoba Tech, WB.
Here’s the LeBron thing. Move over Greatest Baseball Player Ever, step aside “Will anybody ever drop 100 in an NBA game?” This debate took place during water breaks and puffs of inhalers at a local gym where about a dozen “former athletes” play pickup hoops. Scenario: Take any above-average local high school team as it stands right now. For this argument, let’s use Hudson High. Hudson leads by 20 points heading into the fourth quarter. The other team benches everyone and sends only LeBron onto the floor for the final 8 minutes. So, it’s Hudson High, with a 20-point lead against LeBron. Five on one. Who wins? Amazingly, 75 percent of the debaters said LeBron would win.
“He would just pull up and shoot a trey, which is like a free throw to an NBA guy.” “If he missed, he would just rebound until he scored.” “He would block every shot the high school team took.”
What do you think? Let us know at tom@cmassinsider.com.
Here’s a quick peripheral opinion of the races and how they may shape up as the season winds down. D1: The favorites: SJ, North, Fitchburg. The Team or Teams none of the favorites will feel very good about playing in an elimination game: Marlboro, Wachusett, South, Doherty. The deal: Can we please recognize that Fitchburg is also a basketball town? With no superstars, the Raiders do, in fact, play “a tough schedule.” That’s a fact. Because the Burg is sorta out of the way from Worcester and extensive media coverage, we don’t get to see their players “grow up” the way we do with players from the I-High and the Worcester privates. Because these guys weren’t grabbing headlines from a few good games as sophomores, doesn’t mean they can’t play.
D2: The favorite: Groton-Dunstable. Teams they might not want to play: St. B's (obviously) Tantasqua (obviously), any team from the Mid-Wach C, including but not limited to Hudson, Clinton, Oakmont, Lunenburg, or Grafton and Northbridge.
D3: Favorite: Sutton. Teams that have a shot to take down the Sammies: Whitinsville, Maynard, Nashoba Tech, WB.
Here’s the LeBron thing. Move over Greatest Baseball Player Ever, step aside “Will anybody ever drop 100 in an NBA game?” This debate took place during water breaks and puffs of inhalers at a local gym where about a dozen “former athletes” play pickup hoops. Scenario: Take any above-average local high school team as it stands right now. For this argument, let’s use Hudson High. Hudson leads by 20 points heading into the fourth quarter. The other team benches everyone and sends only LeBron onto the floor for the final 8 minutes. So, it’s Hudson High, with a 20-point lead against LeBron. Five on one. Who wins? Amazingly, 75 percent of the debaters said LeBron would win.
“He would just pull up and shoot a trey, which is like a free throw to an NBA guy.” “If he missed, he would just rebound until he scored.” “He would block every shot the high school team took.”
What do you think? Let us know at tom@cmassinsider.com.
Monday, January 12, 2009
GIRLS' HOCKEY CATCHING ON IN SHREWSBURY
SHREWSBURY – Diving feet first isn’t exactly the ideal position for any hockey player, let alone an entire team.
But, when Shrewsbury Athletic Director Jay Costa came back from a hockey meeting and announced to not-yet-officially-named coach Frank Panarelli that the Colonials start-up girls’ team was in business and in a league, the diving began.
“We had been talking about starting a team for a few years,” said Panarelli, who coaches the inaugural edition of the Colonials’ hockey team that includes a roster made up of seventh-twelfth graders. “With budgets being what they are in all schools, we had to be a self-sufficient program and raise all the money to start the team ourselves.”
A group of parents, led by Doug Ineson , got busy raising funds. An effort to recycle old appliances and computers raised close to $9,000 and each player kicked in an additional $500 to cover costs and the program was born.
“It’s really been great so far,” said Panarelli, who is joined on the bench by his son, Nick, and Paul Wood, who volunteer as assistants. “I was kind of expecting to show up at practice and see kids holding on to the boards to keep their balance while they skated, but that wasn’t the case. We have a lot of girls who have played hockey for a while, both on boys’ teams and on girls’ teams, and they’re very enthusiastic and coachable.”
The Colonials started out like many new teams – slowly - but rebounded after a pair of season-opening losses to reel off four straight wins. That’s thanks to some talented players, led by sophomore goalie Steph Folsom. Shrewsbury was also able to get a waiver that allows seventh and eight-graders to play, which came in very handy for Panarelli. Turns out his leading scorer is Samantha DiReda and she’s still in junior high. The Colonials also have some talent along the blue line in junior Julia Martin, a converted forward.
Shrewsbury is captained by Martin, Alyssa Ineson and Tess Parks. Then, there’s Monique Arsenault. The last name should be familiar to hockey fans, but they may have a tough time drawing the connection to Shrewsbury.
That’s because there isn’t one really. Arsenault, you see is from Maynard, and plays on the team via co-op agreement.
“It makes perfect sense geographically,” Panarelli said with a laugh. “Jay [Costa] told me there was a girl from Maynard interested in playing and I said, ‘Sure.’ I think the MIAA is really pushing to have girls’ ice hockey on Central Mass. become as big as it is in Eastern Mass., so they’re going out of their way to find chances for kids to play.”
Panarelli is no stranger to rebuilding or to making Shrewsbury hockey history, so taking on this challenge completed a hockey circle of sorts.
“I was on the first hockey team Shrewsbury High ever had [in 1981],” Panarelli explained. “My son, Nick, played in the school’s 500th game. It’s pretty cool because I scored a goal in the first game and he scored a goal in the 500th.”
The Colonials, who call the New England Sports Center home and practice about once per week, play a schedule composed predominately of Eastern Mass. teams but do face local competition in Algonquin, Gardner and the St. Peter-Marian-St. Bernard’s co-op.
But, when Shrewsbury Athletic Director Jay Costa came back from a hockey meeting and announced to not-yet-officially-named coach Frank Panarelli that the Colonials start-up girls’ team was in business and in a league, the diving began.
“We had been talking about starting a team for a few years,” said Panarelli, who coaches the inaugural edition of the Colonials’ hockey team that includes a roster made up of seventh-twelfth graders. “With budgets being what they are in all schools, we had to be a self-sufficient program and raise all the money to start the team ourselves.”
A group of parents, led by Doug Ineson , got busy raising funds. An effort to recycle old appliances and computers raised close to $9,000 and each player kicked in an additional $500 to cover costs and the program was born.
“It’s really been great so far,” said Panarelli, who is joined on the bench by his son, Nick, and Paul Wood, who volunteer as assistants. “I was kind of expecting to show up at practice and see kids holding on to the boards to keep their balance while they skated, but that wasn’t the case. We have a lot of girls who have played hockey for a while, both on boys’ teams and on girls’ teams, and they’re very enthusiastic and coachable.”
The Colonials started out like many new teams – slowly - but rebounded after a pair of season-opening losses to reel off four straight wins. That’s thanks to some talented players, led by sophomore goalie Steph Folsom. Shrewsbury was also able to get a waiver that allows seventh and eight-graders to play, which came in very handy for Panarelli. Turns out his leading scorer is Samantha DiReda and she’s still in junior high. The Colonials also have some talent along the blue line in junior Julia Martin, a converted forward.
Shrewsbury is captained by Martin, Alyssa Ineson and Tess Parks. Then, there’s Monique Arsenault. The last name should be familiar to hockey fans, but they may have a tough time drawing the connection to Shrewsbury.
That’s because there isn’t one really. Arsenault, you see is from Maynard, and plays on the team via co-op agreement.
“It makes perfect sense geographically,” Panarelli said with a laugh. “Jay [Costa] told me there was a girl from Maynard interested in playing and I said, ‘Sure.’ I think the MIAA is really pushing to have girls’ ice hockey on Central Mass. become as big as it is in Eastern Mass., so they’re going out of their way to find chances for kids to play.”
Panarelli is no stranger to rebuilding or to making Shrewsbury hockey history, so taking on this challenge completed a hockey circle of sorts.
“I was on the first hockey team Shrewsbury High ever had [in 1981],” Panarelli explained. “My son, Nick, played in the school’s 500th game. It’s pretty cool because I scored a goal in the first game and he scored a goal in the 500th.”
The Colonials, who call the New England Sports Center home and practice about once per week, play a schedule composed predominately of Eastern Mass. teams but do face local competition in Algonquin, Gardner and the St. Peter-Marian-St. Bernard’s co-op.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
BLOWOUTS A PLENTY, BC IRRELEVANT
Well, at least we’ve outlasted the 375-pound guy who vowed to make 2009 the year he finally gets to buy dress pants without elastics. Our resolution for 2009 was pretty simple: To be right about every opinion we have regarding the big stories in sports. So far, we have been. If you need proof, or if you weren’t really quite sure which you were leaning toward an issue – local or national – we’ve got you covered with the following entry. Here you’ll be educated about local high school hoops and college football. Click here for more.
Since there was more ice in the area over the few weeks than in all of the alleys of Lawrence combined, getting a handle on local hoops has been a little tough. Mostly, folks have been guessing. Educated guesses, mind you, but guessing nonetheless.
Here’s where us being right begins. This year there will not be a slew of repeats as far as Central championship winners go. We’ve seen a talented Tantasqua program come back to earth a bit, although they’ll be around in the end. A team we like now in D2 boys in Groton-Dunstable. If the postseason began now, they’d be our pick to win it all. The Crusaders have a chance to pull off the rare sweep in basketball championships, as we think their girls squad will be in the mix as well. Unfortunately, they’ll have to get through what we feel is the best girls team in the area period in Millbury.
In D3 boys the rust from the lack of gym time is starting to come off, so the contenders have emerged and it looks like Sutton and Maynard will get to know each other quite well in postseason tournaments. Do not count out West Boylston just yet.
Speaking of high school hoops, there’s been some pretty eye-catching scores popping up aside from some perceived upsets. How about teams pounding opponents so badly the losing club didn’t break double-digits? Yikes. This brings up another issue entirely and it’s one that we’ll rant about on the site very soon. The amount of blowouts seems to be a little steep this season. We’ll have to check our history books to see if anything like this has occurred before, but, it seems that on both the boys and girls sides, there is a huge gap between the good teams and those still searching for the winning formula.
Raise your hand if you care at all about Boston College. Just as we thought. The school’s football team is dead to the common sports fan in what is believed to be an area that is crazy about sports. This is because the school’s elitist attitude does not appeal to the regular guy. It’s that simple. Until the school decides it wants to sacrifice some of its “integrity” and lower admissions standards for athletes like BCS schools do, it will remain anonymous to those without a direct connection to the school (graduates, families of players). There’s nothing wrong with having academic standards, but it really can’t be both ways. We’re still trying to jog the memory a little bit, but we seem to recall some sort of story about the BC hoop team and academic standards a few years back that caused a slew of moral stances to be taken and minds to be changed.
Check back again later. We’ll try to do better next time.
Since there was more ice in the area over the few weeks than in all of the alleys of Lawrence combined, getting a handle on local hoops has been a little tough. Mostly, folks have been guessing. Educated guesses, mind you, but guessing nonetheless.
Here’s where us being right begins. This year there will not be a slew of repeats as far as Central championship winners go. We’ve seen a talented Tantasqua program come back to earth a bit, although they’ll be around in the end. A team we like now in D2 boys in Groton-Dunstable. If the postseason began now, they’d be our pick to win it all. The Crusaders have a chance to pull off the rare sweep in basketball championships, as we think their girls squad will be in the mix as well. Unfortunately, they’ll have to get through what we feel is the best girls team in the area period in Millbury.
In D3 boys the rust from the lack of gym time is starting to come off, so the contenders have emerged and it looks like Sutton and Maynard will get to know each other quite well in postseason tournaments. Do not count out West Boylston just yet.
Speaking of high school hoops, there’s been some pretty eye-catching scores popping up aside from some perceived upsets. How about teams pounding opponents so badly the losing club didn’t break double-digits? Yikes. This brings up another issue entirely and it’s one that we’ll rant about on the site very soon. The amount of blowouts seems to be a little steep this season. We’ll have to check our history books to see if anything like this has occurred before, but, it seems that on both the boys and girls sides, there is a huge gap between the good teams and those still searching for the winning formula.
Raise your hand if you care at all about Boston College. Just as we thought. The school’s football team is dead to the common sports fan in what is believed to be an area that is crazy about sports. This is because the school’s elitist attitude does not appeal to the regular guy. It’s that simple. Until the school decides it wants to sacrifice some of its “integrity” and lower admissions standards for athletes like BCS schools do, it will remain anonymous to those without a direct connection to the school (graduates, families of players). There’s nothing wrong with having academic standards, but it really can’t be both ways. We’re still trying to jog the memory a little bit, but we seem to recall some sort of story about the BC hoop team and academic standards a few years back that caused a slew of moral stances to be taken and minds to be changed.
Check back again later. We’ll try to do better next time.
Monday, November 24, 2008
THANKSGIVING PICKS
We’re hoping the weather cooperates for Thursday morning. We just got a text message from Dick Albert that said, “Good weather, great games and I can totally crush Bruce Shwoegler.” Whatever that means. Even if Dickie’s forecast is wrong, ours is exactly right. We have the winners of all the games right here. Read our picks, fill out this form with yours, e-mail it to publishers@cmassinsider.com and win some prizes if you get the most correct.
On to the picks:
Nipmuc at Valley Tech: Nipmuc has proven that last year’s success wasn’t just a blip on the program building plan. The Warriors end the season on a high not with a win over the Beavs.
Gansett at Murdock: Narragansett is a team that was somewhat forgotten in 3 West, even after playing some tough football against the division’s best. Likewise for Murdock over in the East. Look for Gansett to come up with a big play through the air to squeak by the Devils.
Monty Tech at Nashoba Tech: The Bulldogs score a big win for the program.
Tyngsboro at Groton-Dunstable: The Crusaders’ impressive program debut continues with a throttling of Tyngsboro.
Littleton at Ayer: The Panthers are a proud bunch that will be back (we’ll tell you more on that in the December issue), but Littleton gets a win in a primer for the playoffs.
Maynard at Clinton: Clinton won’t be down for long. In fact, the Gaels are already on the upswing. Clinton set a lofty goal and that was to make it out of November unbeaten as a program (varsity and JV). So far, so good and the Gaels make that happen Thursday.
Hudson at Marlboro: The Panthers simply have too much depth for a Hawks team that has watched the injury bug destroy its season.
Lunenburg at St. Bernard’s: Whether or not you think the Bernardians pulled off the biggest upset of the season, you can’t argue that their win over Holy Name didn’t add even more to this game. In the end, the Blue Knight offense finds a crease or angle to beat the stout St. B’s D for a game-changing play.
West Boylston at Quabbin: The Lions had playoff aspirations this year. Unfortunately for Quabbin, it has become the Lions’ biggest game of the year and WB gets it done.
Auburn at Oxford: We could write something really dumb here like “Rockets take flight,” but there’s no need to look for anything fancy. Auburn is one of the area’s most physical teams and that’s why it’ll win Thursday.
Grafton at Millbury: It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving football without a few upsets. Prior to the season, we bet the corporate jet that Grafton wouldn’t go winless under Mike Ross. We still have the jet and we still think the Indians have another win in them.
David Prouty at Leicester: Leicester puts it all together at home and the team that gave some of the toughest teams on its schedule trouble shows up to stop the Panthers.
Uxbridge at Northbridge: Speaking of Thanksgiving upsets, was there any bigger than what went down in this rivalry a few years back? The Rams still remember, and don’t let it happen again in a close win over the Spartans.
Southbridge at Bartlett: The Pioneers offense will run up enough points to win while cell phones all over the bleachers will be running up minutes trying to see if the playoff hopes are still flickering.
South at North: The Polar Bears were a team worth checking out this year and played everyone tough. North puts a nice touch on a fine season with a big win.
Shepherd Hill at Tantasqua: You get the feeling that the playoff spot and the 10-0 record really won’t mean too much to the Warriors if they can’t beat the Hill. The Rams, however, hold the ball long enough to pull of a win.
Oakmont at Gardner: This one could be a shootout or could be a defensive struggle. How’s that for fence walking? Look for Gardner to slow down the Spartan athletes just enough to pick a win.
Holy Name at Wachusett: An interesting game for the armchair coach in all of us. To save something for the playoffs or not to save something. Our bet is these two teams will try to rip each other apart. It is, after all, Thanksgiving football. Holy Name gets the W.
Nashoba at North Middlesex: The Chieftains have proven to be more than a one-man team this year and the added dimensions are too much for the Pats.
St. Peter’s at St. John’s: Neutral fans picking the winner of this game with their hearts will give the edge to the Guardians for sure, but St. John’s has a little too much for an SPM team that will push Big Red to the limit on emotion alone.
Algonquin at Westboro: The T’Hawks have been piling up the points as of late and that trend will continue on Thursday in a win over the Rangers.
Doherty at Burncoat: The Highlanders won’t waste any time wondering “what if” and worrying about things now out of their control. They’ll have their hands full with Burncoat, but come out on top.
Shrewsbury at Milford: If Milford is indeed getting an early start on its farewell tour of CMass they will do it in style by way of a somewhat shocking upset over the Colonials.
Fitchburg at Leominster: Is there any way this one won’t live up to the hype? The Blue Devils have had their way with Fitchburg as of late, but the Red Raiders get it done in this year’s main event.
On to the picks:
Nipmuc at Valley Tech: Nipmuc has proven that last year’s success wasn’t just a blip on the program building plan. The Warriors end the season on a high not with a win over the Beavs.
Gansett at Murdock: Narragansett is a team that was somewhat forgotten in 3 West, even after playing some tough football against the division’s best. Likewise for Murdock over in the East. Look for Gansett to come up with a big play through the air to squeak by the Devils.
Monty Tech at Nashoba Tech: The Bulldogs score a big win for the program.
Tyngsboro at Groton-Dunstable: The Crusaders’ impressive program debut continues with a throttling of Tyngsboro.
Littleton at Ayer: The Panthers are a proud bunch that will be back (we’ll tell you more on that in the December issue), but Littleton gets a win in a primer for the playoffs.
Maynard at Clinton: Clinton won’t be down for long. In fact, the Gaels are already on the upswing. Clinton set a lofty goal and that was to make it out of November unbeaten as a program (varsity and JV). So far, so good and the Gaels make that happen Thursday.
Hudson at Marlboro: The Panthers simply have too much depth for a Hawks team that has watched the injury bug destroy its season.
Lunenburg at St. Bernard’s: Whether or not you think the Bernardians pulled off the biggest upset of the season, you can’t argue that their win over Holy Name didn’t add even more to this game. In the end, the Blue Knight offense finds a crease or angle to beat the stout St. B’s D for a game-changing play.
West Boylston at Quabbin: The Lions had playoff aspirations this year. Unfortunately for Quabbin, it has become the Lions’ biggest game of the year and WB gets it done.
Auburn at Oxford: We could write something really dumb here like “Rockets take flight,” but there’s no need to look for anything fancy. Auburn is one of the area’s most physical teams and that’s why it’ll win Thursday.
Grafton at Millbury: It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving football without a few upsets. Prior to the season, we bet the corporate jet that Grafton wouldn’t go winless under Mike Ross. We still have the jet and we still think the Indians have another win in them.
David Prouty at Leicester: Leicester puts it all together at home and the team that gave some of the toughest teams on its schedule trouble shows up to stop the Panthers.
Uxbridge at Northbridge: Speaking of Thanksgiving upsets, was there any bigger than what went down in this rivalry a few years back? The Rams still remember, and don’t let it happen again in a close win over the Spartans.
Southbridge at Bartlett: The Pioneers offense will run up enough points to win while cell phones all over the bleachers will be running up minutes trying to see if the playoff hopes are still flickering.
South at North: The Polar Bears were a team worth checking out this year and played everyone tough. North puts a nice touch on a fine season with a big win.
Shepherd Hill at Tantasqua: You get the feeling that the playoff spot and the 10-0 record really won’t mean too much to the Warriors if they can’t beat the Hill. The Rams, however, hold the ball long enough to pull of a win.
Oakmont at Gardner: This one could be a shootout or could be a defensive struggle. How’s that for fence walking? Look for Gardner to slow down the Spartan athletes just enough to pick a win.
Holy Name at Wachusett: An interesting game for the armchair coach in all of us. To save something for the playoffs or not to save something. Our bet is these two teams will try to rip each other apart. It is, after all, Thanksgiving football. Holy Name gets the W.
Nashoba at North Middlesex: The Chieftains have proven to be more than a one-man team this year and the added dimensions are too much for the Pats.
St. Peter’s at St. John’s: Neutral fans picking the winner of this game with their hearts will give the edge to the Guardians for sure, but St. John’s has a little too much for an SPM team that will push Big Red to the limit on emotion alone.
Algonquin at Westboro: The T’Hawks have been piling up the points as of late and that trend will continue on Thursday in a win over the Rangers.
Doherty at Burncoat: The Highlanders won’t waste any time wondering “what if” and worrying about things now out of their control. They’ll have their hands full with Burncoat, but come out on top.
Shrewsbury at Milford: If Milford is indeed getting an early start on its farewell tour of CMass they will do it in style by way of a somewhat shocking upset over the Colonials.
Fitchburg at Leominster: Is there any way this one won’t live up to the hype? The Blue Devils have had their way with Fitchburg as of late, but the Red Raiders get it done in this year’s main event.
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