1. Taunton

2. King Philip

3. Central Catholic

4. Bishop Feehan

5. Tewksbury

6. Peabody

7. Silver Lake

8. Burlington

9. Methuen

10. Lincoln-Sudbury

11. Walpole

12. Triton

13. Amesbury

14. Dartmouth

15. Dighton-Rehoboth

16. Woburn

17. Middleboro

18. Bedford

19. Bridgewater-Raynham

20. Greater New Bedford

21. Case

22. Archbishop Williams

23. Hanover

24. Natick

25. Norton

Here is the preseason Boston Herald EMass Top 25 baseball rankings. Please note that rankings do not include any results which have occurred in the first week of the high school baseball season.

1. Taunton

2. Andover

3. Franklin

4. BC High

5. St. John’s (Shrewsbury)

6. Westford Academy

7. St. John’s Prep

8. King Philip

9. Mansfield

10. Xaverian

11. Milford

12. Lincoln-Sudbury

13. Milton

14. Chelmsford

15. Oliver Ames

16. Plymouth North

17. Whitman-Hanson

18. Central Catholic

19. Weymouth

20. Seekonk

21. Hanover

22. Somerset Berkley

23. Bridgewater-Raynham

24. Walpole

25. Westwood

Sam Keene, Charlie Bushley, and Alex Parisi combined to toss a no-hitter, finishing with 15 strikeouts in total as BC High blanked Newton North, 7-0. … Freshman Braedan Nicholson threw a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts as Rockland (1-0) cruised to a 9-0 victory over nonleague opponent Holbrook. … Felix Ham’s two-run single proved the difference for Brookline in a 3-1 win over Newton South.

Jake Maydak went the distance with only four hits allowed as Mansfield (1-0) blanked North Attleboro 2-0 in a Hockomock League tilt. … Tommy McLeish drove in three runs on two hits, helping King Philip to an 11-5 win over Stoughton. … Harrison Fitzpatrick reached base safely four times in as many at-bats, David Rodgers (2-for-3) drove in two RBI and Lucas Riley threw five two-hit innings to pace Oliver Ames past Franklin, 5-3.

In the Middlesex League, Ayden Balter struck out 10 over five three-hit frames as Wilmington shutout Winchester 1-0. … Vince Libretto batted 3-for-3 with a home run, pacing the Lexington offense in a 17-1 win over Watertown.

In the Mayflower Athletic Conference, Jordan Medeiros threw a five inning no-hitter as Avon (1-0) cruised to a 17-1 victory over Norfolk Aggie.

Jon Sellon tossed a complete-game shutout with five strikeouts, backed by two hits and three RBI from both Steve Madden and Pat Cummings as Abington topped South Shore League foe Carver, 10-0.

BOYS LACROSSE

Carson Palmer and Liam Keaney each found the back of the net twice in a well-rounded effort, helping Swampscott edge nonleague foe Lynnfield, 8-7.

GIRLS LACROSSE

Addie Pyy erupted for eight goals and three assists to surpass 100 goals on her career, powering Plymouth North to a 14-10 nonleague win over Dartmouth. … Kyla Darmon netted a hat trick, Kolbie Darmon and Quinn Anderson each added two goals, and Sandwich held on to beat Scituate 10-7.

In the Mayflower Athletic Conference, Peyton Mathisen notched five goals and an assist as South Shore Voke (2-0) defeated Southeastern 11-3.

SOFTBALL

Bella Piekarski finished with three hits, driving in a pair of runs as Plymouth North defeated Hingham in Patriot League action, 8-2.

Haley Labrador fanned 12 and the offense erupted for Fontbonne in a 13-1 nonleague win over NDA (W). … Jill Ondrick struck out 17 over six frames and drove in three and scored twice with a homer as Archbishop Williams (1-0) shutout Boston Latin 15-0. … Cami Friedrich caught fire with a 4-for-4, two-RBI performance, pairing with multi-hit games from Katie Crompton and Penelope Riggs to guide Manchester Essex to a 7-2 win over Swampscott.

In Middlesex League play, Lily Mackenzie and Ali McElligott each batted 2-for-4 with three runs and an RBI as Wilmington soared past Winchester 12-0. … Senior Piper Guiney showed off the ice in her veins, hitting a game-tying double in the sixth inning and a walk-off single in the seventh to boost Arlington over Wakefield, 6-5.

Savannah Azoff put up a monster performance for Dennis-Yarmouth in a 29-4 Cape and Islands League win over St. John Paul II, falling just a single shy of hitting for the cycle while driving in seven runs and striking out nine batters from the circle.

In the Hockomock League, Samantha Lincloln struck out all 15 batters she faced in a perfect win victory as Taunton (1-0) blanked Sharon 17-0 in five innings.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Jack MacPhee dished 28 assists and Liam Quinn buried 17 kills, leading Chelmsford to a 3-0 nonleague win over Westford Academy. … Cody Fitzpatrick posted 17 kills and Ceazar Joseph added 13, pairing with 38 assists from Tyrell Lout for Lowell in a 3-1 signature win over Cambridge.

SCORES

BASEBALL

Abington 10, Carver 0

Avon 17, Norfolk Aggie 1 (5i)

Belmont 9, Melrose 4

BC High 7, Newton North 0

Brookline 3, Newton South 1

Canton 3, North Attleboro 2

Chelsea 10, Brighton 9

Diman 6, West Bridgewater 1

King Philip 11, Stoughton 5

Lexington 17, Watertown 1 (5i)

Lincoln-Sudbury 7, Framingham 1

Mansfield 2, Attleboro 0

Millbury 2, Sutton 0

Milford 8, Foxboro 0

Monomoy 10, Cape Cod Tech 0 (6i)

Nauset 9, Bristol-Plymouth 6

Needham 5, Bishop Feehan 2

New Mission 12, Tech Boston 0

O’Bryant 5, Nashoba Valley Tech 0

Oliver Ames 5, Franklin 3

Rockland 9, Holbrook 0

Scituate 2, Cohasset 1

Somerset Berkley 2, Middleboro 1

Taunton 7, Sharon 3

Upper Cape 4, Southeastern 1

Westborough 6, Grafton 2

Wilmington 1, Winchester 0

Winthrop 8, Cardinal Spellman 6

Woburn 16, Stoneham 3

BOYS LACROSSE

Bishop Feehan 14, Abp. Williams 1

Bishop Stang 16, Cardinal Spellman 4

Blue Hills 12, Upper Cape 3

Bristol-Plymouth 10, Tri-County 4

Dover-Sherborn 13, Bellingham 3

Hopkinton 10, Holliston 5

Manchester Essex 12, Masconomet 8

Middleboro 16, New Bedford 2

Oliver Ames 10, Taunton 2

Pembroke 8, Rockland 5

Plymouth North 7, Dartmouth 5

Plymouth South 9, Barnstable 6

Quincy/North Quincy 18, Cambridge 10

South Shore Voke 8, Southeastern 7

Swampscott 8, Lynnfield 7

GIRLS LACROSSE

Bishop Feehan 17, Abp. Williams 6

Braintree 17, Bridgewater-Raynham 5

Dedham 11, Medway 6

Foxboro 18, North Attleboro 4

Franklin 19, Attleboro 4

Lowell Catholic 10, Northeast 4

Manchester Essex 14, Marblehead 6

Medfield 19, Norwood 4

Nauset 9, St. John Paul II 8

North Reading 11, Triton 2

Notre Dame (W) 19, Fontbonne 11

Plymouth North 14, Dartmouth 10

Quincy 14, Cambridge 2

Sandwich 10, Scituate 7

Shawsheen 10, Greater Lowell 7

South Shore Voke 11, Southeastern 3

Taunton 17, Sharon 0 (5i)

Tri-County 12, Bristol-Plymouth 1

Upper Cape 14, Bourne 3

Westboro 14, North Middlesex 2

Wilmington 9, Tewksbury 7

SOFTBALL

Abington 8, Braintree 0

Abp. Williams 15, Boston Latin 0 (6i)

Arlington 6, Wakefield 5

Burlington 7, Reading 6

Chelmsford 6, Acton-Boxboro 1

Dennis-Yarmouth 29, St. John Paul II 4 (5i)

Diman 8, West Bridgewater 3

East Boston 19, Excel Charter 6

Fontbonne 13, NDA (W) 1

Franklin 12, Oliver Ames 3

Hull/Cohasset 9, Cardinal Spellman 7

King Philip 16, Stoughton 0

Lexington 13, Watertown 1

Manchester Essex 7, Swampscott 2

Middleboro 8, Durfee 0

Milford 6, Foxboro 4

Monomoy 17, Sandwich 11

North Quincy 17, Brockton 1

O’Bryant 15, Cristo Rey 1

Pembroke 7, Whitman-Hanson 4

Plymouth North 8, Hingham 2

Taunton 17, Sharon 0

Wareham 9, Carver 6

Wilmington 12, Winchester 0

BOYS TENNIS

Apponequet 4, Fairhaven 1

Arlington 5, Wilmington 0

Bourne 4, Wareham 1

Boston Latin 5, Catholic Memorial 1

Brookline 4, Milton 1

Dennis-Yarmouth 5, St. John Paul II 0

East Longmeadow 5, Agawam 0

Hopkinton 5, Algonquin 0

Latin Academy 5, Brockton 0

Longmeadow 5, Ludlow 0

Lowell 3, Everett 2

Manchester Essex 5, Masconomet 0

Melrose 3, Reading 2

Nantucket 3, Monomoy 2

Nauset 4, Falmouth 1

North Andover 5, Amesbury 0

North Quincy 5, Norwell 0

Pembroke 5, Rockland 0

Plymouth North 4, Bridgewater-Raynham 1

Wakefield 5, Woburn 0

GIRLS TENNIS

Algonquin 5, AMSA 0

Apponequet 3, Fairhaven 2

Arlington 4, Wilmington 1

Latin Academy 5, Brockton 0

Lowell 4, Everett 1

Masconomet 3, Manchester Essex 2

Monomoy 3, Nantucket 1

Nauset 3, Falmouth 2

New Bedford 3, North Quincy 1

North Andover 5, Amesbury 0

Norwell 5, Rockland 0

Oliver Ames 4, Franklin 1

Plymouth North 4, Bridgewater-Raynham 1

St. John Paul II 5, Martha’s Vineyard 0

Wakefield 3, Woburn 2

Wareham 4, Bourne 1

VOLLEYBALL

Algonquin 3, Ayer Shirley 2

Barnstable 3, St. John Paul II 0

Chelmsford 3, Westford Academy 0

Dighton-Rehoboth 3, Norwood 0

Greater Lawrence 3, Innovation Academy 0

Greater Lowell 3, Billerica 1

Latin Academy 3, Chelsea 2

Leominster 3, Wachusett 0

Lowell 3, Cambridge 1

Lowell Catholic 3, Lawrence 1

Madison Park 3, Pacific Rim 0

Medfield 3, Millis 0

Milford 3, Brookline 1

Natick 3, Wayland 0

New Bedford 3, North Quincy 1

Newton South 3, Acton-Boxboro 1

Quincy 3, Weymouth 1

Taunton 3, Hingham 1

Coaches are encouraged to report their scores and highlights to hssports@bostonherald.com

Luke Faletra registered four goals and an assist as Central Catholic edged Westford Academy, 10-9. … Luke Kelly and Cam McCarthy had had tricks as St. John’s Prep defeated Acton-Boxboro, 11-9.

Josh Do, Will Croom, Chad Bartlett and Keaton Gaynor each scored a pair of goals as Rivers (2-0) defeated New Hampton 11-7 in NEPSAC action.

Girls lacrosse

Sara McLeod scored five goals, while teammate Audrey Toce added three goals and an assist as Billerica (1-0) defeated Winchester 11-9 in a nonleague contest. … Sienna Reeves scored four goals and Coral Punch added three as Nauset defeated Mashpee, 17-5. … Shannon Balfe and Lily O’Donnell each had three goals as Whitman-Hanson edged Bridgewater-Raynham, 9-8. … Bailey Lower, Cydney Mosscrop and Emerson Pekarcik all recorded hat tricks as Nantucket cruised to a 16-1 win over rival Martha’s Vineyard. … Lydia Tangney scored four goals as Brooks (2-0) defeated Holderness, 13-11.

Softball

Jackie Giordano struck out 11 in five innings, while helping her own cause with a home run as Brooks defeated Kimball Union 14-4 in the NEPSAC. Sophia Alvarez-Backus went 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Kay LaLiberty added two hits and two runs scored.

Hockey

Massachusetts swept all three games against Connecticut in the annual Conn./Mass. All-Star Border Challenge.

In the girls games, Duxbury’s Zoey Madigan scored twice in earning game MVP honors in a 6-3 win. Also scoring were Caroline Doherty (Hingham), Madeleine Greenwood (Duxbury), Ava Iantosca (Dedham) and Callie Pineau (Norwood/Scituate/Abington).

Oliver Ames’ Matt Lawson scored twice on his way to MVP honors, while Noah Gurdin (Brookline) tallied the game-winner in overtime to give Massachusetts a 6-5 win in the Senior Game. Henry Eaton (Medway), Aiden Umina (Newton North) and Casey Kelley (Archbishop Williams) had the other goals.

In the Sophomore/Junior Game, MVP Will Manchuso (Concord-Carlisle), Brady Leonard (Essex Tech) and Shaun Teehan (Oliver Ames) tallied twice in a 10-3 victory. Nolan Dawson (Billerica), Seumas McMakin (Burlington), Finn Kelly (Archbishop Williams) and Mike Yucius (Duxbury) also scored.

Scores

BASEBALL

Austin Prep 10, Wilbraham & Monson 0

Martha’s Vineyard 10, Nantucket 0

St. George’s 14, Beaver Country Day 12

BOYS LACROSSE

Central Catholic 10, Westford Academy 9

Duxbury 18, Burnt Hill (NY) 4

Haverhill 13, Cambridge 6

King Philip 17, Bishop Feehan 6

Mansfield 12, Nauset 9

Nantucket 17, Martha’s Vineyard 1

North Reading 11, Woburn 6

Rivers 11, New Hampton 7

St. John’s Prep 11, Acton-Boxboro 9

Sandwich 6, Scituate 5 (ot)

Thayer Academy 19, Austin Prep 3

GIRLS LACROSSE

Belmont 11, Winchester 9

Billerica 11, Winchester 9

Brooks 13, Holderness 11

Central Catholic 12, Norwell 7

Malden Catholic 8, St. Mary’s 6

Nantucket 16, Martha’s Vineyard 1

Nauset 17, Mashpee 5

North Reading 11, Latin Academy 4

South Shore 13, Bristol-Plymouth 2

Whitman-Hanson 9, Bridgewater-Raynham 8

SOFTBALL

Brooks 14, Kimball Union 4

BOYS TENNIS

Austin Prep 6, Thayer Academy 3

Saturday night at Quincy High, this one started with a bang for its 17u and 16u 3Stripes Select Basketball teams.

Facing all-star rosters made up of many of the best players from MIAA schools, each BABC team recorded blowout victories in showing just how loaded they are.

Vermont Academy star junior Joson Sanon – an Arizona verbal commit – popped off for 44 points against the MA Senior Select Team, leading the 17u team to a 113-60 win alongside 24 points from Putnam Academy’s Oswin Erhunmwunse (Providence verbal commit). The 16u team then saw five players score in double figures to top the MA Underclassmen Select Team, 117-65, for its tuneup before a hopeful run for a national title.

Longtime leader and founder Leo Papile notes that the birthplaces on BABC’s rosters have changed quite a bit, but the program’s approach hasn’t. And seeing the way all four teams played until the very end left a satisfied taste in his mouth heading into the season.

“We’re very pleased,” he said. “Forty-minute games, it didn’t turn into a clown show, which is a real concern. … For us, execution-wise, I give us an A. There’s two things we talk about all the time, not wins and losses; effort (and) execution.”

Loaded with premier talent that’s played together within the program for a while now, this 17u team could be one of the best ones Papile has ever had. He says Sanon, Erhunmwunse and Putnam Academy teammate Ben Ahmed (2026) each look like future NBA standouts, while Ricardo Nieves is a standout in football as well.

“(Winning a national championship), that’s their challenge,” Papile said. “Clearly, there’s a lot to work with. And the chemistry is really, really good.”

Sanon seems to be at the forefront, especially in Saturday’s action.

The MA Senior Select Team kept up for much of the first half, using a barrage of 3-pointers to rally to a 33-33 tie at one point. Pembroke’s Matt Delcore (10 points) hit a couple, Burlington’s Cedric Rodriguez surged to a quick seven points, and Quincy’s Danny Adams dialed up 15 of his 17 points in his home gym. But Sanon erupted for much of his 25 first-half points in the final five minutes before the break by making seemingly every one of his shots, and he maintained that unstoppable play into the second half to put the game away.

Ahmed (16 points) and Erhunmwunse’s size and athleticism were overpowering as well.

“The goal is to go undefeated, and we’re undefeated,” Sanon said. “Shot-making (was behind the 44 points), it all starts on defense, though.”

In the loss, scoring 17 against a high-powered team like BABC was fulfilling for Adams.

“Just competing at a high level is just fun for me, and putting on the (Quincy) uniform for the last time is definitely a great experience,” Adams said. “I know I can compete with these guys, getting the chance to do it just shows to everybody else (that I can).”

Burke’s Jaeden Roberts represented Boston well with a game-high 30 points in the next game, though it wasn’t enough to help the MA Underclassmen Select Team to rally past an early lopsided deficit against a well-balanced 16u team.

Size and athleticism from BABC proved too much in this one as well, with Wilbraham & Monson Academy sophomore Sam Fleming (22 points) and Newman School sophomore Collins Chidera Onyejiaka (16 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks) dominating the inside. Chase Geremia (Newman School) made five 3-pointers in a 21-point effort, while contributing toward high-level defense as BABC pressed much of the way.

Amir Jenkins played a big part of that as well with 16 points and four steals.

But the conditions did not prevent dozens of Wellesley High School athletes from diving into the frigid water of Morses Pond on Saturday morning.

This weekend marked the seventh annual “Plunge for Elodie” event, which raises money for awareness in the fight against the disease known as Epidermolysis Bullosa.

The fundraiser and the event were designed for Elodie Kubik, a 7-year-old Wellesley child battling the rare genetic skin illness. Kubik’s specific form of the disease impacts about 1,200 people nationally.

Elodie’s mother, Emily, is a former Wellesley lacrosse and track athlete. She smiled as a growing crowd of a couple hundred assembled around the town landmark.

“It is amazing,” Emily Kubik said. “I love everyone here so much. I’ve been blown away. Managing this disease is so hard, but there have been some findings. Seeing all these people, who have come out here to support us, some of whom I don’t even know, has been a huge silver lining for my family.”

Elodie was first diagnosed with EB as an infant. Emily’s former classmate at Wellesley High was Jesse Davis, now the school’s football coach. Davis teamed up with his fellow coordinator and Raiders track coach John Griffith to help start something fun, a way for the tight-knit community to rally. They worked with town officials and the Kubik family to put things into place.

“Our motto is family together,” said Griffith. “Doing things together. It’s not just the kids who are in the program now. It’s for everyone who came before this year, or any year. Elodie’s mom ran track for us back in the day, and (we want) anything we can do to help out. Just to be here, and support Elodie, and hopefully find a cure for the precious little girl.”

As members of the Wellesley football and track teams gathered along the pond’s outer reaches, a gust whipped up, sending a chill throughout the crowd. After opening ceremonies, Elodie walked up to the megaphone, telling the students and participants to go. The crowd poured into the cold waters in a cheer, then sprinted to the concession stands for relief shortly thereafter.

It was another historic season for Wellesley’s girls track program, which won its latest Div. 2 indoor title this past winter. Following the plunge, Katie Fitts found herself catching her breath with fellow team captains Annie Comella, Emma Sutherland and Gaia Jacobs. It was a rewarding end to an impressive campaign for the group.

“It was honestly a surreal experience,” said Fitts. “It just makes you feel like a better person, because you’re helping something, and making the world a better place.”

Entering the weekend, the running of the Plunge for Elodie had raised $2 million over its prior six years. Following Saturday’s events, that total is now expected to climb to $2.5 million through the programs and via community donations. Plunges are now being held by the same organization worldwide.

“When (Elodie) was born, (Emily’s) friends really rallied around her,” said Allison McGettigan, a Community and Operations director at E.B. Research Partnership. “They just wanted to know what they could do to help. She said: ‘Simply help me cure this disease.’ They’re not doctors, they’re not scientists, but honestly with a rare disease, sometimes the biggest obstacle isn’t even science. It’s funding the research to cure the disease. So they got together, they planned a fundraiser with the first one being in Wellesley seven years ago, and it has just exploded ever since.”

Despite a strong start from Div. 2 powerhouse Agawam in a battle between reigning champions, depth and progressive execution once again fueled the Rockets (1-0) toward a 3-1 (26-24, 26-28, 25-18, 25-13) win to extend the program’s win streak to 74 games.

Devin Dellamarggio (42 assists) and Luke Lorence (18 kills) led the way for Needham, surrounded by a long list of complementary pieces that heated up in timely moments to fizzle out the Brownies’ (0-1) momentum. Much of those moments came in the third and fourth sets as the Rockets found a way to separate from a tight affair.

Overall, it was a promising early look.

“We’re still figuring everything out, but this is a good place to start,” said Needham head coach Dave Powell. “We’re happy with the way our guys have been working and we’re going to keep at it.”

“I love this team,” Dellamarggio added. “I think we’ve got a lot to build on, but we’ve got a lot of scrappy guys that are willing to work hard, put in the work. So, I’m excited for what’s to come.”

The Rockets seemed to explore different options in the first two sets as they also worked off some early rust, and Agawam took advantage with a heavy punch out of the gate.

Brownies junior setter David Dzhenzherukha (27 assists) and sophomore Joe Culhane (10 kills, two aces) got into an early rhythm, pairing with senior Emil Zhmaidziak (seven kills, two blocks) to help force extra points in each of the first two sets. Lorence and Needham’s Will McDonald combined for eight kills as the Rockets edged out the first frame, though a rally from down as much as six points in the second couldn’t hold off Agawam from tying the match at 1-1.

It was a whole different story for Needham from then on, though. After never leading by more than four points in the first set and one point in the second due to intermittent miscues that broke up momentum, the Rockets led by as much as six in the third and 12 in the fourth.

“We limited our errors a little bit as the match went on, that helped,” Powell said. “A couple guys stepped up offensively, that helped. We got a little bit better passing as the match went on. So, it’s a good start.”

Dellamarggio’s list of weapons grew as the game went on, while the front row gave Agawam’s top hitters a tough time. Dylan Carroll (nine kills, two aces), Avery Kalish (eight kills) and Jeremy Bullard-Smith (seven kills, four blocks) each produced hot stretches for quick bursts of points, as well as McDonald (three kills, two blocks). Dellamarggio (nine digs), Ben Vu (eight digs) and Owen Ching (seven digs) led an improved defensive stretch, too.

“Oh man, I love it,” Dellamarggio said of the depth. “Could be a different guy every night. … It’s exciting. Anyone can go off any night, and that’s what I like about this team. It’s going to be fun when we put it together.”

His high school coach Cary Herer was sending Harrell a congratulatory message informing him that he was just named the Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year for Massachusetts. For the 6-foot-6 junior guard from Boston, the award was validation for the countless hours he put in behind the scenes to hone his skills.

“I knew I had a chance to win the award,” Harrell said. “When I saw the text message from coach, I was pretty happy.”

The fact that Harrell learned about the award following a training session came as no surprise to Herer. The head coach at CATS Academy has seen all the time and effort Harrell has dedicated into becoming a better player.

“Jaylen works very hard at his all-around game, he’s in the gym all the time,” Herer said. “He can score at all three levels, he can post up smaller guards, yet he can step out and hit the three.”

As good as Harrell has become, there was a time when he wasn’t sure basketball was in the cards. It was through the prodding of his father, former Madison Park standout Ryan Harrell, that Harrell followed through and eventually became one of the better younger players in the Boston area.

“He was the only one who believed in me early on,” the younger Harrell said. “He kept pushing me, got me to put the work in and I became a good player.”

Like most parents, the tendency is to focus on the positives. In the case of Jaylen Harrell, Ryan Harrell saw there was a lot of untapped potential just waiting to be released.

“I knew early on that Jaylen was going to be a pretty big kid,” Harrell said. “He was always the type of kid who was willing to work hard to become the best at whatever he did. On top of that, he was the kind of kid who would also do what was best for the team.

“He was playing soccer when he was young. I remember one game when he scored three goals then went up to the coach and asked to play goalie. After the game, I asked Jaylen why he did that and he said he wanted to try to keep the other team from scoring.

“That’s the type of kid Jaylen is. I can honestly say he’s never caused me one ounce of trouble growing up.”

Wilson, the city coaching legend, has seen both of them from an early age and said there are plenty of differences between the two.

“First of all, Jaylen is always very calm, cool and collected, while Ryan was a very fiery player,” Wilson said with a laugh. “Jaylen is more of a scorer, whereas Ryan was more of a playmaker type.”

Harrell comes off a season where he averaged 24 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game. His performances have not gone unnoticed as he’s cracked the top-100 list of several recruiting websites. He has narrowed his choices down to Wake Forest, Alabama, Xavier, Providence, Rutgers and Virginia Tech and his father thinks a decision could come in the next month.

Waltham senior Angalisa Caceda, Catie Kampersal of Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading and Newburyport standout Abby Stauss sniped a trio of consecutive goals in the final period, rallying Team North to a wild 4-3 victory over Team South at the 2024 MSHCA Girls All-Star Game at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center.

“This is one of the best events ever,” said Team North and Burlington girls hockey coach Rick Sheehan. “Absolutely. Especially for the seniors. They really enjoy it. They enjoy each other. For a group that just came together today, and I know a few of them know each other previously, but they’re all laughing and joking. They’re dancing with the music between whistles. It was a really good experience today.”

The two star-studded teams struggled to find the net in the opening period. As one could expect, given the fact that two recent championship goaltenders were standing on opposite sides of the ice. St. Mary’s (Lynn) star Gianna Tringale stood on her head in the first for the North, while Duxbury’s Anna McGinty held serve for the South. Team North struck first with 1:09 to play in the period, as Reading’s Delia Roy fired a shot through traffic to make it a 1-0 contest.

In a unique twist designed in-part to aid with the day’s events, the second period was essentially split into two halves, each running 8:30. The Southern All-Stars responded on both sides of the intermission however. Bishop Feehan’s Caitlin Kelly and Jen Birolini of Pembroke registered two goals within a one-minute stretch to put their group ahead, 2-1. Then, just two minutes after the intermission, Team South picked up a third tally off the stick of Canton’s Ana Lehan, cruising into the final period with a comfortable 3-1 lead.

With 9:44 left in regulation, the Northern All-Stars began their final charge, as Caceda buried a shot off an assist from Arlington Catholic’s Kathleen Simmons to cut it to 3-2. Then, just 1:16 afterwards, they would find the equalizer from Kampersal, stunning the crowd on-hand.

With 6:17 remaining, the Northern All-Stars gained possession, and began throwing pucks at the opposite net in a flurry. Stauss collected the puck, then potted the clinching goal for her squad.

Molly Driscoll of Belmont/Watertown was credited with an assist during the game-winning sequence for Team North.

“I was just trying to get shots up,” said Driscoll. “It was 3-3, there wasn’t a lot of time left. Just trying to get anything on net. The first (attempt) hit the post, deflected. But we had a player coming down (the ice) with me, trailing the whole time. She was able to tuck it in, and that really saved me at the end there.”

Tringale registered 17 saves for Team North in net. Meanwhile, McGinty collected 16 saves for Team South.

“I like to think (wins) come from coaching,” chuckled Sheehan. “But they’re all just such good players. It was a great game. Back-and-forth, could have gone either way. We ended up banging in some rebounds, getting some puck luck, which is good.”

Catholic Memorial’s Connor Fryberger and Franklin’s Ben Paterson each registered a pair of goals to go with an assist, while Marshfield standout Tommy Carroll (two goals) added a spark as the Southern All-Stars capped the winter with a memorable 8-7 victory over Team North at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Rink.

“I think (this) is a great take for the seniors,” said Team South and Boston Latin boys hockey coach Frank Woods. “It allows them one more game, and they enjoy playing this game. The pace is excellent. There’s a lot of skill out there.”

Following a somewhat slow start, fans witnessed a barrage of scoring at the onset of the second period, led primarily by the Northern All-Stars. Catholic Conference stars Brady Plaza of St. John’s Prep’s sniped the net with a one-timer from just inside the blue line, and St. John’s (Shrewsbury) standout Luke Gerardi added a pair of goals in a divided second period, with Team North holding a 3-1 edge at the makeshift intermission.

“We went into the locker room at halftime,” said Carroll. “(We said:) ‘We’ve just got to bring it. We had to bring it. The energy wasn’t up in the first half. I think the bench had a spark there, we started popping some in. That’s how you finish it.”

Back on the ice, the Southern stars flipped a switch. Suddenly, the chemistry between the athletes began to show, as goals started being registered left and right. Over the final half of the game, Team South outscored Team North, 7-1.

With 3:39 left in regulation, Fryberger put the South ahead for good, as he gained a bit of space in transition. After making a deke around the keeper, the senior lost sight of the puck, wondering where it had gone. The whistle sounded, as it turned up under a pad across the line. At that stage, his group had pulled off a rally to take a 7-6 lead.

“I didn’t think it went in at first,” Fryberger said. “I just kind of made a couple of moves, and just threw it on net.”

Reading’s Cam Fahey cut the deficit to 8-7 for Team North with a play reminiscent of the acclaimed Michigan “wraparound” goal with 1:17 left, but that was as close as his group could get. St. John’s Prep star Christian Rosa added a pair of goals for the Northern All-Stars.

For Woods, the comeback victory put a close on a winter season in which his Boston Latin team capture its first Div. 2 championship since 2005. It was an added bonus that the Wolfpack coach was joined by two of his players at the showcase with Aidan Fitzpatrick and Matt Carrara alongside.

“(Great way) to sort of cap it off,” said Woods. “What was nice was that we had two of our guys here in the game today. To see two of our guys play in this game, with both Fitzpatrick and Carrara, it was nice to see.”

Two hands were needed to count the number of viable contenders in Div. 1 alone, which put just about any prediction in jeopardy. But when the St. Mary’s of Lynn and Duxbury girls skated off the TD Garden ice as state champions on St. Patrick’s Day, it shouldn’t have come with much surprise.

That light shined brightest on the top-seeded Dragons at least, who were the preseason favorite and gave no reason to believe throughout a mere three losses this year that they weren’t capable of repeating their Div. 2 state title. A loaded No. 2 Falmouth used offensive fireworks to get to TD Garden in a special season, but Duxbury beat it 4-0 for back-to-back crowns and a 15-3 goal differential this postseason.

The word “dynasty” has been floated with only four seniors set to graduate from the squad, and it has every right to be used with how strong the Dragons looked. So strong, they very well could have been the best team in the state, period.

In Div. 1, there really wouldn’t have been much of a surprise for any one of the top 10 teams all year to go the distance with how close the field was. What makes it less surprising for St. Mary’s, despite a young team co-anchored by two freshmen and an eighth-grader, stems from a notably stingy defense and a championship culture like Duxbury’s. Much of the cast was different from last year’s loss to Shrewsbury, but defense, goaltending and some Bella Freitas magic helped the Spartans survive dangers at every turn.

And boy were there plenty in an exciting year.

You could have flipped a coin between Notre Dame Academy (H) and St. Mary’s and felt comfortable naming either the deserving champion, which spoke to the accuracy of Div. 1’s No. 1 and No. 2 seedings. Malden Catholic continued its rapid escalation into contention as a young program with its first Final Four appearance, while Archbishop Williams overcame its 11th seed to actually put the Spartans on the brink of elimination in the state semifinals. Shrewsbury and Boston Latin did much of the same in the two rounds prior.

Lincoln-Sudbury didn’t find success in the tournament but won the challenging MVC/DCL Large in its first year as a member. Hingham was every bit of a title contender but couldn’t figure out Malden Catholic. Pope Francis and Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading fell victim to tough draws in the tournament that held it from advancing as far as they could. The same goes for Methuen/Tewksbury against Archbishop Williams, while underdog Belmont/Watertown shed its No. 14 seed for an impressive run itself.

The Patriot League made a final push toward the claim of “strongest league” in Div. 2, as No. 11 Marshfield set program marks with a trip alongside Duxbury to the Final Four. Milton was the closest team to beating the Dragons with a 2-1 finish, though Algonquin looked close to a second state final appearance in three years when it took a 1-1 tie with Duxbury into the third period of their semifinal. If not for falling short to Marshfield, Burlington looked like a real threat to dethrone the Dragons, too, as a noted giant killer in the regular season.

Upsets got started right away with No. 27 Leominster surprising No. 6 Longmeadow in the Div. 2 first round. No. 20 Westford Academy pulled it off in Div. 1 too by upsending No. 13 Winthrop.

Career milestones rang loud this year, with juniors Jen Birolini (Pembroke) and Caroline Doherty (Hingham) each surpassing 100 goals. HPNA junior Julianna Taylor picked up her 1,500th save, and King Philip senior Kelly Holmes recorded her 150th point.

If not, it’s understandable.

We knew what would happen once the state tournament rolled around because the regular season was simply bonkers. But did we really?

Across all four boys divisions this postseason, the 36 times a lower-seeded team advanced – not all of them quite “upsets” – was the most in the young history of the statewide format. Two 11th-seeded teams in the state finals was a first, Div. 1’s 18th-seeded Arlington Catholic was the lowest seed to reach a boys hockey Final Four, and the mere seven teams seeded in their division’s top four to reach those state semifinals was about half of what we saw in 2022.

Throw in that only one of the three top-seeded boys teams at TD Garden left with a championship, and the state tournament was utter chaos.

The storylines within that are even better.

Reading was the preseason favorite in the Middlesex League Liberty race. The young Arlington Spy Ponders went on to steal the league crown at the end, only for Winchester to buckle down for a tournament run longer than both. Overtime magic thrice helped the Red and Black reach the title game and they pushed a heavily-favorited St. John’s Prep to the brink of heartbreak for an all-time public versus private battle. As head coach Gino Khachadourian likes to say, they put Winchester back on the map.

Those Eagles seemed like they were in a class of their own all year, too, somehow finding the secret to tame an otherwise title-worthy Xaverian group three times. It led to something they’ve never accomplished, taking great pride in winning the Pete Frates Winter Classic, the Catholic Conference and the state title, all in one year.

No upset was bigger than 11th-seeded Boston Latin’s over top-seeded Tewksbury for the Div. 2 state title. The Wolfpack were even bigger underdogs than Winchester after losing twice to a Redmen attack that seemed impossible for anyone to keep up with, but the pride of Boston took Round 3 to secure their first hockey championship in 19 years.

Marblehead was 0-6 to start the year and 2-8 after finally getting a couple wins, but finished the season on a 15-1-1 tear to snap top-seeded Nauset’s 19-game win streak in the Div. 3 state final. The Warriors look like they’re in good position to get back after reaching their first title game in 20 years, but it was the Headers’ turn to take the crown this time.

That’s not even to mention an all-time defensive push to a program-first state championship, with Dover-Sherborn/Weston locking down Div. 4 juggernauts Sandwich, Winthrop and then Hanover at TD Garden to win its title game debut.

In all, it’s hard to briefly characterize the many impressive feats that entertained us this year. Legacies were stamped beyond championships, it felt like four or five players reached big career milestones every week, and our heads were truly on swivels any given Saturday.

Boys, take a bow. Counting down the days until December.

Loose pucks

It’s on everyone’s mind – a Div. 1 state championship cannot end the way this year’s did. It’s a shame much of the public is already putting an asterisk on St. John’s Prep’s title because while it’s understandable, it’s also unreasonable.

Should the buzzer-beating goal to win it, which still-frame replay photos show clearly was still on the stick, have counted? Not at all. The game should have gone to overtime.

But was it close enough in real time to chalk it to a common human error in sports, which is also what negated a crucial Eagles goal earlier in the game? Absolutely. St. John’s Prep benefitted from a missed call at the end, but is certainly champion nonetheless.

Regardless, at TD Garden with the championship on the line, it’s time we look further into bringing in the capability of replay review in some form. We don’t have it available during the regular season, but there are also a couple other things we don’t do until the state final. Why not this, especially after what just happened? If not, goal judges used to be hired for the state finals. A goal judge quickly would’ve waved it off, and it also seems like an easy fix to bring back for the future.

Not addressing this in some capacity for next year would be a major shortcoming. Add it to a list of other things this tournament that could use tweaking.

Coaches have been vocal that shootouts should be at the top of the list, expressing disdain for a team’s postseason fate to come down to an individual-based challenge with an unnecessary amount of pressure on said individuals. It’s a pretty fair gripe.

The distinction for where the state quarterfinals would be played seemed to have blurred lines. It wasn’t necessarily meant to be “neutral” but more a guaranteed rink that fits qualifying criteria for the round. Woburn and Duxbury (girls) getting to play at their home rinks within that, though, doesn’t scream equality when other “home” teams weren’t fortunate to have their rinks as a pre-determined site. We might as well make the round neutral.

Playing at TD Garden is a wonderful experience high school hockey players are fortunate to get. Starting a state final after 9:30 p.m. isn’t so desirable. Six state finals in one day is great in theory, but too much happens in the day to stay on schedule. We need an alternative method of playing state finals on a grand stage.

Led by the star backcourt of Camryn Collins and Kailey Sullivan, the Warriors won all five of their state tournament games by over 20 points to capture the Div. 3 state title. Foxboro’s dominance was unmatched across any other division on either the boys or girls side and gave the Warriors their second consecutive crown.

But the Foxboro girls were far from the only team to walk away from the 2023-24 season as a repeat champion. Cathedral ran through the Div. 4 field to win their second straight crown. The Panthers have gone back-to-back three times over the last decade.

On the boys side, Malden Catholic showcased that bumps in the regular season were just that, bumps. The Lancers overpowered the competition in four of their five contests to win the Div. 2 state title for a third consecutive year. Somerset Berkley was the one team to give MC trouble, coming within two points of a state final berth. The Raiders had an impressive season, winning 20 games and knocking off Mansfield in the Div. 2 state quarterfinals.

Somerset was not the only South Coast team that showed out. Wareham and Bourne faced off in the Div. 4 State Final. After falling in the regular season contest, the Vikings got the Canalmen when it mattered most as star AJ Lopes and forward Antoine Crossen led Wareham to a second straight title.

In Div. 1, Worcester North showed that it was best with its back up against the wall. The Polar Bears dominated overtime to defeat Xaverian in the Div. 1 state semifinals and then overcame a 12-point deficit to knock off Franklin and repeat as Div. 1 state champions.

There were also storybook endings. Under the stewardship of alum Hugh Coleman, Charlestown captured its first state championship since 2005 with a win over Old Rochester. Coleman’s son, Jaylen, and his nephew, Jaylin Williams-Crawford, were the stars of the Townies success.

Bishop Feehan girls had one of the more impressive wins of state championship weekend. Less than a month after losing to Wachusett by 31 points, the Shamrocks got revenge by defeating the Mountaineers to win their first title since 2016. The weekend saw notable underclassmen rise to the occasion including Medfield freshman Naya Annigeri who scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Warriors to the Div. 2 state title with a win over Worcester South.

Hoosac Valley sent both its boys and girls team to the state final. While Hoosac Valley’s girls came home victorious, New Mission joined Charlestown in the realms of Boston City League teams to bring home a trophy as it knocked off the Hurricanes, 57-49.

The MIAA State Tournament returned to UMass Boston. For three days fans were treated to thrillers like Sharon boys’ win just before the buzzer and Worcester North overcoming a stingy effort by Xaverian to win in overtime. It was nice to see UMass Boston back as a host, reminding of so many classics over the years before taking a decade-long hiatus from hosting. The Tsongas Center, Worcester State and Taunton all showed once again why they are premier venues come postseason time.

The wildest game of the postseason may have come in the preliminary rounds when Marshfield defeated Lynn English on the road, 100-98, in overtime.

In an unfortunate turn of events, tragedy struck the state tournament when referee Don McGillicudy died after a heart attack in the final seconds of Watertown’s state quarterfinal win. McGillicudy was highly regarded professionally and personally by fellow officials, coaches, and administrators.

THREE GRIPES

Press Row Belongs to The Media

The MIAA has allowed press row to get out of control with numerous uncredentialed supposed “media” members flocking to the sideline at state championship weekend to express their brilliant insights. To make matters worse, these individuals openly cheer, yell at officials, and even look to coach kids on the court from their seats right on the floor. Their stipend from the school must have gotten lost in the mail. It is completely unprofessional to have folks with the lanyards around their necks acting in such fashion. If you are going to have rules in terms of who you allow by the court, then enforce them. Otherwise you may as well have any other fan sitting there.

Proper Scores

It remains an issue that teams do not report their scores to arbiter (or the paper) in a timely fashion. As a result, scores get reported inaccurately well after the fact or even worse there is a discrepancy in the final score. In the old days, this would not have been as big a deal as long as the winner was accurate. Nowadays, with margin of victory such a crucial component of a team’s overall seeding, the final score being agreed upon by both teams and being undoubtedly correct is a necessity. It’s important that each team has books that are thorough, double-checked, and confirmed with the opponent to ensure accurate scorekeeping.

Punish the Flop

Too often this season, I saw teams take advantage of an official’s willingness to showcase their favorite charge call by sliding under a driver’s feet at the last moment or fall back seemingly 10 feet when getting backed down by a post player. This is not good defense, these are flops and they are happening a half-dozen times a game. It’s time for these to be punished early in games with more block than charge calls. There is no restricted area in high school, so coaches are encouraging kids to camp out under the basket and slide in under an offensive player’s feet at the last second. It’s dangerous, not basketball savvy but rather cheap, and should be punished by officials, not rewarded.

10 Teams to Watch Next Season

Malden Catholic
North Andover
BC High
Lowell
Somerset Berkley
Newton North
Burke
Cambridge
Pembroke
Attleboro

The latest class of honorees are Mason McSweeney and Matthew Callahan (St. John’s Prep), Wyatt Bolduc, Brandon Jackman and Connor Curtis (Mansfield), Mike Bonsu, Joe McCauley and Darius Day (Dexter Southfield), Luke Connolly and Anthony Nichols (Bishop Fenwick), Kieran Corr (Winchester), John Enman and Connor Lebrun (Andover), Jack Kelly and Henry Machnik (BB&N), Zach Wolinski and Jake Saalfrank (North Andover), Ben Caledonia and Ferris Collins (Milton), Aidan Gilbert (Norton), Ethan Harris (Taunton), Henry Hasselbeck (Xaverian), Devin Hunt (Westwood), Jason Martin (Dartmouth), Lincoln Moore and Nathan Urman (Foxboro), Roman Schofield (Medfield) and Luke Travaglini (Belmont Hill).

They will be honored in a dinner at the Sheraton in Framingham on June 23.

With less than five minutes left in the Div. 2 state final, he and the Cinderella, 11th-seeded Wolfpack scored three unanswered goals to shock the state with a 4-2 upset win over No. 1 Tewksbury. It was a fitting end to a wild day that didn’t see the finale start until after 9:30 p.m., which meant the trophy presentation wouldn’t come until a couple hours later.

The strike of midnight wouldn’t make it disappear, but Fitzpatrick didn’t seem to relinquish the hardware once he got it.

“I’ve been holding it for a while, and it’s just, I’ve loved every minute of it,” he said. “I love these guys. … The relationships that we form is stronger than I think any other team. It’s awesome, I just have tears in my eyes because it means so much to me.”

Earlier in the week, Boston Latin athletic director Jack Owens, head coach Frank Woods and senior captain Bobby Banks spoke on the significance of representing the city of Boston in the school’s first trip to the state final since last winning it in 2005. To put on a run as a heavy underdog to get to TD Garden, as one of the city’s three remaining public school boys hockey programs, was extremely fulfilling.

Though, not as fulfilling as the heroics they delivered in their own backyard in front of a large showing of support.

“We’re only 10 minutes away, this is a home game for us,” Woods said. “We feel like we represent the city when it comes to hockey at the high school level. … There’s a lot of pride that goes along with that. Certainly, we feel that and we had a great crowd (Sunday). The guys fed off of that as well, it was great.”

“It was only our second time winning in the program, so it obviously comes with a lot of pride,” added sophomore Ryan McHugh. “I’m happy to share it with my teammates.”

Tewksbury, which averaged well over five goals per game all year and did so twice against Boston Latin earlier in the season, couldn’t deliver the same scoring punch it usually does through the first two periods. The Wolfpack worked to hold a 2-0 deficit and cut it in half, then let the magic take over.

Junior Billy Cunniffe scored the game-tying goal with 4:55 left, starting a string of three unanswered goals in less than three minutes. Fitzpatrick buried the go-ahead, and senior captain Matt Carrara put the cherry on top with a highlight-reel goal with a defender on him for the 4-2 lead.

“Coming in here as underdogs, we knew we had to play our best game. We stepped it up at the end,” Carrara said. “(We) got the best momentum at the end, a couple quick goals and it just felt great. The (crowd) was going crazy, cheering us, that was good.”

1. Charlestown (23-2)

2. Franklin (25-2)

3. Wareham (23-3)

4. Xaverian (17-7)

5. Catholic Memorial (19-5)

6. Malden Catholic (16-9)

7. North Andover (19-5)

8. Bourne (23-2)

9. Somerset Berkley (21-3)

10. BC High (16-8)

11. Mansfield (21-5)

12. Lawrence (17-7)

13. Lowell (17-7)

14. Burke (19-5)

15. Manchester Essex (21-2)

16. Sharon (17-8)

17. Bedford (19-4)

18. Cambridge (18-4)

19. Andover (16-6)

20. Central Catholic (14-8)

21. Newton North (15-7)

22. Old Rochester (18-5)

23. Scituate (20-5)

24. New Mission (19-6)

25. Needham (14-8)

1. Foxboro (24-2)

2. Bishop Feehan (21-4)

3. Bishop Fenwick (17-3)

4. Medfield (23-2)

5. Cathedral (19-5)

6. Norwell (23-2)

7. Pentucket (21-2)

8. Central Catholic (18-5)

9. St. Mary’s (19-7)

10. Sandwich (21-2)

11. Woburn (19-5)

12. Notre Dame (21-2)

13. Weymouth (20-5)

14. Bridgewater-Raynham (16-7)

15. Walpole (17-6)

16. Mansfield (18-5)

17. Hanover (17-6)

18. Wellesley (17-5)

19. Needham (15-7)

20. Medway (19-5)

21. Oliver Ames (17-7)

22. Lexington (18-5)

23. Norwood (17-6)

24. Whitman-Hanson (18-5)

25. Billerica (19-3)

ON THE BENCH: Dartmouth (18-4), Apponequet (20-4), Quincy (18-4), Andover (15-8), Bourne (20-3), Old Rochester (15-6)Millis (18-8), Duxbury (14-7), North Reading (15-7), Reading (15-7), Wakefield (16-6), Watertown (16-6), Framingham (14-8), Attleboro (15-8), Taunton (15-7), Bedford (17-4), Newburyport (13-11), Norton (15-6), Cohasset (16-8)

After three periods of 11th-seeded Winchester goalie Aiden Emerick standing on his head in the Div. 1 state final (48 saves) Sunday night at TD Garden, Tighe followed a rebound in regulation’s closing seconds to deliver the top-seeded Eagles (22-3) a 3-2 win at the buzzer. The game’s four officials convened by the scorer’s table to discuss the controversial play and they ruled it a good goal for Tighe’s second on the night.

The Red and Black (16-10-1) put on a run for the ages and pushed the heavy favorites to the brink, but St. John’s Prep survived it for its second state title in three years.

“We prepared this week like we’ve never prepared before,” said Eagles head coach Kristian Hanson. “We showed our resiliency and no-quit attitude of so many guys. … These kids are special to me. This senior group, in particular.”

Winchester’s skaters and Emerick did just about all they could do to give the team a chance, maintaining a 1-1 score through much of the second period after Chris McCarthy tied things up early in the frame. St. John’s Prep put plenty of pepper on the Red and Black with a 51-16 total shot advantage, including one for seemingly a good goal at the end of the frame that was waved off.

McCarthy gave Winchester a stronger taste for an upset when he scored again early in the third for a 2-1 lead, but senior Christian Rosa put a shot on net shortly after on a power play that Jake Vana sent into the slot to Tighe for a 2-2 tie.

“To be down 2-1 in the third after they got that goal … you knew it was going to be a tough hill to climb,” Hanson said. “But when you have kids like Jake Vana and Christian Rosa – I could go down the list. Champions in multiple sports, they know what it takes to win. They pulled it off tonight. Really incredible.”

Emerick went on to stave off 22 shots on him in the third up until the buzzer. Brady Plaza put it on net through a Vana screen, and Tighe finished off the rebound with no time left.

“Honestly, I blacked out,” Tighe said. “I didn’t have to do much, the puck was right there on a platter. … Obviously, it worked out better than I could’ve imagined and it was just an unbelievable feeling.”

Footage of the goal instantly drew controversy on social media, with still-shots showing the time-clock light lit before the puck was shot. Winchester head coach Gino Khachadourian and the team were devastated by the call but are accepting it with grace.

“It’s a tough way to lose,” he said. “I feel bad for them. They gave everything and they’re all distraught in (the locker room). … They’re a great group of kids and they’re a class act, and they know we’ll walk out of here with our heads high, and wish St. John’s Prep the best. They won the championship.”

St. John’s Prep drew first blood on a tip-in from Carson Irving off a shot from JR Goldstein with 2:49 left in the first. Winchester killed off two penalties to keep the game tied in the second and third periods after McCarthy’s first goal.

Amir Jenkins scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as No. 1 Worcester North overcame a double-digit third-quarter deficit to defeat No. 2 Franklin, 59-53, and win its second consecutive Div. 1 state title in front of over 5,000 fans on Sunday night at the Tsongas Center.

The win extends the Polar Bears (24-0) winning streak to 45 straight games. The loss was the first for Franklin in-state this season.

“We are going to go in the locker room, then celebrate, and not worry about anything else right now because we’ve done this twice,” Worcester North coach Al Pettway said. “These kids are different. They never give up. Even down at halftime, they never put their head down.”

Caden Sullivan (24 points, 5 rebounds) followed up a 13-point first half performance with a pair of baskets which, coupled with an Andrew O’Neill three-pointer, gave Franklin its largest lead at 39-27 with 6:10 left in the third.

The Polar Bears turned to their zone pressure to both create trapping opportunities while also leaving the Panthers with a limited shot clock when they did get the ball across halfcourt. The maneuver worked as North turned three turnovers into six points, including a Jenkins layup just before the buzzer, to trim the deficit to 44-41 after three.

Jenkins and the Polar Bears kept its foot on the gas pedal to begin the final stanza. After Joe Okla (12 points, 13 rebounds) came through with a steal, he dished the ball up ahead to Jenkins who finished to put North on top, 47-45. At the other end, Franklin lost rhythm offensively going the first five minutes of the fourth without a field goal.

Four free throws from Jenkins stretched North’s run to 21-4 and the lead to 54-46 with 2:47 left. Franklin made one last run with Sullivan splashing a triple and Sean O’Leary finishing through contact, but Jenkins came up with a crucial tip-in coupled with a fast break layup to put North on top 58-51 with less than 30 seconds remaining.

“We all saw we did not handle their pressure well,” said Franklin coach CJ Neely. “I thought we’d be able to take care of the ball and rebound and that was the story of the game. In the second half we did not take care of the ball and we did not rebound.”

North led 14-11 after one, but baskets by Bradley Herndon and O’Leary highlighted a 9-2 run that put the Panthers on top 20-16. Sullivan then buried two three-pointers and had two strong takes to the cup before Hansy Jacques drilled a triple as the clock winded down to put Franklin on top 32-25 going into the break.

Avin Rodovsky scored late in the first period, goaltender Leo Burdge made 32 saves and the Headers completed a magical turnaround to their season with a 1-0 win against top-seeded Nauset in the Division 3 State Championship game.

Rodovsky scored the lone goal with 4:41 remaining in the first period off a great feed from Kyle Hart, who drove down the left wing and circled the net for a wraparound opportunity.

Instead of putting the puck on net, Hart slid it across the crease to a wide-open Rodovsky for the goal that held up as the one that delivered Marblehead its first state title since 2011.

It was an agonizing loss for the Warriors, who had won 19 straight entering the contest and hadn’t been shut out all season. They dominated possession for most of the game and held a 32-14 advantage in shots on goal.

But Burdge was unflappable in net, swallowing everything up and barely allowing any rebounds throughout the afternoon.

“The pucks just don’t go in. I don’t know how to explain it,” Headers coach Mark Marfione said. “Even when they’re pressing us hard, you expect Leo to come up with the save somehow, someway. He’s so calm and collected back there.”

His biggest moment came with just minutes to play in the third. Marblehead was on the power play, but gave the puck away to Nauset senior Logan Poulin, who crashed the net on a shorthanded bid.

Burdge made the first stop, and a chaotic scrum ensued in front. The Warriors got several whacks at the puck, but the junior goaltender finally found it through the madness and covered for a whistle.

When Burdge couldn’t make a stop, the Headers had fortune on their side, as Nauset hit the post on four separate shot attempts but never found the back of the net.

“It was a little bit of luck, a little bit of Leo,” Marfione said with a grin.

It was a fitting way for Marblehead to cap off an improbable run to the state title. The Headers were 0-6 and later 2-8 before catching fire and finishing the season on a 15-1-1 run.

“We have such a tight-knit group. We all want to play for each other,” Hart said. “We faced a lot of adversity. I think the whole state knows we were 0-6. That really helped us get closer.”

“It’s a pretty remarkable group,” Marfione said. “We knew we had a good team. It was just weird bounces, one-goal losses, letting up shorthanded goals. It was frustrating… but there was never a time where we quit. The effort was there.”

Naya Annigeri led the Warriors with 16 points as Medfield completed a season of dominance with a 48-42 win over a gritty Worcester South team.

“We’re so excited,” Annigeri said. “I almost can’t believe that it’s real. We worked so hard as a team and trusted each other.”

The Warriors (23-2) never trailed on Sunday but Worcester South made getting to the finish line a massive challenge thanks to their physicality, something that Medfield coach Mark Nickerson had his team ready for.

“We had some of the JV and freshmen boys come in and practice against us for the last few days,” Nickerson said. “We knew they were going to be physical and that helped us get ready for it.”

What also helped the Warriors was their efficiency from long range. Of the 14 field goals they hit on Sunday, 10 of them came from behind the arc as Annigeri and Mary Palladino (12 points) had three apiece.

The Warriors led comfortably through most of the first half after closing the first on an 11-3 run and carried a 26-17 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter would be a different story as South turned up the pressure on defense and clearly rattled the Warriors.

Jaiyla Colon’s three got the Colonels (23-2) going and when Anisty Robles hit a runner in the lane four minutes later, South had cut the lead to 31-28.

That’s when Annigeri showed experience beyond her years. She hit back-to-back threes from deep in the left corner and then helped set Palladino up for another trey that was part of a 12-4 run to end the quarter and restore the double-digit lead.

“We were lucky to get out of that third quarter with a bigger lead than we had going in,” Nickerson said. “They came out tough and we panicked a little bit. But the kids settled down and found their composure.”

Worcester didn’t go down without a fight as they held the Warriors to only one field goal in the fourth quarter.

The problem for the Colonels was that Medfield’s defense was just as stingy. South could get no closer than 47-42 as the Warriors were able to finally close the door and take home the title.

“The kids held their composure when it got rough. They are a special group,” Nickerson said.

The junior center had been struggling with a lower body injury for weeks. However, she had no intention of sitting out the Dragons’ latest trip to a state final, especially given the opponent.

Greenwood turned in a two-point outing (goal, assist) as Duxbury captured the Div. 2 girls hockey championship for a second straight season with a 4-0 blanking of No. 2 Falmouth at TD Garden.

Duxbury (24-3) became the first girls hockey program to register consecutive state championships since Austin Prep did so in 2022 (pandemic season included).

The Dragons started off  fast. It only took Duxbury 1:52 to draw first blood, as junior Maeve Gallagher slipped past a series of skaters before burying a nifty goal to put her team ahead, 1-0. 

“That was huge,” Gallagher said. “We knew we needed to come out (strong). If we came out flat, we knew that could cost us the whole game. So getting that was almost a sigh of relief, a sense of comfort.”

In almost the exact same fashion as Gallagher, Lucia Rose helped Duxbury get off to a rapid start in the second period. The sophomore’s first career goal was a laser shot from just inside the blue line as the Dragons extended their lead to 2-0 with 13:06 left in the stanza.

“She actually mentioned it before the game,” Duxbury coach Dan Najarian said of Rose. “She said: ‘Coach, I’m going to get my first goal at the Garden.’ Sure enough, and I’m not sure if you saw it, but afterwards she turned around and looked over at the bench.”

Later on with 3:52 remaining in the second, Greenwood managed to collect a loose rebound, then potted her 17th goal as Duxbury constructed a comfortable 3-0 lead. The moment was special for the junior, facing many of the same athletes she grew up playing alongside during her childhood in Falmouth.

“Today was a good closing game,” Greenwood said. “I finally felt like I was able to play my game. My team is incredible, and they could have handled this without me. But I think that was a good way to end the season.” 

Megan Carney put a bow on the win, tallying a rebound goal with just over two minutes to play in regulation.

Anna McGinty registered her final shutout of the season for Duxbury. With her latest win, the senior completed a campaign surrendering just 21 total goals.

Duxbury has now gone undefeated in six trips to the state championship since its first in 2011. And the Dragons are set to only graduate four seniors from their vaunted roster this spring. 

“Luckily, we’ve developed a little bit of a culture here,” said Najarian. “We’ve got good leaders. I’ve got a great junior class that’s going to be seniors next year. Hopefully, they can carry on the tradition.”

In the end, the blood, sweat, and tears and the subtle remainder were all worth it for the storybook ending for the two-time state champion Vikings.

Wareham (23-3) lost to Bourne back on Jan. 26, 71-61, on their home court and turned the heat up to finish off what they started. The loss to the Canalmen was the last time the Vikings would lose this season as they capped their 12th win in a row with an 86-71 victory over the Canalmen and collected the Div. 4 boys state championship along the way for the second year in a row at the Tsongas Arena.

“I’ve been watching these kids since the fourth grade, we recruited them to come here, and we told them if they came here, this was going to happen. And for this to actually happen is unbelievable,” said Faniel.

“If the group stayed together and does what they are supposed to do, but it doesn’t always work out this way. They completed every chapter, every checkbox, and it’s been an incredible ride.”

The win gives Wareham back-to-back state titles for the first time in program history and sends nine of their seniors home winners including Ajay Lopes who finished things in style with a game-high 25 points.

“I don’t like to talk about myself that much, but I know I am the leader of this team right here and I’m glad I am and glad they chose me,” said Lopes, who is leaning towards postgraduate schools after the year ends. “We had a 14-3 run at the end (of the half), and I kept saying – ‘It’s not over yet, they can still come back’.”

The game was nip and tuck throughout with the first quarter ending in a tie 15-15, but as Lopes alluded, Wareham finished off the final 2:10 of the first half with a 14-3 run to take a 42-34 lead into the locker room.

Aaron Cote (15 points) hit two bookend three-pointers in the run with the first giving the Vikings the lead for good, 33-31.

One of the few players coming back next season, Amare Rose, was outstanding with 19 points, 14 in the first half, as the freshman’s energy off the bench ignited the Vikings.

Cote finished things off with a corner trey with the assist from Lopes as he drove into the paint at the halftime buzzer to give Wareham the nine-point lead.

“This game he had to prove something, and Aaron showed he is great and can do anything. He can defend their best player, shoot the three and for him to take out Leo (Andrade) was huge, and it was great for the whole team,” said Lopes.

Andrade led Bourne with 17 points, but it was the cagy defense of Cote that limited Andrade to only three second-half points and the Wareham swarming full-court press was a key factor down the stretch.

Bourne finished the season with an amazing 23-2 record and earned their first trip to the state finals since 1959.

“They are a lot like us and get out in spurts, but they are tough to catch because they shoot the ball so well, have so many kids that are athletic, and you can’t put the ball on the ground,” said Bourne head coach Scott Ashworth. “I give my guys a lot of credit. To play 25 games and win 23 of them is a pretty good year. This was a lot of fun, and we have some guys back, so you never know. Maybe we’ll take another run at it.”

The Canalmen cut the deficit to seven – 68-61 in the fourth behind the efforts of Mike Dankert who scored 11 of his 15 points coming the fourth quarter alone. But it was not enough as Lopes scored 10 points in the final five minutes of play highlighting his leadership on the court to finish off the back-to-back championship.

“There was nothing easy about this journey. It was extremely hard with the offseason, every practice, taking everyone’s best shot and the expectations of the community through the roof, but they had to stay even-keeled throughout it all,” said Faniel. “When we don’t play our best and we don’t execute – we can be beat. We had a feeling we might see these guys again, but let’s put it this way, I didn’t have to get them up for this one.”

After going down 16-6, the top-seeded Panthers put together a masterful 30-10 run to go up 36-26 at the half and cruised to a 69-49 victory over No. 3 South Hadley to claim back-to-back Div. 4 state titles. It is now their sixth title in nine seasons with three back-to-back crowns.

“It feels really great,” said Cathedral coach Clinton Lassiter about winning another state title. It’s believed to tie him with Malden Catholic’s John Walsh and Jack O’Brien for the most in state history. “So now, it is a battle for first place.”

After a slow start and signs of nervousness, Lassiter called a timeout trailing 16-6. The defensive intensity then stepped up as Cathedral (19-5) forced 13 of its 16 first half turnovers during the 30-10 run to go up by double digits.

“We wanted to play up-tempo and it starts on defense,” said Lassiter about the defensive pressure picking up late in the first quarter. “We weren’t making shots and we played slow in the first quarter. I think some of that was nerves and some of that was (South Hadley) making shots. We didn’t rebound at all in the first quarter and I think that slowed us down.”

Junior Hijjah Allen-Paisley was an integral part of the run as she netted nine of her 15 points in the second while also forcing two offensive fouls on South Hadley (21-4).

The focal point of the offense came off the hands of senior Jasmine Day-Cox as she compiled 20 points, nine boards, eight steals and seven assists.

“Obviously, (Jasmine) is such a great leader and a good person,” Allen-Paisley said about the senior. “I enjoyed playing with her and I’m going to miss playing with her next year.”

Day-Cox had eight points in the first quarter to keep the Panthers down only 20-15 after one.

“At some moment, we were just like follow (Jasmine),” Lassiter said about the lone senior. “Whatever she is doing, do what she’s doing. She fit in as the ball handler and she was crashing the boards crazy. She was scoring the ball outside and inside. She had that look in her eyes that she wasn’t trying to lose.”

Day-Cox with the seven assists also had a hand in 16 of the 25 made field goals and welcomed that pressure after a slow start.

“It feels good,” Day-Cox said about being the offensive focus. “Everybody knows I’m the only senior, so I feel like I just have a bigger responsibility. Like, if I see my team is crumbling – they’re upset that we’re down – then I feel like I’m the person who has to bring them back up. So, it was just like win or go home and I didn’t want to go home after coming all the way down here.”

In the third, it was junior Malani Smith (16 points) who stepped up as she sunk a pair of free throws as well as two triples late to push the lead out to 50-36.

Cathedral then outscored the Tigers 19-11 in the fourth to cement the victory.

For South Hadley, freshman Kate Phillips led with 11 points while Ava Asselin and Drew Alley each added nine.

The Raiders would respond by scoring five unanswered goals en route to a 5-1 victory that secured the co-op program its first state title. Head coach Alex Marlow said that the dominant response describes how much this team wanted to win.

“It’s all them,” Marlow said. “They did everything, they bought into everything we did. They come ready to work and they are fun. We consider all of us as friends.

The Hawks came out hot, peppering Raiders goalie Andrew Goldstein with high quality chances from the jump. This would pay off when senior Cam Scott received a pass from Joe Galvin and fired a blast into the top corner to give Hanover a 1-0 lead.

Goldstein was not happy about this goal, as the dominant senior felt like he could have made the save.

“It was a bit of a soft goal I let in,” Goldstein said. “My brothers had my back today. I’m so proud of them and proud of what they did. We always have each other’s backs.”

The Raiders had a quick response in the middle period, generating some solid chances early. This resulted in a great passing play between Brayden McKenna, Cole McEwan and Max Niit that saw Niit bury a one-time shot into the back of the net, tying the score.

The Raiders kept it moving for the remainder of the period and took a lead for the first time late in the period when Hunter Hourihan benefited from an awkward bounce out front and buried a goal.

“I was just trying to get a shot on net,” Hourihan said. “I just saw it fall off the goalies head and go in.”

Sixteen seconds later, Christos Rogaris picked up a rebound from an Andrew Cahill shot to build a multi-goal lead.

The Raiders picked up right where it left off in the final period, with Niit and Max Patenaude scoring in quick succession to increase the lead to 5-1. This would be the extent of the scoring as the Raiders earned the coveted championship.

“It’s so special,” Raiders captain Sawyer Garzone said. “It’s a four-year process. We did pretty well but nothing like this. Now, to come through To make it all the way here is awesome.”

Goldstein said the victory in his final game for the Raiders fulfilled a childhood dream.

“You dream about this as a little kid,” Goldstein said. “I’ve dreamed about this these last four years. There’s not much else to be said. It’s everything.”

Top-seeded Notre Dame Academy of Hingham took all the momentum of the Div. 1 state final by tying the score with only 7.3 seconds remaining in regulation, but it was the No. 2 Spartans (23-3-1) that won a well-earned title in triple overtime, 5-4.

Freshman Alyssa Norden scored her second goal with only 2:26 left in the third overtime, finishing off a bid from fellow freshman Bella Freitas (two goals, assist). Senior Gianna Tringale was nails in net to win an impressive goalie battle against Cougars senior Ava Larkin (30 saves), making 14 of her 39 saves in sudden-victory.

The Spartans had to rally twice in regulation prior, avenging last year’s loss in the title game with a nearly entirely new team.

“I’m so proud of the kids, obviously, the game could’ve went either way,” said St. Mary’s head coach Frank Pagliuca. “The goal at the end of the game that we gave up was tough, but the kids just kept playing and stayed focused. They battled and competed their hearts out today, I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

“It’s just amazing,” added Tringale. “Last high school career game at the TD Garden, even if we lost it would be (such) a great experience. But, hey, we won.”

Cougars eighth-grader Emma Burke seemed to take the breath out of the building for the Spartans in regulation’s closing seconds, finishing off the 4-4 game-tying goal on a rebound. What both teams followed with was pure guts.

Teams traded Grade-A opportunities throughout all three overtimes, though Tringale saved the season a few times with her glove and Larkin fended off a chance in front from Freitas at the end of double overtime. The Spartans, with a shorter bench, featured inspiring defensive play from eighth-grader Vanessa Hall and Abby Malcuit, drew four NDA penalties – all committed on Freitas.

The last of the penalties set up the game-winner. Keira Twomey got the puck low to Freitas in the right circle, and she sent the puck toward the far post after deking out Larkin at the doorstep. Norden was there to bury it.

Both of Norden’s goals came after leaving with a notable injury early in the second period. St. Mary’s outscored NDA 4-1 once she was cleared.

“We always worked together, I love being on line with (Freitas),” Norden said of the game-winner. “When I got off (in the second), I was like, ‘I need to play.’ … It kind of changed my game up because right after it happened I scored.”

Perhaps nobody looked as defeated in the moments after the game-tying goal to close regulation than Tringale. She responded as well as one could, especially after NDA got the first five shots of overtime and out-shot the Spartans 7-4 in double overtime.

“(Teammates) are looking at me,” Tringale said. “You got to turn around and just focus for the next shot. … They put their trust on me so I’ve got to put that trust back on them and not dwell on the shot or goal.”

“She was nails, I really believe that she won us that game,” Pagliuca added. “I’m so proud of her, the kid hadn’t started a varsity game until her senior year. So think about how far she’s come.”

The Cougars twice built leads earlier, with Devon Moore scoring in the game’s opening three minutes. After Audrey Zinck tied the score for St. Mary’s three minutes later, Sarah White potted a pair of unassisted goals five minutes apart in the second period for a 3-1 NDA lead.

Norden and Freitas scored less than a minute apart late in the frame to tie things up, and Freitas scored midway through the third for a 4-3 lead.

Camryn Collins completed her career in Warriors colors with a game-high 25 points as Foxboro simply overwhelmed Norwell, 66-43, to win the Div. 3 title and its second in a row after winning in Div. 2 last season.

“These girls were just amazing,” Foxboro coach Lisa Downs said. “They had to be all year with everyone circling them on the calendar and giving them their best game.”

The Warriors (24-2) never trailed on Saturday as they devastated the Clippers (23-2) with runs of 15-0, 10-2, 9-0 and 11-2 en route to leading by as much as 25.

“It’s rare for something like this to happen,” Collins said. “It was a hard road the last two years and I’m so happy we could get back and come out on top.”

Foxboro held the Clippers without a field goal in the first quarter as they built a 17-2 lead on the back of 12 combined points from Collins and Addie Ruter, who was a constant pain for the Clippers in the paint en route to 17 points.

They kept the pressure on in the second quarter and built the lead to 29-9 when Norwell called timeout to try and stop the bleeding.

The move was a good one as the Clippers suddenly came alive offensively. Heidi Warren, Maddie Oliver (17 points, which saw her reach the 1,000 mark for her career) and Reagan Dowd all hit threes as a part of an 11-0 run in the final 80 seconds that cut the gap to 31-22 at the break.

If the Warriors were rattled, it sure didn’t show as they came out and blitzed Norwell to begin the third. Collins and Kailey Sullivan (15 points) accounted for a 9-0 run that pushed the lead back to 18.

This time Norwell couldn’t come up with a response. The Clippers got as close as 13 late in the third but from there on, it was all Foxboro.

Collins took over in the fourth, scoring nine straight and 11 in all as the Warriors blew the game open.

“I kept calling plays for Cam because I could see she was going to score. She just had that look,” Downs said.

All that was left from there was for the Warriors starters to get their curtain call, which came with just under two minutes to go.

“We just kept getting better as the year went on and better as the post season went on. I’m so proud of them,” Downs said.

Williams-Crawford racked up 26 points, 13 rebounds, and six steals while Hunter-Coleman tallied 18 points, seven rebounds, and five steals to lead No. 1 Charlestown to its first boys basketball state title since 2005 with a 61-40 win over No. 2 Old Rochester on Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Center.

It’s Charlestown’s seventh championship in program history. Six-time champion Jack O’Brien, who coached Coleman at the school, was in attendance Saturday.

The win culminates a mission by Coleman to return his alma mater to prominence after he won a pair of championships at Brighton in 2013 and 2017. With his son Hunter-Coleman and nephew Williams-Crawford at the forefront, Charlestown was one of the top teams in Eastern Mass. throughout the 2023-24 season. It dropped just a pair of contests and defeated all five of its tournament foes by double figures.

“I know what the kids are going through so I just wanted to be a person that could show them that life can be as good as you want it to be no matter how it starts,” Coleman said. “That’s everything I believe in. I look at the community. Not just Charlestown but also Boston. I look at everybody, and it means a lot.”

Throughout the first 20 minutes, the Bulldogs (21-5) managed to get the tempo to their liking. They deployed a zone press to slow the Townies’ attack while also showcasing an ability to attack the rim. After trailing by 10 at the half, Joe Butler drilled two triples to help pull the Bulldogs within 28-23 with 4:15 left in the third.

From that point forward it was all Charlestown. Williams-Crawford converted two of his steals into buckets and Hunter-Coleman went fearless to the cup as part of a 17-7 run that put Charlestown up 45-30 in the fourth. The Townies left little doubt in the final stanza as Williams-Crawford and Hunter-Coleman had four transition buckets around a layup from Trevari Andrews to go in front 23 with just over two minutes remaining.

“It’s amazing to be part of the (Charlestown) legacy now,” Hunter-Coleman said. “Being with my uncle and my dad and knowing what they did – knowing my name is going to be on a banner like theirs was, it just feels great.”

What that meant was a defensive clinic down the stretch to power the second-seeded Titans (19-6) past No. 1 Hoosac Valley, 57-49, in the Div. 5 state final at the Tsongas Center on Saturday.

An intense back-and-forth game throughout the fourth quarter was halted by an 8-2 run over the final couple minutes, separating a mere two-point lead to deliver the program its first state title since 2016.

Jamari Toney-Simmons led all scorers with 17 points while Solis Blue and Musa Fofana each added 12 for New Mission, but it was late steals from Blue and Joseph Jackson (four steals), and strong rebounding, that punctuated the championship.

“What we did isn’t rocket science … they just played tough, hard-nosed basketball,” Clayton said. “I’m just proud of them, man. They locked up defensively that whole entire game. We didn’t get every call, but we played through it. We played through it. … This is them. Four years of these guys being at the school.”

“Words can’t even speak what I feel,” Toney-Simmons added. “I’ve been doing this for four years. … Last year, we got out first round. We made a commitment to coach that we would bring him one, and so we did.”

Shots weren’t falling for the Titans on their first looks in the first half, and the Hurricanes (22-3) took advantage.

Frank Field scored seven of his team-high 15 points in the first quarter for Hoosac Valley, powering a 15-10 lead entering the second. His put-back tip gave it a 19-12 lead early in the frame, and four points from Qwanell Bradley (13 points) powered an 8-0 run for a 27-22 lead entering the break.

New Mission never seemed like it was losing its reach, though, using seven offensive rebounds and five forced turnovers to fuel a run as long as 10-0 to even lead at one point in the second. Chaotic defensive intensity high beyond the arc gave Hurricanes ball-handlers trouble, producing offensive chances in transition that the Titans crashed the glass on to stay close.

“We just emphasized rebound, rebound, rebound,” Clayton said. “Rebound and run. Let’s rebound and run.”

Defensive prowess really showed up in the second half.

Continued pressure on the ball led to Hoosac Valley settling for 3-pointers when it finally got space on the outside, but it shot 0-for-13 from deep. New Mission wasn’t finding much offensive success itself in the third quarter, but allowing only seven points helped it head into the fourth with a 35-34 lead.

Offense erupted in a wild start to the fourth, with eight points each from Blue and Toney-Simmons pacing a game-best 22-point frame. Tough finishes around the hoop highlighted a six-point quarter from Adan Wicks (eight points) to keep Hoosac Valley in it, though, and Field awoke from slow second and third quarters with four more points with the title on the line.

The teams traded buckets all the way until the final few minutes when Blue’s dunk gave New Mission a 49-45 lead. His layup on the next possession put the Titans up 53-49, and the defense from the whole group kept Hoosac Valley off the board from there.

“I thought the team showed great leadership out there today with their defense,” said Toney-Simmons. “Everyone, one-through-five, even from the bench, we’re all playing defense.”

Lawrence JaJa Davis was critical in the win with eight points and nine rebounds. Toney-Simmons and Fofana combined for 15 rebounds.

It was the Wolfpack boys hockey team he played for in 2001 that held a one-goal lead in the Div. 2 state final with about two minutes to go. Danvers rallied and scored the 4–3 game-winner with 50 seconds left, swiping the state title right from under their noses. Owens graduated in 2003 but made sure to be in attendance for a pleasant ending in 2005, when Boston Latin returned to the final and beat Saugus in overtime.

He remembers both games. They’re easier to recall as the only two state final trips in program history, but he remembers. Pride fills his heart with each one.

It’s a big deal then for Owens to see 11th-seeded Boston Latin make its run to TD Garden Sunday for its first Div. 2 state final trip since. They’re set to play top-seeded Tewksbury at 7:30 p.m.

One could say the same about any person watching their former high school reach such a stage. But as a public school out of Boston, which has seen a once proud and rich community of boys hockey programs since dwindle to just three teams, what the Wolfpack represent is much bigger than them.

“It’s just exciting, there’s a lot of buzz around the school,” Owens said. “It’s unique and it’s special. These guys come together, they’re not just playing for one community. They’re playing for really the oldest public school in the country, something really special, and they’re playing for the city of Boston.”

When current head coach Frank Woods became a student at Boston Latin in 1990, the school had switched from the Boston City League to the Dual County League. But as an assistant to former longtime head coach Dave Coleman, he certainly heard the stories of what the City League used to be.

He knows about the teams from Charlestown, South Boston, East Boston, Boston English, Latin Academy, and Boston Tech. He heard of the back-to-back games down at Matthews Arena.

“Every neighborhood in the city that had a high school, that’s how it used to be,” Woods said.

Now, the representation for those neighborhoods lies in the exam school’s players from different districts.

Senior captain Bobby Banks is the only player from South Boston on the team. Fellow senior captains Matt Carrara and Aidan Fitzpatrick come from Hyde Park. Others reside in Brighton, Roslindale, West Roxbury, Beacon Hill, North End and Dorchester.

All of those districts are seeing their first boys hockey state final appearance since Boston Latin last did it 19 years ago. The players know what they’re playing for.

“I have neighbors even down the street from me that played for that (2005 Boston Latin) team,” Banks said. “Just other neighbors in South Boston that either went to Latin School or grew up in that city during that time. Even then, they’re giving my parents the message or good word of good luck on Sunday.”

“I think we take (representing the city) as a feather in our cap for sure,” Woods added. “It’s a pride thing. … We try to remind them that we not only represent our school, but we represent the city itself.”

Part of what makes the state final appearance special for its opponent, Tewksbury, is that much of the team grew up together while playing on the same teams. Seeing that connection through to a state title game as seniors is significant.

In contrast, though, that’s also what makes such a feat so inspiring and impressive for Boston Latin.

Woods gave up trying to track the next class to watch out for at Latin School a long time ago. Testing into the school is challenging, and keeping up with the rigor of it to stay there is just as hard. He calls it impossible to map out who he’s going to get, so the program just works the best it can with whoever they’ve got.

“It’s unlike other places where kids grow up together, they go to the same primary schools and same middle schools,” Woods said. “They play the same youth hockey program since they were mites. Our kids, it’s a different type of program. That doesn’t happen here, so it’s unique.”

“These kids come from all different neighborhoods and get to know each other either in the seventh or the ninth grade,” Owens added. “There’s not that growing up with each other mentality that some of these schools have, that some of these neighborhoods have.”

It’s also not too often a No. 11 seed can make the run the Wolfpack have. Boston Latin was on the radar of many coaches as a team to not take lightly, but not many pegged this group as one to get as far as they have. Even as they’re set to play Tewksbury for a third time this year, 5–2 and 5–1 losses might not have hockey fans believing too much in an upset.

But the three senior captains have played a major role not only on the ice, but in helping a mostly young squad play some emotionally charged hockey. Since last losing to Tewksbury on Feb. 3, the Wolfpack have won nine of their last 10 games. Players like Banks have stepped up, and team defense has been phenomenal.

“I’d like to come up with a captain, senior answer that could reflect all three of us, but I mean, this is just as crazy to us as it is to anyone looking in and anyone on the team,” Banks said. “I think some of us are still a little bit shell shocked at just the fact we’re still going. … We kind of have this unique thing of togetherness.”

Woods says the whole team knows what kind of game it’s in for against the Redmen, and will need to play its best game of the year for a chance.

Rest assured, an entire city is in their corner.