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The new year has arrived and winter is ready to flex its muscles. But if sports fans at Holliston High had their way, they’d probably like to stay in autumn mode after the way some of the Panthers’ squads immersed themselves with a plethora of success.
Five of Holliston’s nine varsity fall teams competed in post-season tournaments and the football contingent once again brought home a Super Bowl crown by defeating Chicopee Comprehensive, 27-6. The Panthers now own back-to-back state titles after triumphs over Wahconah and Chicopee. The field hockey squad enjoyed a regular season of 12-3-3, then won two playoff games to advance to the sectional semifinals where it lost to Hanover, 1-0. Both soccer teams qualified for tourney play — the boys ousted in their opener, 2-1, on penalty kicks and the girls bowing out in their opener, 2-0, to Scituate.
More success occurred when coach Diane Chester’s cheerleading team finished second at the Tri Valley League meet, qualifying for regional competition.
Although the volleyball team, the two cross-country squads and the golf team finished under .500, those contingents, which had to undergo some rebuilding, improved as the fall season moved along. If the boys and girls cross-country teams had each won one more meet, both would have ended their seasons at 3-3.
“It was pleasing to see our fall teams perform so effectively,” said Matt Baker, the Panthers’ athletic director who took the administrative reins just before school opened. “Five teams were in tournaments, and football and field hockey went deep. Having dedicated coaches and committed athletes lead to success, and that creates a great culture.”
Baker rates the football team’s second straight Super Bowl triumph as “extremely impressive,” because only a half dozen starters returned. “Seventeen seniors graduated after the school’s 2014 Super Bowl title,” Baker said. “Coach (Todd) Kiley and his staff got their players to turn in some dominating efforts, especially in the playoffs.”
The Panthers defeated Apponoquet, Middleboro, Hanover, and Stoneham before drubbing Chicopee at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 5. Touchdowns by Brady Wells, Sam Ratcliffe, Tucker Ciaracello and Sam Athy were enough to give Holliston fans a relaxing afternoon.
“The 2015 team grew up quickly,” Baker said. “They were good athletes, and they were focused. There’s no doubt the players made the day exciting, and they generated lots of interest. Half the town seemed like it was in Foxboro, just a huge crowd on hand. It was a great way to end the fall season.”
Kiley noted that what was most impressive about his team’s second state title was an unselfish attitude that every player embraced. “Our kids brought an unselfish attitude to every practice and every game,” Kiley said. “They defined what it is to be unselfish. All they cared about was winning, and they could have cared less about individual statistics.”
Kiley said he was extremely pleased for the seniors because they set their goal after the first Super Bowl triumph (when they were juniors) to return and “create their own legacy.”
Junior quarterback Jack Barrett, who played despite a nagging leg injury, was selected by the Boston Herald and Boston Globe as an all-scholastic and Kiley earned the Globe’s Division 4 Coach of the Year Award.
Barrett, Athy and Ratcliffe will return next year and Holliston’s Tri Valley League opponents might consider this quote from Baker — “Our freshman and jayvee football teams did well in 2015, too.”
“We want to savor what our players did,” Kiley said “because next year will come soon enough.” Kiley emphasized that optimism is always present at Holliston because of the players’ character.
“We’ve become a little spoiled because of our success,” Kiley said. “But, looking ahead, we’ll have four starters back on offense and four on defense. Others will have to step in, and our success will depend on how quickly new players adapt. We’re enjoying the back-to-back titles and want our players to continue to enjoy what they achieved. We were an inexperienced team for the most part but there were a lot of first-year seniors who got their opportunity and excelled.”
Baker labeled the job coach Alyssa Wesoly did in field hockey as “a formula for success.” In 2014, the Panthers won only four games, but added 10 more last fall. And, the tourney appearance ended an 11-year drought.
“Alyssa did a great job and she’s got a lot of experienced players returning,” Baker noted. “Goalie ‘Cat’ Berg will be graduating, but forward Caroline Werner, and midfielder Megan Burke will be back. Berg and Werner were TVL first-team all-stars and Burke was the league’s MVP. A victory over Dover-Sherborn during the regular season proved to be a catalyst for a successful season.”
Baker liked the way Holliston’s soccer teams competed in what is a super-talented TVL. The boys finished 9-5-5 and the girls were 8-6-5. “Jay Dupuis is a long-time coach who is very passionate about soccer,” Baker said. “The boys played Norton to a scoreless tie and they later advanced to the state tourney. The girls were solid and respectable under new coach Brielle Chadsey. Their tourney appearance is a good building block for the future.”
The golf team finished at 6-12 but senior Mike Annese qualified for the sectional tourney. “Chris Murphy does a good job coaching and there were some underclassmen who gained experience,” Baker said. “Both cross-country teams improved as the season rolled along. Phil Ryan finished his 42nd year as boys coach, and Mike Kelley did a good job with the girls. Volleyball, which went 4-14, was in rebuilding mode and will have a lot of veterans returning. We’ve got volleyball teams at all three levels.”
Baker is acutely aware that the Panthers’ success last autumn has little or no effect on the winter and spring teams, but he still can hope there’s a link. “I hope there’s some relationship,” he said. “Our fall athletes play both winter and spring sports. If we stay dedicated and committed, we can repeat some of the success of the fall.”
Baker admired the way the fall teams created a festive atmosphere in town and drew sizable crowds to home games. “Students, parents and townspeople really got involved,” he said. “Parents set up senior nights and worked at the concession stands. We also got great support from our administration.”
Baker said he’s in the process of evaluating all the fall coaches, stressing that their reviews will be positive and “glowing.”
A few days after Holliston’s second straight Super Bowl triumph, Kiley emphasized that “the fall was a great time to be a Panther.”