Archive - 2012 - Sports Article
February 9th
WOONSOCKET --- Before the season started, Steve Shea had his share of concerns regarding his Mount St. Charles team and its quest to three-peat as state champions.
Graduation took away a talented senior class that helped the Mounties claim a 19-1 record and roll past Bay View in the state finals, and the voids left the second-year coach with quite a few questions to answer.
Can he successfully put together a third line? Who will fill in the blanks on defense? And what contributions can he get from his younger players, which include five freshmen and a few other first-year skaters?
February 8th
CUMBERLAND â The best wrestling dual-meets build slowly, bout by bout, to a crescendo. Each match is important. Results in the earlier bouts lay the foundation for dramatic outcomes late in the contest.
Thatâs what happened on Wednesday night at The Wellness Center when an estimated 400 mat-crazy spectators watched Rhode Islandâs only two unbeaten Division I dual-meet teams square off. Cumberland, carrying the burden of a 52-match winning streak nearly three years old, hosted a 13-0 Bishop Hendricken team most experts gave a slight advantage heading into this showdown.
February 7th
COVENTRY â After a successful weekend where they won four of their five dual meets at Mount Anthony Union (Vt.), the Coventry wrestling team returned to state competition hoping to prove a point against the most successful dual-meet team in the state over the last five seasons.
But Cumberland, which is looking for its third straight undefeated dual-meet campaign, had another idea. The Clippers breezed through the first matches and then rode the strength of their standout wrestlers â Erik Travers and Tom Lacroix â for a 46-24 Division I-North victory.
WOONSOCKET --- Woonsocket High did something on Tuesday that only one other team was able to do to Bay View Academy this season -- give the mighty Bengals a competitive battle.
Unfortunately for the Villa Novans, their strong effort couldnât not fetch them a win over the unbeaten Bengals, who bused home with their 14th Division I-North triumph, 54-40, on Woonsocketâs âWomen In Sportsâ night at Savaria Gymnasium.
LINCOLN â There are wins and there are BIG wins.
For Davies Tech, this one has to be listed under the latter category.
With their playoff fate in Division III more than likely being determined in the final week of the league season, the Patriots scored a crucial victory over North Smithfield on Tuesday night by eking out a thrilling 37-36 decision on their home court. Sophomore Waleska Kelly fueled a total team effort by Davies, netting 12 points along with nine rebounds, seven steals and six blocks.
How important was this triumph for Davies?
February 6th
Steve Gordon has been coaching Cumberland Highâs wrestling program since time began. Well, not quite. Just since he got the program started back in 1969. Thatâs 43 years, if youâre counting.
The 70-year-old coach spent many of those early years trying to build his program from the ground floor up, creating a wrestling community in Cumberland, one or two parents at a time, that formed the foundation for his program.
Gordon learned a lot from the Coventry High School wrestling program, a dynasty that produced 17 straight state championship teams between 1982-98.
February 5th
PROVIDENCE â Five additional minutes seemed like a risky proposition for the Providence Friars. Turns out it was.
The final verdict, an 87-84 nail-biter in West Virginiaâs favor, only re-opened the wound regarding how PC let Sundayâs Big East contest slip away. Missed free throws coupled with an inability to snatch rebounds on the defensive end were the main culprits. The two bugaboos came back to bite the home team hard when Mountaineers senior Daryl âTruckâ Bryant calmly and coolly splashed in a 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining in OT, breaking what was a 84-84 affair.
PROVIDENCE â There are times that Ed Cooley must feel like heâs being pulled in a thousand directions.
On one hand, Cooley is trying to build a program befitting of his workmanlike image. In order to accomplish that, the first-year PC head coach needs players that compliment this ideal. Based on the buzz surrounding one of the nationâs most talked about recruiting classes, Cooley has allowed Friar fans to dream big about what the future may hold.
BURRILLVILLE --- Chalk one up for the public school teams!
For the first time in the two seasons of the 10-team Division I, a public-school squad has bumped off a parochial-school team, and Burrillville did the honors on Saturday night with a hard-fought victory over Moses Brown.
And one of the Broncosâ youngest players rose to the occasion in arguably his teamâs biggest game of the season, as freshman Chad Stone netted a hat trick to help Burrillville produce a 4-2 victory.
February 4th
PROVIDENCE â There are four divisions in R.I. girlsâ indoor track and without a doubt the toughest of them all is the Headley Division. The nine-team division features three of the top six schools from last yearâs state meet, including five-time defending champion La Salle Academy.
