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sports
COMMUNITY SPORTS
By Chris Wilson Contributing Writer
NORTHBOROUGH – Following a 43-31 victory over ConcordCarlisle on Sunday, March 14, Northborough’s sixth grade boys basketball team took home the MetroWest Basketball League Division 3 championship.
Northborough reached the championship game with wins over Weston, Natick and Framingham, celebrating the victory as a triumphant bright spot in a difficult year of youth sports disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pandemic posed challenges for team
Due to the pandemic, Northborough played an eight-game season instead of their usual 12-game slate.
Other rule changes included the elimination of jump balls
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The champion Northborough sixth grade boys basketball team poses for a team photo.
at the start of games, as well as a six-foot social distancing requirement when the offensive team inbounded the ball. The league also required all players to wear masks during games.
Normally, Northborough would have two practices a week, but COVID limited the program to one 90-minute practice per week. The team also had to rent out the Shrewsbury Club fitness center for practice, as all neighboring schools remained closed because of the pandemic.
Head coach Steve Adriaansen said the biggest challenge of the season was teambuilding.
The one-practice-per-week schedule obviously hurt. But that wasn’t the only loss.
The team could not get together for pizza parties like they normally do during the basketball season, Adriaansen said.
It took time for the team to gel together as a result.
Team provided normalcy through COVID
As difficult as things were, Adriaansen recently told the Community Advocate that he felt this program had to continue running through the pandemic.
“We gave the kids a sense of normalcy in what’s [been] a pretty miserable time for a lot of these kids,” he said.
He went on to explain that these games and this league gave kids “something to look forward to.”
Some of the kids on the team have been sitting behind a computer screen on Zoom for the past 4-5 months without a way to interact with kids their age, Adriaansen noted.
The basketball league helped give the kids “two to three hours a week where COVID wasn’t even going on.”
Northborough Youth
Basketball Association adapted to pandemic
Not only did Coach Adriaansen lead his team to a division title, but he also was the Travel Coordinator for the Northborough Youth Basketball Association during this atypical season.
Northborough had 14 boys and girls teams in the MetroWest League, and everything went off without a hitch, according to Adriaansen.
“None of our teams missed time because of COVID,” he said.
At the end of the season, even with a division trophy in hand, Adriaansen said that a strong record on COVID-19 was its own triumph.
“[We] were just excited that we got a season in,” he said.
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Algonquin Volleyball holds off Shrewsbury
PHOTOS/JEFF SLOVIN Algonquin’s Sabrina Greenwood spikes the ball as Shrewsbury’s Isabel George and Ellie Michalowski leap up to block.
Shrewsbury senior Emma Brady (18), rallies with teammates between points during the first set of a match against Algonquin.
By Jeff Slovin, Contributing Writer
NORTHBOROUGH – The Algonquin Regional girls volleyball team defeated Shrewsbury 3-0 in a match April 1.
After Algonquin won the first set 25-20, Shrewsbury took a strong lead in the second set. But Algonquin battled back to take it 25-23. Algonquin then also won the third and final set by a score of 25-23.
Algonquin is now 6-0 this season, while Shrewsbury has fallen to 3-3.
Girls Volleyball is normally a fall sport in Central Massachusetts; however, due to COVID, it is being played this year during a special season known as “Fall 2” that spans March and April.
High school scoreboard: Algonquin girls volleyball celebrates senior night
HIGH SCHOOL SCOREBOARD
By Chris Wilson Contributing Writer
REGION – Week three of the Fall II high school sports season brought difficult reminders of the still looming COVID-19 pandemic. As a handful of area schools had to cancel games due to virus protocols, though, there was still a busy slate of volleyball and football action.
The Algonquin High School volleyball squad extended its season record to 6-0 with two wins over Shrewsbury. A number of team members had their families in attendance for Senior Night at the second of those two games April 1.
“The seniors seemed very happy to celebrate their volleyball careers with the parents in attendance,” Algonquin Head Coach Janice Henningson told the Community Advocate. “Get-
A sign delineates COVID-19 precautions at Marlborough’s John Noble Field.
ting a win over one of our big rivals made it even more special.”
Marked by varying types of ceremonies, Senior Night games usually feature homemade decorations, signs and gifts from booster clubs and younger players. They often take place at a team’s last home game of its season. This year, though, many local schools and teams are breaking from scheduling tradition.
“We had senior night early at the suggestion of our athletic director just in case something happened and we aren’t able to finish the season,” Henningson said.
In Westborough, the Rangers volleyball team also extended its undefeated record to 6-0 with a pair of wins against Nashoba Regional High School.
Grafton volleyball continued the regional momentum with its own perfect week against South-
bridge.
In football action, Hudson lost its game against Maynard by a 7-6 margin April 3 following a failed two-point conversion late in the game.
“Tough defensive effort all day long by the Hawks,” Hudson Athletic Director Jessica Winders tweeted. “…Great game.”
This was Hudson’s home opener in an atypical season played away from its historic Morgan Bowl stadium. The Hawks are actually playing on rival turf this year at Marlborough’s Whitcomb Middle School due to COVID-19.
In other football action, Shrewsbury held on against Leominster with a 14-12 victory on Friday night while Marlborough lost 29-21 in a double overtime thriller against Tantasqua. Algonquin football continued a tough start to the year,
ALGONQUIN
VOLLEYBALL – MARCH 30
ALGONQUIN – 3, SHREWSBURY – 1
VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 1
ALGONQUIN – 3, SHREWSBURY – 0
FOOTBALL – APRIL 2
ALGONQUIN – 14, SHEPHERD HILL – 41
GRAFTON
VOLLEYBALL – MARCH 30
GRAFTON – 3, SOUTHBRIDGE – 0
VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 1
GRAFTON – 3, SOUTHBRIDGE – 0
FOOTBALL – APRIL 2
GRAFTON – 7, FITCHBURG – 15
HUDSON
VOLLEYBALL – MARCH 29
HUDSON – 3, FITCHBURG – 0
FOOTBALL – APRIL 3
HUDSON – 6, MAYNARD – 7 sliding to 0-3 with a loss Shepherd Hill.
Grafton, meanwhile, dropped a 15-7 decision to Fitchburg a week after shutting out North Middlesex, 48-0.
See individual game by game scores from a week of action…
MARLBOROUGH
VOLLEYBALL – MARCH 30
MARLBOROUGH – 0, WACHUSETT – 3
FOOTBALL – APRIL 2
MARLBOROUGH – 21, TANTASQUA – 29
SHREWSBURY
VOLLEYBALL – MARCH 30
SHREWSBURY – 1, ALGONQUIN – 3
VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 1
SHREWSBURY – 0, ALGONQUIN – 3
FOOTBALL – APRIL 2
SHREWSBURY – 14, LEOMINSTER – 12
WESTBOROUGH
VOLLEYBALL – MARCH 30
WESTBOROUGH – 3, NASHOBA – 1
VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 1
WESTBOROUGH – 3, NASHOBA – 0
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