On the heels of ORRHS receiving the Boston Globe’s prestigious Dalton Award as the winningest public school in the state during 2014-2015, here’s a look at how Bulldog sports teams fared in their first week of competition in the fall season.
Football: There’s lots of hope for a team that features a new coach, Justin Kogler, and a strong group of seniors on both sides of the ball, including captains Jarrett Johnston, Sean Hopkins and Riley Johnson. However, the season got off to a disappointing start with a 34-0 loss at the hands of Cardinal Spellman on Friday, September 11. One of the bright spots for ORR was junior Michael Morris, a defensive back/wide receiver whose night included an interception and a 26-yard reception from QB Cam Hamilton, also a junior. Spellman ran the ball hard and never really looked back, executing several successful drives with a pair of 50-yard plays early on. The boys will be back at it this coming Friday night when they face Fairhaven High in their home opener at 7:00 pm.
Boys’ Soccer: Coming off a series of early-season scrimmages, Principal Mike Devoll’s team has been the busiest of any ORR sports team thus far, and they’ve been quite successful. Despite a couple of key losses, including two students transferring to nearby Tabor Academy, ORR still has some excellent players and that showed during the team’s 2-0 defeat of Bourne on Friday. Senior Hunter Parker scored the first goal, assisted by fellow senior Emil Assing. Junior Alex Sousa was assisted by senior Shane Desousa for the team’s second goal. Sophomore Ben LaFrance and Desousa scored goals in Saturday’s 2-0 non-conference win over Bishop Stang. They have a busy upcoming slate with three games in six days, starting Monday with a crucial game against Fairhaven at Hastings Middle School.
Girls’ Soccer: After a few scrimmages in the preceding week, the girls’ team started off away at Bourne on Friday, where they earned a 5-2 victory. Senior captains Sarah Beaulieu (two goals, one assist), and Amy Bichajian both scored in the season opener, which also included goals from sophomore Leah Przybyszewski and junior Katelyn Bindas. Next up for the girls: Another conference game, against Fairhaven at home, on Monday, September 14.
Cross-Country: The first cross-country meet of the season for both girls and boys will be held on Tuesday, September 15, at Seekonk High School. The meet will be a ‘tri-meet,’ with the Bulldogs competing against both Fairhaven and Seekonk. Among the leading runners on the boys’ side are freshman Adam Sylvia, junior James Goulart, senior Drew Robert, and sophomore Evan Tilley. The girls’ team is led by seniors Nina Bourgeois and Maddie Meyer. The girls were undefeated last season and feature a great mix of talent, which also includes senior Rachel Scheub and sophomore Madisen Martin. Led by head coach Cindy Tilden, they are hoping to advance to not only All-States, but the national girls’ high school cross country championships later this fall.
Volleyball: Volleyball is a team looking to ride the contributions of a strong group of seniors to victory. Among those seniors are Michaelah Nunes, Zoe Smith, and Abigail Mcassey, who were the key cogs in a landslide victory over Sturgis West on Wednesday, September 9, winning in three sets by scores of 25-16, 25-7, and 25-14. On Friday, the team suffered a tough 3-2 loss to Bourne. They won sets one and three of the five-set match. With the amount of impressive players this team has, the wins are sure to pile up soon, however. They face Fairhaven High at home on Monday, September 14.
Golf: Old Rochester has a great team this year despite some important losses including a number of seniors who helped last year’s team take the SCC championship. This year’s team started off with a close victory over Bourne on September 4 by a score of 158-157. Junior Tyler Mourao shot a 38 on the par-35 course (nine holes) to lead the Bulldogs. He was followed by sophomores Colin Fitzpatrick and Jason Gamache who shot a 39 and a 40, respectively. Senior captain Jared Nye was fifth for the team, shooting a 42. Tuesday marked another win, 121-90 over Fairhaven. Then on Wednesday, the Dogs’ triumphed over Seekonk 147-104. Using the Modified Stableford scoring system, Fitzpatrick scored 32 points and sophomore Jacob Yeomans scored 25 in the big win. So far, the golf team is undefeated, and they’re definitely looking to repeat last year’s success. On Monday, they take on Bourne at their home course, the Bay Club.
Field Hockey: A number of strong players have graduated, so this is a rebuilding year for the field hockey team to see which players will be making an impact in future seasons. However, the season has started off fairly well for the Lady Bulldogs, especially on defense where younger players are being counted on to play significant roles. Senior captain Morgan Middleton scored the lone goal in a 1-1 tie against Bourne on Wednesday, September 9. On Friday, the girls captured their first victory of the season, a 4-1 win over Fairhaven. Junior Sophia Church led with two goals in that game, while Middleton and sophomore Ali Hulsebosch scored the other two goals. The girls’ next game is at Seekonk on Wednesday, September 16.
Below are the overall fall team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of September 13.
Boys’ Cross Country: (0-0-0)(0-0-0); Girls’ Cross Country: (0-0-0)(0-0-0); Golf: (3-0-0)(3-0-0); Football: (0-1-0)(0-0-0); Volleyball: (1-1-0)(0-1-0); Field Hockey: (1-0-1)(1-0-1); Boys’ Soccer: (2-0-0)(1-0-0); Girls’ Soccer: (1-0-0)(1-0-0).
By Patrick Briand
