Canton High School swim teams thrive against Stoughton

By Jeffrey Pickette
Citizen Staff

The CHS girls’ and boys’ varsity swim teams kept their recent hot streaks going last Friday against Stoughton, with both squads downing the rival Black Knights.

The girls won 88-73, improving to 4-5 on the season, and have won two of their last three meets. 

The boys, now winners of three in a row, beat Stoughton 89-69 to improve to 4-5 as well.

“Overall [it was] a very successful meet,” coach Lori Mooney wrote in an e-mail to the Citizen. “They showed some great endurance, technique and perseverance in their races. Being able to finish out races strong is something we’ve worked on all season, and they showed just how to do it [against Stoughton].”

“It was very exciting and very rewarding for the kids to see how little things can make a big difference,” she continued. 

On the girls’ side, Canton swimmers Andrea Salive, Brianna Duserick and Isobel Heck came in first, second and third, respectively, in the 200-yard freestyle. Emily Breviligia shaved eight seconds off her personal best time in the 100-yard freestyle. (Click here for full article)

Boys' hockey team beats North Attleboro, Stoughton

By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff

While the goals were somewhat hard to come by, the CHS boys’ varsity hockey team still managed to collect two more well-deserved wins last week, beating North Attleboro 3-0 at home and Stoughton 2-0 on the road to improve to 7-1-1 with five leage games remaining.

On Wednesday against the Red Rocketeers, the Bulldogs got off to a strong start and had several early scoring chances, but it was senior captain Frank Eckler who finally broke the scoreless tie, taking the puck end to end before firing a wrist shot past the NA goalie to make it 1-0.

Then, with about two minutes left in the period, Canton’s Pat Ward made it 2-0 with his first ever varsity goal — a goal that head coach Brian Shuman called the “biggest of the game.”

In the second quarter, three Canton penalties severely limited the Bulldogs offensively, but they were also able to keep North Attleboro in check before sealing the win with a third-period goal by senior captain Matt Buckley — his first of the season — assisted by senior Joey DiPillo.

 Three days later, the Bulldogs traveled to Stoughton where the Knights, despite their inferior record thus far, played every bit as well as the score indicated, according to Shuman.

Although Canton controlled the pace of play all afternoon, Shuman said Stoughton’s defensemen did a good job protecting the net; as a result, the game remained scoreless until late in the second period, when the Bulldogs broke it open with two goals in less than 80 seconds, the first by Kevin Rooney and the second by senior captain Billy Duggan.

Canton (9-2-1) had a busy week this week with three games in six days: nonleague Pembroke on Monday, King Philip on Wednesday, and at Oliver Ames on Saturday. (Click here for article)

 Despite losses, girls' hoop sees improvement

By Jeffrey Pickette
Citizen Staff

The CHS girls’ varsity basketball team ended its five-game home stand last week winless, but in facing the top five teams in the Hockomock League during this period, Canton did show the ability to keep games close — something this team was not able to do at the start of the season. 

On a five-game road swing against these same five opponents earlier this season, Canton lost by an average of 26.4 points. This time around, Canton lost four times by an average of just 6.3 points per game, including two losses by less than five points. 

The one exception was an 82-45 loss last Wednesday against Oliver Ames, the top team in the Hockomock. Canton also lost to Franklin 69-60 last Monday and fell to Foxboro 54-49 last Friday. With the losses, the team falls to 2-12 on the season. 

Against Franklin, the girls trailed by only one point going into the fourth quarter, but the Panthers held the Bulldogs to only seven fourth quarter points en route to a nine-point win. Head coach Kaitlin Mills said Franklin’s height and speed made it difficult to defend the perimeter. 

Erika Bornemann led the way with 21 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Nicki Fralick added 18 points, five steals and four blocks.

“Franklin is a very good basketball team,” Mills wrote in an e-mail to the Citizen. “The first time we played them we were blown out. We have improved in every aspect of the game, so I knew we would give them a battle.” (Click here for full article)

Boys' basketball team upsets OA

By Mike Berger
Citizen Staff

CHS basketball coach Mike Devoll summed it up best after Canton’s big win over Oliver Ames last week.

“When we play up tempo, attack the basket, and limit our turnovers, we can play with anyone,” he said. “But when we play passive basketball, stuff that can put you to sleep, we can also lose to anyone.”

Last week, Canton upped the tempo and played great two-way basketball in a 70-56 upset of Oliver Ames, and competitive basketball in a 71-56 loss to Franklin, but did not play well in a 52-41 road loss to Foxboro Friday night.

The Bulldogs were 5-11 going into this week, and in order to make the playoffs they must win the last game of the year on February 15 at home against Division 3 Fairhaven. Canton can enter the state playoffs by winning 50 percent of its Division 3 contests.

At home on Wednesday, January 27, the 30-second shot clock was not working, and A.J. Nichols was in foul trouble early in the game. But three Bulldogs had banner games and anyone Devoll put into the lineup contributed. Dan Boivert had a great shooting game with 19 points; Marc Abelard played great two-way basketball with 15 points, and Max Guillaume had 13 points and six steals. The Bulldogs had contributions both offensively and defensively from inside players Zia Wiggins, Tyler Gavigan and Josh Sheehan and guards Chris Murray and Joe McCabe.

With great team defense, multiple steals from Guillaume, good shooting from Boivert and great two-way play from Abelard, Canton shot its way to a 31-15 halftime lead over (9-5) Oliver Ames. The Tigers came back fast, exerting a full-court defense and good outside shooting to cut the lead to 51-50 with 4:50 left in the game. (Click here for full article)

Grapplers take 5th at Hock tourney

The Bulldog grapplers took fifth place at the Hockomock League Championship Tournament held at Foxboro High School on Saturday. Franklin walked away with the team championship with 226.5 points, Mansfield placed second, North Attleboro third, King Philip fourth (86.5) and Canton fifth (80). Sharon, Foxboro, Oliver Ames and Stoughton completed the field.

“It is a reality check when we compete at this tournament,” coach Brian Caffelle said. “Each weight class has at least one state place winner at it. There are no easy weight classes. Every match is a war.”

Kevin Connolly (125) and Tyler Matt (189) took silver medals. Kyle Forte (112), Will Alfano (140) and Donovan Lewis (160) placed fourth. Kevin Lopes (130), John McCabe (152) and Kyle Hanlon (hvywt.) also wrestled well for the Bulldogs.

“This was a good tune-up for sectionals and states,” coach Aaron Mann said. “The difference between first and third is a fraction of a second here-and-there during a match. We have to increase our intensity if we hope to win next weekend.”

On Tuesday, the Canton grapplers pinned Stoughton 34-21. Forte, Billy Rothkopf, James Feeney, Josh Matt, Lewis, Tyler Matt and Darrius Wood all earned victories for Canton.

The MIAA South Sectional Dual-Meet Tournament will be held at Pembroke High School on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. (Click here for article)

Girls' hockey team clinches playoff spot

By Jeffrey Cattel
Citizen Staff

Ending the week with two wins and a tie, the CHS girls’ ice hockey team clinched a spot in the playoffs, improving to 10-0 in the league and 11-2-1 overall.

The girls began the three-game week with a 2-2 tie against Walpole.

“As a team we were not prepared to play at the drop of the puck,” Coach Kelly Rider said. “The way we played in the second and third [period] was completely different than the team that showed up for the start of the game.”

Sophomore Stephanie Rizzitano and senior Jackie Rooney netted one goal each, while senior Kelly White came up with many saves while in goal.

The week continued against Franklin, a team with a near-perfect record whose only loss came in its game against Canton during the first week of the season. The girls had a strong start with many shots, but it was obvious that Franklin had improved tremendously since the beginning of the season, Rider said.

Sophomore Haley Gaughan netted two goals while freshmen Meghan Lennon and Meaghan McKenna scored one goal each to secure Canton’s 4-1 victory.

“The girls really stepped it up in the last five to ten minutes of the game and really played to their full potential,” Rider said.

The team ended the week against Medfield. When the two teams first met during week four, Medfield fought hard, making it the closest game the girls experienced in league play.

The game remained scoreless until the second period when McKenna scored her first of two goals on the night. White came up with a huge save off a penalty shot also during the second period, which Rider described as a “huge momentum helper” for the team. Gaughan netted a goal in the third period, leading CHS to a 3-0 win.

See next week’s Citizen for the results of Wednesday’s game against Dover-Sherborn. (Click here for article)

 Girls' indoor track team shines at state meets

By Mike Berger
Citizen Staff

The CHS girls’ indoor track team continues to make its presence felt in state competition. Several girls made it to the top 25 in several events at the Boys’ and Girls’ Invitational on Saturday, January 30, and at the Coaches Elite Invitational (top 24 performers in each event in the state) on Sunday, January 31.

Both meets are precursors to state Class Meet competition. All runners and throwers who participated had to achieve certain times and throws to qualify.

On Saturday, junior Anna Amico ran a 7.67 in the 55-meter dash and finished ninth. Freshman Keishorea Armstrong ran the event with a time of 7.76 seconds and placed 15^th. Both girls made it to the semis and placed in the top 24 out of 93 girls competing.

Senior Colleen Healey ran the 55-meter hurdles and also placed in the top 24 with a time of 9.58 seconds, finishing 18^th out of 64 runners. Sophomore Vicky Tondre competed in the long jump and placed seventh with a jump of 15 feet, seven inches, and junior Kate D’Orazio qualified for states with a time of 1:47.45 in the 600 meter (37^th place).

On Sunday, senior Samantha Smith placed fourth in the state in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.41. She was also a vital member of the 4x200 team — with Amico, Tondre and Armstrong — that also placed fourth with a time of 1:47.66. (Click here for full article)