September 20, 2012 pdf edition - Quaboag Current

just like the first. The defense held Chicopee on four
straight plays, capped with an impressive backfield stop
by Jared Spratt for an 8-yard loss. TPW took the ball
over at the Chicopee 35 and later scored on an inside
sprint for 33 yards by Chase Freeland. Leaving the score
now 19-0. The Braves would recover a fumble on the
ensuing kickoff to close out the third quarter.
TPW would score its last touchdown in the forth on a
spectacular run by Sean Farland which had him weaving
and dodging tacklers. A timely block by Chase Freeland
allowed Farland to coast right in for the score and
increasing the Braves lead to 25-0. Tantasqua would later
recover another fumble on the kickoff and then close the
game out with several running plays by Jacob Belanger
and Andrew Lafaille.
“The kids played their hearts out. All of them executed
great,” exclaimed coach Rick Farland.
In the second game of the day the TPW Pee Wee
team hosted Athol –Marhar Patriots. This ended in
another strong performance for Tantasqua Pop Warner
as they went on to win the game 32-0. Athol began the
game receiving and started on their 42-yard line. The
Braves defense of Bryce Iller, Colin Reindeau and
Andrew Jensen pushed the Patriots backward on four
consecutive plays, topped off by a 20-yard loss on a fumbled
punt and tackle by Troy Lee.
Tantasqua took the ball over on the Athol 22 and
immediately scored as Jon Reardon pounded the ball
inside the 10 and Colin Reindeau finished the drive with
a 7-yard touchdown. A missed extra point attempt left
the score 6-0. The TPW defense remained stout as Nick
Lawrence recovered another fumbled punt attempt on
Athol’s 8-yard line. Reindeau would score his second
touchdown of the quarter and Jon Reardon finished it
off with an extra point run. Giving the Braves a 13-0 lead
to end the first quarter.
The Braves defense kept the Patriot off balance with a
great backfield tackle by Nick Lawrence and a near
interception by Jared Langevin. Langevin moments later
returned a 30-yard punt back for a touchdown.
However, an untimely roughing the kicker penalty would
erase the score. The Braves would eventually score
again before the half. An exciting 21-yard pass across the
middle of the field from quarterback Colin Eliason to
Langevin gave way to a Nick Lawrence touchdown. This
left the halftime score at 20-0 TPW.
Athol was unable to recover as Tantasqua scored several
more times while its defense kept the Patriots off the
field. The game ended with a score of 32-0.
The Unlimited Braves played the Winchendon
A Turley Publication • www.turley.com I Thursday, September 20, 2012 PAGE 13
– sports –
Wolverine for the final game of the day. The Wolverine’s
started the game with a 55-yard kickoff return and an
extra point kick. Taking an early 8-0 lead with just seconds
off the clock. The first quarter would end with both
defenses holding each other to consecutive four downs
and out. Winchendon powered by a supersize offensive
line managed to score a touchdown on a run up the middle
to start the second quarter.
TPW would respond with a long sustaining drive as
Michael Farland, Matthew Dumas and Cody Ridz
marched the Braves down the field. Quarterback Joe
Degnan would finish off the drive with a goal line dive
into the end zone. A missed extra point attempt would
close out the half with the score 15-6 Wolverine. The second
half continued to be a tough hard fought match, as
each team held its ground.
Late in the third Winchendon would find their way to
the end zone on a second touchdown run up the middle
and end of the third quarter. The forth remained the
same as no team gave up an inch. Defensive players
Daimond Breckterfield, Stephan “Cook” Kowalewski
fought to get the ball back to the Braves offense. The
game would end 21-6 Winchendon.
Other games
Tiny Mite highlights
First Half: Running backs Jamison Prouix and
Xander Crowell helped setup a Patrick Welton scored on
a 15-yard run. Welton would later score a second on a
25-yard run to end the half.
Andrew Haley and Ayden Blair were relentless on
defense, teaming up on a quarterback sack.
Second half: Welton scored on a fantastic run through
several would be tacklers.
Andrew Haley recovered a fumble off a Jace Hess
tackle.
Mitey Mite Highlights
First half: Nathan Winco started the game with a
great backfield tackle, while Jacob Provencher played
solid defense all half.
Booker Lester scored on a 35-yard touchdown run.
Dillon Cournoyer ran a 22-yard run to setup Booker
Lester’s second touchdown of the half.
Second half: Quarterback Dante Reno had a 35-yard
run to the Springfield goal line then finished it off with a
5-yard touchdown.
Dillon Cournoyer scored a second touchdown on a
32-yard sweep play breaking though multiple tackles.
Reno would get his second touchdown on a 40-yard
run spearheaded from a great upfront block by Maverick
Rizy.
Next game Tantasqua will be home against rival
Southbridge.
WARNER | FROM PAGE 12 College Notes
COUGARS | FROM PAGE 12
assists and Paige Guzik and Ally Sweet each scored
twice as Quaboag defeated upstart Leicester, 9-0 in
Leicester. Quaboag’s Abbe Cote had the shutout for
Quaboag.
After last season’s semifinal exit at the hands of
Oakmont, stronger and more physical Quaboag worked
hard in the offseason to increase their fitness.
“It showed us something,” said O’Neill. “But I liked
what I saw in the way that the team came back. We saw
what our strengths and weaknesses are.”
Notwithstanding, Quaboag has been playing exceptional
field hockey. Koslowski, Ally and Dani Sweet,
Madison Messier, Becky McCann and Guzik were
among the leading position players who played exten-
Ethan
Lacaire
SCHOOL:
Pathfinder
Congratulations
goes out to the
Cougars boys
soccer player.
He scored a goal in
a 4-2 loss to Quaboag.
To nominate someone
for Athlete of the
Week, contact Sports Editor
Dave Forbes at 413-283-8393
ext. 237 or send an e-mail to
dforbes@turley.com.
sively in the offseason.
McCann’s game took a quantum jump, said O’Neill.
Coaching the Bay State Games this offseason, O’Neill
had a further opportunity to coach Guzik who played
there. During the offseason, O’Neill thought Guzik had
improved immensely.
The return of Shelby Jankins in the backfield has also
improved the team’s defense.
“We’re certainly feeling we’re going to continue playing
well,” said O’Neill. “Losing only three seniors gave us
a feeling of confidence going into the year. And I believe
we’ve already seen glimpses of what we can do.”
Bob Schron is a sports correspondent for Turley Publications.
He can be reached at bschron@turley.com.
ATTACK | FROM PAGE 12
ule. Pathfinder has one of its best teams. Bartlett is
always tough.”
On Saturday he added, “But we have some players
who know what it takes. Jon Janosz (105 yards) and
Joey Zalatores (nine tackles) can definitely help Tyler
Wade to pick up the slack.”
In addition, the Cougars will get Eric McCormick
back after an early season injury
“But we’ll miss Victor Santiago.”
Asked about Santiago’s status, Shepherd answered,
“Victor left the team and it was a big disappointment.
He didn’t want to play football anymore.”
The Cougars went to the Wildcat occasionally with
Janosz, still an exceptional player and the return as
well of Steven Tabor has helped imperceptibly.
“But we need to pick up the overall performance,”
said the coach. “We get back to the league now; and
we need to get something going. We play Blackstone
Valley on Saturday. They’re not close to where they
were last year.”
Asked about the importance of this early season
contest, the coach replied, “It’s very important. At
worst, we need to play a very competitive game. We
can’t afford to get blown out. It’s critical; we start the
season against tough teams. But down the line, we
have games that we can win against Keefe Tech,
Monty Tech, Ware and Nashoba Tech.”
Dolan scores first collegiate goal
FITCHBURG - Keene State women’s field hockey
freshman and West Brookfield resident Hayley Dolan
scored her first career collegiate goal in a 5-0 win over
Fitchburg State on Saturday, Sept. 15.
Dolan scored what turned out to be the game-winning
goal in the first half.
Minchoff saves game for Brandeis
WORCESTER - Brandeis men’s soccer goalie and
Sturbridge resident Blake Minchoff came up with a
game-saving stop when he deflected a shot just over the
crossbar just before the final horn sounded to give
Brandeis a 2-1 victory over WPI on Wednesday, Sept.
12.
Minchoff finished with five saves
Quigley places fourth for Bison
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Nichols men’s golf senior and
Sturbridge resident Matthew Quiglry had the fourth
best score for the Bison at the two-day Duke Nelson
Invitational at Ralph Myhre Golf Course.
Quigley shot an 81 on the first day and an 80 on the
second to finish with an overall score of 161.
Juszczyk makes two
defensive saves
RINDGE, N.H. - Franklin Pierce women’s field
hockey defensive back and Warren resident Alyssa
Juszczyk made two defensive saves in a 5-0 loss to
fourth-ranked UMass-Lowell on Wednesday, Sept. 12.
They were her second and third of the season.
Sturbridge Youth
Basketball signups
STURBRIDGE - Sturbridge Youth Basketball
is now accepting o-line registrations for grades 1-8
until Nov. 2.
Please go to sturbridgebasketball.com to register
or request information.
REBUILDING | FROM PAGE 12
going to be fighting the battle of numbers. Coming into
this game for example: I knew that last year when we
played Leicester, they featured 10 seniors, whether as
starters or key reserves. I thought we would match up
with them, but at the game, I looked at their roster and
they had 10 more seniors playing against us in this game.
That’s the difficulty you face at a smaller school. Your
opponents can retool because of their numbers. It’s harder
for us.”
The Cougars’ scoring totals are up from a year ago,
with Lacaire and Jankins instrumental in a quicker
attack. And Trzeciak played masterfully against Auburn
in the Cougars’ 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Rockets.
“We’re OK,” said the coach as the Cougars headed
into a non-league Division 3 matchup with Ware earlier
this week. Of course, we need a win. The kids on the
team knew that we had a tough early season schedule
(including games against Shepherd Hill, Tantasqua,
Leicester, David Prouty). Other than a performance
that I didn’t like against Shepherd Hill, we’ve been very
competitive. Are they upset? I suspect they are. Maybe
that’s a good thing. We’ll begin to play with a singleminded
purpose. It will help us get (that first) win.”
The program’s renaissance remains. For the first time
since 2007, the team has the aforementioned jayvee
team.
“We’ve competed,” said the coach. “When you see
that, you feel better about your future. We graduate just
three seniors, though they are outstanding, including
Thomas Jankins. We graduated just two last season.
For a school our size to lose just five players in two years
gives you hopes.”
After its game with the Indians, the Cougars play at
Northbridge, another outstanding team, and then have
eight days off before playing at Millbury.
“We have to keep battling,” said St. Denis. “The
schedule doesn’t get any easier. But the better we play
the more clear the changes are that you need to make.
We’ve made moves to make adjustments to our offense.
But that’s diminished our dense. We’re still searching for
a combination which can give us a better chance to win.”