sports

COMMUNITY SPORTS

Westborough Volleyball hosts the ‘Dig Pink’ cancer awareness event

By Kelly Burneson Contributing Writer

WESTBOROUGH - The Westborough Rangers Volleyball team raised money for breast cancer awareness on its way to a 3-0 win over Wachusett, April 15.

The game marked the latest annual “Dig Pink Awareness and Fund Raiser Event,” which had to be postponed last year due to COVID-19.

Dig Pink is a national movement in volleyball to help raise funds for cancer research. Westborough alone has raised over $30,000 through Dig Pink events since 2009.

With the restrictions on in-person attendance still in place, volleyball players decorated their school and the gymnasium in pink April 15. They also encouraged all who were able to attend to dress in pink. Playing for a cause, the Rangers dominated the court, improving their undefeated season win-loss record to 10-0.

Rangers Volleyball players gather before their Dig Pink fundraiser.

PHOTO/KELLY BURNESON

Algonquin wraps up pod play with senior night

The seniors of the Algonquin Regional football team pose together after being honored on senior night.

PHOTO/JEFF SLOVIN

By Jeff Slovin, Contributing Writer

NORTHBOROUGH – The Algonquin High School football team wrapped up a most unusual football season April 17 by honoring 18 senior football players and three cheerleaders with “senior night” celebrations.

Football is normally a fall sport in Central Massachusetts. However, due to COVID, it was played this year during a special five game season known as “Fall II” that spanned March and April.

Following celebrations, Algonquin faced off against Wachusett, dropping a tough 27-0 final score to the Mountaineers.

Grafton Gators defeat Marlborough Panthers

GRAFTON - Grafton Gators Football players had quite a bit to celebrate for the second straight week, last week as they beat Marlborough. Fresh off a win against Tantasqua (pictured at right) the Gators hit the road to roar past the Panthers by a 42-24 score.

PHOTO/JESSE KUCEWICZ

PHOTO/JESSE KUCEWICZ

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Westborough and Algonquin volleyball extend undefeated seasons

HIGH SCHOOL SCOREBOARD

By Chris Wilson Contributing Writer

REGION – The Westborough and Algonquin Girls Volleyball teams continued similarly standout seasons last week with twin wins against Wachusett and AMSA respectively.

Speaking to the Community Advocate days after that last victory over AMSA, Algonquin head coach Janice Henningson said her team is playing well because they are playing relaxed.

“The girls are just so happy to have a season,” she said.

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A Hudson volleyball player spikes a shot over the net during a game earlier this spring. Above: A Shrewsbury High School football player fights through the defense of an Algonquin player during a recent game.

PHOTO/JESSE KUCEWICZ

Both the Rangers and the Tomahawks left last week boasting perfect 10-0 win-loss records on the season. As the abbreviated Fall II schedule winds down, though, those undefeated records teed up a high stakes Week Six meeting between the two programs on April 22 in Westborough.

This edition of the Community Advocate went to press before that game took place. Results will be posted our next edition, out April 30.

Previewing the matchup, Henningson said her team is excited to play Westborough. She said they were hoping for a good and competitive match.

Outside of the AlgonquinWestborough rivalry April 13, Grafton’s volleyball team defeated Tantasqua 3-2 in the semifinals of the Pod 2 Championship Tournament. Grafton then went on to lose to an

PHOTO/JEFF SLOVIN

undefeated Millbury team in the Championship Finals by a score of 3-1.

After first starting the season with a meager 2-2 record through their first four games in March, the Gators rumbled to this second-place finish with five consecutive wins.

In Shrewsbury, the Colonials

ALGONQUIN

VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 13

ALGONQUIN – 3, AMSA – 1 VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 15

ALGONQUIN – 3, AMSA - 0 FOOTBALL – APRIL 17

ALGONQUIN – 0, WACHUSETT – 27

GRAFTON

VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 13

GRAFTON – 3, TANTASQUA – 2 FOOTBALL – APRIL 14

GRAFTON – 42, MARLBOROUGH – 24 VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 15

GRAFTON – 1, MILLBURY – 3

HUDSON

VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 12

HUDSON – 0, NORTH MIDDLESEX– 3 VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 14

HUDSON – 0, NORTH MIDDLESEX – 3 FOOTBALL – APRIL 17

HUDSON – 30, CLINTON – 14 picked up two wins on the week against Shepherd Hill. Hudson concluded its Fall II season with two losses to North Middlesex while Marlborough also went 0-2 in games against Nashoba.

Week five of the Fall II season specifically saw some interruptions on the football field following a snowstorm on April 16. Grafton and Marlborough snuck their game in on April 14, before the winter weather hit. The rest of the region pushed its games to April 17, a Saturday.

Grafton won that game against Marlborough by a score of 42-24. Shrewsbury won a stunning 27-24 contest against Shepherd Hill, which went to overtime while Hudson then picked up its first win of the season against Clinton with a 30-14 victory.

See individual, game-bygame scores from a week of action…

MARLBOROUGH

VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 13

MARLBOROUGH – 0, NASHOBA – 3 FOOTBALL – APRIL 14

MARLBOROUGH – 24, GRAFTON – 42 VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 15

MARLBOROUGH – 0, NASHOBA– 3

SHREWSBURY

VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 13

SHREWSBURY – 3, SHEPHERD HILL – 0 VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 15

SHREWSBURY – 3, SHEPHERD HILL – 0 FOOTBALL – APRIL 17

SHREWSBURY – 27, SHEPHERD HILL – 24

WESTBOROUGH

VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 13

WESTBOROUGH – 3, WACHUSETT – 0 VOLLEYBALL – APRIL 15

WESTBOROUGH – 3, WACHUSETT – 0 FOOTBALL – APRIL 17

WESTBOROUGH – 11, FITCHBURG – 35

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Marlboro Shamrocks kicker Patrick Caruso returns for 2021 season

By Ed Karvoski Jr. Contributing Writer

MARLBOROUGH – While currently working his second stint as a Marlboro Shamrocks kicker, Patrick Caruso wears a helmet that’s older than some of his semi-pro football teammates.

A Marlborough native now residing in Clinton, he first joined the team at age 18 in 1980.

“It was my goal in high school to play for the Shamrocks,” he noted. “I still wear my original Shamrocks helmet that I got in 1980. I want to give the younger guys a background of how special it is to be a Shamrock.”

Preparing for goal

Growing up in Marlborough, Caruso frequented Marlboro Shamrocks games with his father. He also participated in youth sports programs including Punt, Pass and Kick competitions offered by the National Football League.

“Sports was my whole life when I was younger,” he recalled. “I liked the comradery and competition.”

After playing football in middle school, he continued at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School with its Aztecs team. By sophomore year, his positions were starting quarterback, punter and kicker.

A highlight as an Aztec occurred as a sophomore.

“I kicked a 38-yard field goal in overtime to win the game,” he recounted. “The guys gave me a ride on their shoulders.”

His Aztecs’ successes culminated as a senior when they earned the Colonial League football title.

Upon graduating in 1980, Caruso achieved his goal. He joined the Marlboro Shamrocks.

First Shamrocks stint

The rookie Shamrock accepted challenges.

“I was an 18-year-old kid, playing with men in their 20s, 30s and 40s,” he relayed. “That’s a pretty big age difference.”

As backup kicker for his first Shamrocks game, Caruso kicked a game-winning field goal.

“I endeared myself to the veteran players on that day,” he noted.

In 1986, he got the chance to play with the Shamrocks in Ireland. The original Marlboroughbased WSRO-AM broadcast the game to America.

“We were the first American football team to play in Ireland,” he explained. “We were treated like rock stars. It wasn’t a very competitive situation.”

The Shamrocks won with a lopsided score, 36-0.

Caruso became the Shamrocks backup quarterback his second year, then kicker from 1982 to ’89 when he decided to leave the team. He played in five Shamrocks’ Eastern Football League championships during the 1980s. The Shamrocks folded in 2006.

PHOTO/ED KARVOSKI JR. Patrick Caruso displays his original Marlboro Shamrocks helmet from 1980 at Kelleher Field in Marlborough.

Back on the field

In 2007, Caruso began a few-year stint with Framingham-based Metrowest Colonials followed by other semi-pro teams. Meanwhile, he regularly attended Assabet Aztecs football games.

Caruso got inducted into Assabet’s Aztec Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018. Among the ceremony’s attendees were his children Rachel and Joey along with circa-1980s Shamrocks.

He was nominated by his girlfriend Deb Harper, an Assabet teacher since 1994.

“Deb has always been very supportive,” he noted “She’s giving up summers for football.”

Shamrocks return to Marlborough

In 2019, Shamrocks’ original owner Bob Kays joined forces with Worcester-based Mass Fury team owner/coach Chris Chambers. They brought semipro football back to Marlborough’s Kelleher Field. With the move, the team’s name became the Marlboro Shamrocks. Eastern Football League closed, so the Shamrocks competed in New England Football League in 2019.

“Bob opened all the doors for us in Marlborough,” Caruso proclaimed. “The guy’s energy level – even now – is amazing.”

Caruso attended Shamrocks meetings with the intention of helping on the sidelines. However, at age 57 in 2019, he got signed to return as the team’s kicker.

The Shamrocks captured 2019’s New England Football League championship at Marlborough’s Kelleher Field. Subsequently, they won the Palm Bowl XIV national championship game in Florida in January 2020.

In addition to his 1980 helmet, Caruso now wears his ring from the Shamrocks’ most recent national championship.

“Playing in a national game and winning at my age is a blessing,” Caruso said. “I’m very lucky.”

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Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce Announces 2021 Scholarship Recipients

The Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber congratulates 14 high school seniors as the recipients of their 2021 scholarships. A total of $13,375 was awarded in scholarships to these graduating high school students who reside in one of the Chamber’s core towns. Scholarships were awarded based on academic excellence, community involvement, work experience, financial need, school honors and awards. The scholarships are funded by a portion of the proceeds from the 2020 School/Business Partnership Golf Tournament, the Lakeway Commons Scholarship funded by Howard Grossman of Grossman Real Estate, Robert J. Lemieux Trust Fund, and personal donation by Leo Casey of B2B CFO. Karen Chapman, President & CEO of the Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber, stated ❝ The Chamber is very grateful to all the sponsors of our annual golf tournament and individual contributors of our scholarship program who partner with us to support continuing education for the students in our region.❞ Since 1986, the Chamber has awarded a total of $391,431 in scholarships to 527 students.

2021 Scholarship Recipients (from top left to right): Grace Townsend, Westborough High; Joshua Gauthier, Algonquin Regional High; Holly Hruskoci, Shrewsbury High; Vennela Vavilla, Westborough High; Ryan Meyer, Shrewsbury High; Abigail Johnson, Westborough High; Megan Harrington, Algonquin Regional High; Thomas Ryan, Shrewsbury High; Jordan Chastanet, Algonquin Regional High; Shelby Alcock, Westborough High; Cynthia Zhang, Westborough High; Gabrielle Brudner, Algonquin Regional High; Conor Kincaid; Westborough High; and Adhithri Rajaragupathi, Westborough High