Bishops Info;
Apparel - Tryouts are wrapping up and teams are being finalized. Our athletic apparel store is open until the 5th of December. Orders will not be accepted after Monday. This allows for Christmas delivery. Info and the link are on www.gobishops.com.
Practice Schedules are provided by the coaching staff. If you have questions about when your team is practicing please contact the coach of your particular sport.
Meet the Coaches - Please remember our "Meet the Coaches" night on the 6th of December at 7PM in the Auditorium. This is a mandatory meeting for all athletes and at least one parent or guardian. A parent may be excused if they participated in the fall meeting. The student athlete still must attend.
The Dignan - Please register for the Dignan Athletic Training on Family ID. You will need to complete a familiarization training session as well. Please email Coach Umbrianna at pumbrianna@awhs.org to schedule session.
Bishops
“End-of-the-Season” Sports Blog
November 30, 2016
The winter
season is officially underway here at AWHS, but before we can take a look at
what is to come, we must first rewind and reflect on what has been an extremely
successful fall season. Our participation numbers continue to increase each
year, and this year was no different as we saw the highest amount of
participation numbers among our students in recent years. Not only were our
participation numbers high, but we also saw an increase in the number of teams
that qualified and advanced in playoffs. The buzz is high here at AWHS, and
that should continue right into the winter season.
Arguably the
most exciting part of the fall season was the grand opening of our brand-new
workout facility. The Paul L. Dignan Athletic Training Center, also known to
students as “The Dig”, has been open every day after school for all students,
followed by time into the night for faculty to work-out in. Students and
facility have had the opportunity, and will continue to have the opportunity,
to work with new assistant Athletic Director, Pete Umbrianna as he trains and
supervises workouts after school. Take a look at this brand new facility!
Football:
Archbishop
Williams football had quite the rollercoaster finish to their season. The boys
ended their year with a winning record at 6-4, despite being knocked off in
tough fashion in the second round of the playoffs to a very stout Norwell team
(8-6 final). After cruising past Dover-Sherborn in the first round of the
playoffs, the Bishops traveled to Norwell to face a very experienced Clippers
team. After a scoreless first half, the Clippers struck first to make it 6-0.
Going for an extra point to make it 7-0 seemed wise… the snap ended up being
botched, but the Clippers found some magic of their own and converted their
mistake to make it 8-0. Late in the 4th quarter however, the Bishops
weren’t finished. Archies scored with a little over 3 minutes to go to make it
an 8-6 game. Going for the tie, the Bishops ran a trick play, but weren’t able
to catch Norwell off guard. A late rush was once again denied and the Bishops
fell. After a tough loss, the Bishops once again were caught off-guard as
Wareham and their Wing-T offense came to Memorial Field and won a tough road
game. Having lost two straight, the Bishops had to turn their focus to Spellman
for their rivalry Thanksgiving game.
Thanksgiving
Eve brought the rivalry game… Archies v. Spellman. A rivalry that has a large
history. One that has brought fans a plethora of close and very physical games.
How would Archies respond after two straight loses? The answer… a 14-6 victory
on Spellman’s home field! After a monster first drive which was capped off by a
halfback pass TD from senior captain Casey Earle to senior captain Timmy Chase,
the Bishops got off to an 8-0 lead. The rest of the game was back-and forth,
with Spellman having the ball in the final two minutes. After moving the
chains, Spellman’s QB was picked off at the 10 yard line by Chase to seal the
deal. The gravy bowl is back where it belongs! Thanks for a great season boys,
and expect another awesome year next year. Shane Rose said it best… “It was the
best season of high school sports that I have ever played!”
(Pictured above from
Left to Right: Coach K, Senior Captains Tim Chase, Casey Earle, Jack Rega, and
Brendan McClelland)
Cheerleading:
2016 was
quite the season for the cheer team here at AWHS. The year started with the
exciting new hire of head coach and AWHS alum, Bridget Durkin. Durkin brought
in a substantial amount of experience, despite only being a recent college
graduate. She was a cheerleader for Archies for eight seasons, which included a
National Championship in 2010 and three state championships.
The
cheerleading squad spent most of their season getting ready for their meets,
including Regionals. The could be found every Friday night supporting the
football team with their loud and exciting cheers, pushups, and routines. When
they got to Regionals, they placed 4th which qualified them for the
State Tournament!
The team
battled injuries all season long and unfortunately were not able to finish in
the top 10 in states Cheerleader, Sophia Nitkey, spoke about the tough climb in
states. “The week before States, we unfortunately lost one of our senior flyers
to injury and it forced us to completely change our whole routine,” stated Nitkey.
Despite their finish, the girls’ fall season was extremely exciting and we look
forward to their winter season!
(Pictured above: The
girls compete in States!)
Cross Country:
One thing we
take a lot of pride in within high school athletics is improvements that our
made throughout a season, both among the whole team itself, as well as,
individuals. Both the girls’ and guys’ cross country teams in the fall finished
6th in the CCL, but it were the improvements made throughout the
season that stuck out. For example, we can just take a look at the 1-mile time
trial that the team completed to finish their season. The whole team ran the
same Time Trial to start the season, and 100% of the team improved on their
individual times from August! That is amazing and certainly a testament of how
hard the individuals have worked this season for Coach Van Dorpe.
The captains
did a great job stepping up as the season went on and becoming true leaders. 11
different runners earned a Varsity letter this season. The team battled all
year long in races and we must give a shout-out to Shannon Kelley who not only
qualified for the All-State Meet at Gardner Municipal Golf Course, but finished
59th out of 172 total runners in Division II. The course was by far
the toughest that Shannon has faced all year long, yet she still managed to
only finish 26 seconds behind the other CCL representative. Thanks for a great
season to all the runners for AWHS, and we look forward to seeing what the team
can do next year.
(Pictured above:
Shannon Kelley finishes 59th at All-States!)
Girls Soccer:
What a year
for our girls soccer program here at AWHS. The Bishops finished with an
outstanding record of 15-2-4, with one of their two losses coming deep into
playoffs against the eventual state champion East Bridgewater. The girls left
everything they had on the field, despite losing 2-1. It certainly was a
testament of how hard they have all worked throughout the season. The Bishops
battled through injuries all season long, but didn’t seem to be super affected
by them as they had a multiple number of girls who stepped up and ended up
playing major roles on the team. Senior captain, Mollie Manning, had this to
say about the season. “We had a super young team, but we still did very well
this season. It was an awesome group of girls and I cannot wait to see what the
team does next year with most of the core coming back.”
Five players
on the girls’ soccer team were named 2016 CCL All-Stars (Ceira Monahan, Asiah
Dingle, Mackenzie Heath, Chigozie Sumani, and Kaylee Walsh). On top of that,
both Heath and Sumani were named Division-4 1st team all-stars,
while Dingle was named to the Division-4 All-State team! Incredible work girls.
The Bishops return most of their team next season and should be a force to be
reckoned with once again in the CCL.
(Pictured above: The
2016 Girl’s Soccer Varsity Team)
Boys Soccer:
The boys’
soccer team had an extremely difficult finish to what was a spectacular regular
season. The boys finished the regular season 12-3-4, and drew Saint John Paul
II in the first round of the playoffs. The bishops took it to their first round
opponent from the start, winning 7-1 in dominant fashion. However, in the
second round of the playoffs, the Bishops were upset by the Holbrook bulldogs
2-1. The Bishops had a good amount of chances in the second half, but could not
capitalize as the final whistles blew. It was a tough pill to swallow,
especially considering the way they dominated the regular season and the first
round of playoffs, but the kids fought extremely hard all year long. Senior
captain Sean Keenan had this to say about the team’s season. “The season didn’t
end up the way we wanted it to, but we gave it our all and had a lot of fun
along the way. Couldn’t have received any of my awards and records without my
teammates and my coach.”
Those awards
that Sean were talking about? Both him and Connor Hawker received Eastern Mass
All-Stars, while Keenan also received a New England All-Star. The team is
losing a lot of leadership and talent, but it will once again be a team to
watch out for in 2017.
(Pictured above:
Eastern Mass All-Stars, Keenan & Hawker with Coach Mitchell)
Girls Volleyball
Girls Volleyball ended their season with a record of 6-10, but their
record hardly defines the type of season they have conquered. Despite starting
the season 1-6, the girls’ have improved greatly as the year has gone on;
posting a 5-4 record in their last 9 games, ending their season with a victory
on a special night.
The day that everyone
in the AWHS community will remember occurred on Saturday, October 15.
Archbishop Williams and the volleyball program came together for the “Kate
McCarthy Scholarship Game” against South Shore Christian Academy. In front of a
“playoff atmosphere”, the volleyball team honored their forever teammate, KPM3.
Not only did the Bishops win the game on the court, but they also helped raise
$2,863 for the scholarship.
It was not only an
amazing day, but these types of moments are what make a whole season
successful. Great job by Coach Lewis, the Volleyball girls, and parents/community
who made this such a memorable moment within their season.
Senior captain Kyleigh O’Donnell signed her official National Letter of
Intent for softball to go play at the University of Maine. Congrats to Kyleigh
and outstanding senior leadership that she showed this volleyball season. The
girls, despite being a younger team, will look to improve on a 6-win season
next year!
(Pictured above: The
2016 Girls’ Volleyball Team)
