AWHS Athletics Sports Blog – Fall 2018 Edition
By: Nolan Bosse & Monica Spain
Football
The 2018 football season is officially underway for the Bishops. Now three games into the season, The Bishops find themselves 1-2 under new head coach, Matt Reggiannini. The two losses have come against some very difficult competition (Stoneham & North Quincy), while their lone win came against Middleboro (Super Bowl Champs last season). The team has a lot of work to do in order to get back to .500, but senior captain, Ryan Bellew, is confident that the coaching staff will prepare them for this week’s bout against St. Bernard’s. “We are really working hard in practice and know results will eventually come. The coaches are pushing us to do our best all the time and we hope that with a good practice this week, we can pick up our second win on the season”
Despite falling to 1-2 on the season, there have been many bright spots after three games. Junior runningback, Nic Tardanico, leads the team in rushing with 251 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns. He also has found the end zone by using his arm as well, resulting in a 24-yard TD pass to Siveny Augustin. The senior receiver has an incredible 34.4 yards-per-catch average on the season. We hope to see another large crowd for Friday night’s non-league matchup against St. Bernards.
Cheerleading
The cheer team enters the 2018 season rather young, but fairly confident thanks to the hard work of returning coaches, Ali Fareri and Al Grasso. After losing some key seniors last year, the Cheerleading squad have found great leadership in a large number of underclassmen. They have been working very hard to prepare for their competition season that is right around the corner. In preparation for the competitions, the girls can be found almost every day of the week flipping around the gymnasium, as well as, conducting some fantastic routines and cheers during Friday Night football games.
Junior captain, Catie Cleary, had this to say about the team: “the morale of our team has changed so much this season already, were all so excited and ready for what’s ahead.” That excitement and hard work will be pivotal once competitions come upon us. The first competition for the girls will be on October 27th, as the Lady Bishops will compete at the Braintree Invitational.
Boys Soccer
The varsity Boys Soccer program currently finds themselves 2-2-2 on the 2018 season, despite having played some tough competition to start the year. After losing some key veteran players at the end of last season, the Bishops have had to rely on their younger talent, as well as, their newly appointed senior leaders. One thing that hasn’t changed throughout the program, is under the overall leadership of head coach Brian Mitchell, the Bishops battle to the point they are in every game. This has shown to be significant as after 6 games on the season, every game except one, has been decided by less than one goal.
When asked about the upcoming season at the beginning of the year, senior captain, Ryan Hanson, seemed to have high hopes for the Bishops: “Since we lost a lot of good talent, everyone is already doubting us. With a young and skilled roster, we’re looking to run on teams and make another push in the CCL.” The Bishops will look to get over .500 tomorrow night as they host a very good Bishop Fenwick team.
Girls Soccer
The varsity Girls Soccer team went into the 2018 season looking to quickly forget about a tough State Championship loss and begin their new journey at another title run. After losing many seniors from the 2017 season, the Lady Bishops were ready to bounce back with determination to finish what they started. Although they lost very talented players from the prior season, they have brought in some new talent to continue to be successful. Also, returning players are stepping up to work hard to make this season the best one yet! Senior captain Mackenzie Heath states, “Our determination and focus is showing in practice and in games. I am excited to continue this path with this incredible team throughout the rest of the season.”
The Lady Bishops currently sit 4-2-1 after 7 games. Despite two tough losses (Braintree & Spellman) and a tie last night to CCL foe, St. Marys, the girls continue to work together to complete their common goal with their positive attitudes. The Lady Bishops will look to get win #5 tomorrow night as they travel to take on Bishop Fenwick in a huge CCL showdown.
Volleyball
The Girls’ Volleyball Program have had a rather tough start to the 2018 season and while the results haven’t been what the girls want them to be, the Lady Bishops continue to improve every day. The team opened up their season with a tough schedule, losing on the road to a strong Milton team 3-0 and Arlington Catholic team 3-0. However, the girls have battled and competed against very strong opponents (St. Marys, Fontbonne, & Norwell), forcing 5 sets in each of the matches.
Captain Mae McDermott had to say of the team, “Every day we are improving and you can really see how strong of a team we are going to become. Our mindset is what pushes us forward. The future is looking bright for us and wins will continue to come for us!” The Lady Bishops ended the week last week with their first win of the season beating South Shore Christian Academy, 3-0, and will look to build off of that with matches against Bishop Fenwick and Matignon this week. Good luck girls!
Golf
The golf team came into this season looking forward to a fantastic year. There was a bit of concern with the season quickly approaching and no coach. All concerns were ended however, when the Bishops hired a new coach, Pam Kiley, an AWHS alum (class of ’81). Kiley has come in and brought a refreshing passion to compete. Senior Captain Jack Cesarz says, “We are very optimistic going into this season. Even after losing 3 majors factors from last year’s team, we are confident that with Coach Kiley coming in, and a lot of new young talent, this is going to be a good year.”
Despite a tough start to the season, with their only win coming against CCL rival Cardinal Spellman, they are confident more wins will come. Senior Captain Riley Salani says, “As a team we all have to learn that we aren’t playing the person we’re playing ourselves. Our success will depend less on the strength of our body and more upon the strength of our mind and character.” With this outlook on the season, a bright future is ahead!
Cross Country
The boys and girls Cross Country teams have had a pretty solid start to the 2018 season. The girls find themselves one game over .500 at 2-1, while the boys find themselves one game under .500 at 1-2, despite battling some key injuries early in the year. They have been working hard at practice to get better times and they are hoping it shows in the future. Senior Brendan Kelly says, "Overall, we have a pretty solid team this year. Both squads have some pretty big invitationals planned for this year which we are confident that we will do well in. I definitely expect to see some big moves out of the bills this year, go cross country!”
Despite being young and despite both sides battling the injury bug early on, both the boys and girls fared well at Bishop Fenwick last week (both teams beat Pope John Paul, and girls also beat St. Joe’s Prep), after a tough loss to CCL competitor, Bishop Fenwick to start the season. If they can get healthy soon, the Bishops are confident they will be able to speed past many of the CCL teams. Continue the good work we know all of you will do great!
