Most teams’ seasons are already under way, but Boys’ Basketball and both track teams had their season openers this week. Now all Bulldog teams are in full swing. Boys’ Basketball’s 70-51 and 48-33 wins over Seekonk and Fairhaven, respectively, were this week’s highlights, but Girls’ Basketball and Boys’ and Girls’ Ice Hockey also impressed by jumping into the ‘W’ column and both track teams started their seasons with a pair of victories.
Boys’ Basketball: The boys opened their hotly anticipated season Tuesday at home against Seekonk. They played a solid game throughout, jumping out to a 38-20 lead at the half and holding on to win 70-51. They held all Warrior players to under 10 points in the season-opening victory. On Friday, they faced Fairhaven in their second game of the season. Defense was the key to success for the ‘Dogs in their second consecutive victory, as they prevented any Blue Devil player from scoring more than 10 points in a solid 48-33 effort. Senior Evan Santos and junior big man Matt Valles led the squad with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Jared Nye also chipped in 7. This week, the boys are away at Bourne on Monday and home against Case on Wednesday.
Girls’ Basketball: The girls suffered a 54-22 loss to Durfee to begin their season last Friday. They looked to get back on track as they stayed on the road to play Seekonk on Tuesday night, which resulted in a 55-30 defeat as the girls struggled on defense. While the boys were away, the Lady Bulldogs came back to Mattapoisett to have their home opener against Fairhaven on Friday night. They won that battle 48-30, as the Lady Bulldogs’ offense came alive in the second half after a slow start. The leading scorer was junior Olivia Labbe with 11 points, followed by fellow juniors Katelyn Bindas (9) and Sophia Church (6). This week, the girls play Bourne at home on Monday and travel to Case for an away game on Wednesday.
Boys’ Track: The first track meet of the season for the boys was on Wednesday against Apponequet and GNB Voc-Tech at the Walter Janiak Field House at Voc-Tech. The Bulldogs earned wins in both meets, defeating Apponequet 61-25 and GNB Voc-Tech 51-35. The big double wins came from junior Danny Renwick in the high jump (6-0), senior captain Hunter Parker in the mile (5:07), freshman cross country star Adam Sylvia in the two mile (11:08), and junior Will Hopkins in the 55m hurdles (8.4). On Saturday, the Bulldogs competed in the SCC Relays, which were also held at Voc. They were second in the large school portion of the competition, and second overall to Dighton-Rehoboth. After two meets in close succession, the team has no meets during Christmas week.
Girls’ Track: The girls employ the same schedule as the boys, so they too faced Apponequet and GNB Voc-Tech last Wednesday to begin their season. It wasn’t a very close meet, to say the least, as the Lady Bulldogs pounded Apponequet 74-12 and GNB Voc-Tech 81.5-4.5. Senior Zoe Smith won the high jump (5-2) and the 55m hurdles (8.9). In the distance running department, the girls got wins from senior captain Nina Bourgeois in the 1000m (3:21), sophomore Madisen Martin in the mile (5:48), and senior Madeline Meyer in the two mile (12:23). They swept the shorter races too, with sophomore Maggie Adams taking the 55m dash (7.6), senior Morgan Middleton winning the 300m (46.5), and senior captain Nicole Mattson capturing a victory in the 600m (1:50). The Lady Bulldogs also ran in the SCC Relays on Saturday morning, where they won yet another title in both the ‘large school’ and overall division sections of the meet. They will enjoy a week of rest during the holidays.
Boys’ Swimming: The boys looked to get in the win column for the first time this year against Seekonk on Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately, they were defeated 97-39 by a tough Warrior team. Senior Nate Wentworth remained a standout as he won the 100m breaststroke in a time of 1:26.5. He also contributed on a winning 400 freestyle relay team that swam 4:45.7, swimming alongside senior Marco Li, junior Adam Perkins, and freshman Tyler Kulak. The Bulldogs will travel to Dighton-Rehoboth to swim against the Falcons on Tuesday.
Girls’ Swimming: This week’s meet was at Seekonk on Tuesday. The girls suffered a 103-76 loss but swam a very competitive meet. Senior Molly Richards followed up her success from last week by winning the 200m freestyle with a time of 2:31.7. Richards also swam on a victorious 200m freestyle relay team with sophomores Megan Field and Erin Burke, and freshman Claire Noble-Shriver. Senior Teagan Walsh, sophomore Ainslee Bangs, and senior Amy Bichajian helped out the cause by going 1-2-3 in the 1m dive event. Walsh had a winning dive score of 134.025. Next week, the Lady Bulldogs will compete at Dighton-Rehoboth on Tuesday.
Boys’ Ice Hockey: The boys were at Gallo Ice Arena (which unlike the girls’ team, is not their home rink) to play Wareham High/Carver High in a big showdown on Wednesday night. ORR’s Kam Silvia (Sr.) provided the offensive firepower, scoring five goals in a big 10-3 victory. Junior Ryan LaBonte of ORR scored two goals, while junior Sam Henrie, also from Old Rochester, had a goal and four assists. The Bulldogs and their Blue Devil counterparts had their home opener at the Travis Roy Rink at Tabor Academy Saturday afternoon against Attleboro High. Silvia continued his huge start to the season, scoring five goals in an 8-5 victory as the Bulldog/Blue Devil offense put up lofty results for the second straight game. They’re set for quite a busy week over Christmas, as they return to the Gallo Arena to play Bourne on Monday, and then they have consecutive home games against Somerset-Berkeley on Wednesday, December 23 and Plymouth South on Saturday, December 26.
Girls’ Ice Hockey: The girls looked for their first win at their home rink, the John Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne, on Wednesday against Martha’s Vineyard. They just did that, winning 5-2, receiving goals from four different scorers. Those scoring for the Bourne/Mashpee/Wareham/ORR (BMWORR) team were Bourne senior Natalia Gordon, ORR freshman Elsie Buckley, ORR freshman Kaitlin Kelley, and Bourne sophomore Carly LaCasse. They also played Marshfield at the Hobomock Rink late on Friday night. Marshfield is known for their tough Girls’ Ice Hockey team, and this game was expected to be a challenge for the young BMWORR squad. The Lady Bulldogs and Co. handled themselves admirably, however, and there were some positive takeaways from the game despite the 5-1 loss. Buckley scored another goal, this one coming on an assist from Bourne sophomore Leah Hidenfelter, and ORR’s freshman goalie Sophie Schiappa made 27 saves to keep the young team competitive. This week, the girls have two games at the Charles Moore Arena in Orleans: one against Nauset Regional on Wednesday, December 23 and the other versus Sandwich on Saturday, December 26.
Below are the overall fall team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of December 20.
Boys’ Basketball: (2-0-0)(2-0-0); Girls’ Basketball: (1-2-0)(1-1-0); Boys’ Track: (2-0-0)(2-0-0); Girls’ Track: (2-0-0)(2-0-0); Boys’ Swimming: (0-2-0)(0-1-0); Girls’ Swimming: (1-1-0)(0-1-0); Boys’ Ice Hockey: (2-1-1)(1-0-0); Girls’ Ice Hockey: (1-2-0)(0-0-0).
By Patrick Briand