Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Consider this Dracut Pride!

Yeah, yeah...I know. The rest of you Merrimack Valley townies are sick of all this Middies football bragging, but I couldn't let this one pass by without at least posting a picture.

Look at those rings baby! That's what its all about!

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Tilton School boys varsity basketball team defeated Hargrave Military Academy last night to win the National Prep Championship last night. Lowell resident and Uuniversity of Connecticut-bound big man Alex Oriakhi and point guard Scott Tavares-Taylor, who signed a letter of intent in February to attend UMass Lowell next year, were among the key players for the Rams.

Tilton captured it's second straight New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class B championship on Friday night, and the Rams followed that up with victories over South Kent (Conn.), NEPSAC Class A champion Bridgton Academy (Maine) and Hargrave Military Academy (Va.) in games on Monday and Tuesday in the National Prep Championship at Endicott College sponsored by Reebok Basketball.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

The Division 1 North Basketball Finals will be played this weekend, and the Merrimack Valley is well represented.

The girls side features familiar foes, Lowell and Central Catholic, battling it out for the right to play at the Garden Monday night in the State Semis. On the boys side, Central takes on Lynn English as the Raiders look to defend their State Championship.

We'll leave this thread open all weekend for you to chat about the games, tell us who you think will win, and talk a little smack along the way.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

It’s almost playoff time in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and as the tournaments in each respective sport begin to unfold, the Merrimack Valley is primed to crown a few state champs.

Besides the obvious contenders like Central Catholic’s boys basketball team and the perennial powerhouse of Lowell wrestling, there are contenders from the Valley in every sport. Any one of the trio of outstanding hoops squads from Central, Andover or Lowell is capable of running the table on the girls’ side. Westford’s boys can’t be discounted in Division 2. Several track stars are in line for individual gold, not to mention schools that could contend. There are also a handful of hockey teams with title aspirations, and I’m sure I’ve missed one or two along the line.

So the question is this: which team is likely to win a sectional crown, or even a state championship? Will you be attending any tournament games? Which sports do you follow more closely?

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

In today's Lowell Sun, Carmine Frongillo wrote a nice feature on high school hoopsters Peter Lynch and Alex Haines.

Westford Academy's "twin towers" have been a team for a long time now, and the dynamic duo forms the nucleus of the Gray Ghosts team. Lynch averages over 21-points per game and is a strong candidate for Player of the Year honors.

I've already gone on record as saying Central Catholic is the best team in the Merrimack Valley (big stretch there...LOL), if not the entire state. But if there's one team in the area that has a chance to dethrone the defending state champs, its this outstanding Ghosts squad.

So check out Carmine's article, then head on back here and tell us what you think. Do the Gray Ghosts have a chance to knock off the Raiders? If not Westford, who? Or is Central simply too strong? How about your alma mater? Tell us where you went to school and how your old team is faring this year?

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

The winter sports season is finally in full gear for area high school teams, and as is usually the case, Merrimack Valley teams are at the forefront of state title contention. So here's an open thread for you to talk a little smack about your local team and tell us who YOU think will rule the roost in the winter sports.

Can anyone touch defending state champ Central Catholic in boys basketball? How about on the girls side? Is Andover still the team to beat? Which is the coolest hockey team on ice? Can Lowell's wrestlers pin down another crown? Which school will run away from the indoor track pack?

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

The game of the year didn’t take long to become the rout of the year.

Jeff Moore’s Dracut Middies took it to Billerica at Calabrese Field Friday night, jumping out to a 40-0 halftime lead (that’s right…no misprint there) against the previously unbeaten Indians. The lead grew to 47-0 before the Middies called off the dogs and Billerica scored a pair of late touchdowns. (Read Carmine Frongillo’s game recap or watch a replay of The Sun’s game webcast)

That Dracut won isn’t surprising. Even Billerica insiders I spoke to during the course of the week admitted their boys would be hard-pressed to knock off the MVC’s pre-season favorites, who hold wins over Brockton and St. John’s prep this year. However nobody saw this magnitude of victory coming, not even the most ardent Middies supporter.

Besides being the better team, Dracut’s big-game experience, and Billerica’s lack thereof, ultimately proved critical. Once things started going wrong for the Indians fabulous freshman QB Nick Laspada and the rest of the team, it snowballed out of control and the experience Middies pounced.

And don’t underestimate the motivation factor, as Dracut’s sensational senior QB Matt Grimard had to share top billing in this one with his underclassman counterpart. Grimard admitted as much last night, saying he certainly heard and read the accolades coming Laspada’s way, and very much wanted to prove he was the best signal-caller in the conference. As a result, Grimard followed up an amazing performance against Andover (6-TD passes, 1-TD run) with a table turning 6-TD runs and 1-TD pass. In case you’re not quick with the math, that’s 14-touchdowns in two games. WOW!!! Grimard even had the pleasure of capping two of his scoring runs by plowing through and then leaping over Laspada, who also plays Safety.

The Middies are now in the driver’s seat in the MVC. With Lowell going down in Chelmsford last night, every team in the MVC has at least 2-losses except for Billerica. However, by virtue of the win over the Indians, Dracut would need to lose twice and have Billerica run the table for Coach Moore and company to end up with a worst-case scenario tie atop the conference.

Judging by last night’s performance, this Dracut squad losing two games is about as likely as John McCain winning Massachusetts’ electoral votes.

That’s the view from here…how do you see things? Is the MVC title chase over, for all intents and purposes? What about the other results last night? Should Al Pare have played for overtime instead of going for the two-point conversion in Lowell’s 7-6 loss at Chelmsford?

Posted by Teddy Panos

First place in the Merrimack Valley Conference is on the line this Friday night in Billerica, and the game between the Indians and Dracut Middies can be found ONLINE on the Lowell Sun website.

The Middies enter play with a 5-1 overall record, 3-0 in the MVC. Billerica is also 3-0 in the conference, and the Indian bring a perfect 6-0 mark into the contest.

The game features the top two quarterbacks in the MVC: Dracut's sensational senior Matt Grimard and Billerica's fantastic freshman, Nick Laspada.

Visit the link below to catch a live webcast of the big football matchup beginning at 7pm:

http://extras.lowellsun.com/highschoolfootball/

The pick here (from a biased observer and proud member of Dracut's class of '83): 35-31 Middies.

Who do you think will win the big matchup? Will it be a high scoring affair featuring the standout QB's? Or will defense rule the day? Will the winner of this game end up taking the conference title and playoff berth? Or will a few of the other conference teams still be heard from in the championship chase?

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Some thoughts on a fascinating Friday night of high school football (get your game rundowns at LowellSun.com):

***The Dracut-Billerica game October 24th looms as the biggest regular season game of the year in the Merrimack Valley Conference, at least until the teams’ respective Thanksgiving matchups against Methuen and Chelmsford, respectively.

The Middies will first have to contend with Andover, while the Indians will put their perfect record on the line against New Hampshire powerhouse Bishop Guertin in a battle of unbeatens. We’re assuming a Dracut win, while the outcome of the BG game won’t really mean anything to Billerica’s playoff chances. So when the two squads meet that night at Calabrese Stadium, you’ll be looking at a pair of teams with 3-0 conference records squaring off.

Adding to the intrigue will be the battle of the MVC’s top two QB’s: Dracut’s Matt Grimard and the Indians’ fantastic freshman Nick Laspada. Grimard has been as good as advertised, while Laspada has come out of nowhere to take the league, if not the entire state, by storm. The kid can do it all.

***Methuen’s 34-7 thrashing of Chelmsford serves notice that Pat Graham’s squad is the real deal. In retrospect, even the 14-0 loss to Billerica a few weeks back looks impressive, as giving up only two touchdowns to Peter Flynn’s high flying Indians can be considered quite an accomplishment. Any chance that Methuen might have been taken lightly from here on out likely disappeared with that dominating effort against the Lions.

***Speaking of the Rangers, next up on the schedule is another team serving notice that it won’t be pushed around in ’08…Lowell. Al Pare’s Red Raiders had been hinting at an improved squad by beating Nashua South and Westford to equal last year’s victory total of two. However, going into Lawrence and knocking off perennial power Central is the biggest victory in Pare’s brief tenure.

Where the offseason was dominated by debate about whether Big Al should be brought back for another 2-year contract, the on-field results have been definitive. Pare promised a bigger, tougher team up front, and it looks like he’s delivered. Coming off a 2-9 campaign and the loss of star QB Matt Welch, a 5 or 6 win season might have been considered a pipe dream. With home games against Tewksbury and Haverhill remaining, not to mention a winnable matchup at Andover, that victory total looks very reachable.

That’s the view from here…how do you see things? Any predictions for the rest of the season? You Chelmsford fans want to chime in on the loss last night? With games against both Dracut and Billerica remaining, can the Lions overcome that blowout in Methuen and still claim the conference crown?

Area coaches are invited to call in nominations for this column
(978-970-4647 or 1-800-694-7100 any night between 6-10 p.m.
Nominations may also be emailed to rharrison@lowellsun.com.

FOOTBALL
AMBRUCE CARTER, JULIAN SCOTT
Lowell

Senior running back Carter rushed for a game-high 164 yards on 24 carries, including a 16-yard TD run, while senior strong safety Scott played a strong defensive game as the Red Raiders blanked Nashua South, 21-0. Scott ran back a pass interception late in the first
half to break Nashua South’s back and give LHS a 14-0 intermission lead.

ROK SHEPHERD
Dracut

The junior wideout had 91 yards receiving, including TD catches covering 53 and 29 yards, and he also kicked a pair of conversions in the Middies’ closer-than-it-looked 48-26 loss to Everett.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

The webcam hits the road again Friday night to bring you another high powered high school football matchup.

After bringing you last week's big Dracut-Everett matchup, The Sun is proud to present this week's game between Westford and Wayland. You can view the broadcast by visiting the SunTalk Live link at www.lowellsun.com, or even simpler, by visiting this link. Both teams are undefeated and the showdown could go a long way toward determining the Dual County League champion, and possibly a Super Bowl berth.

So if you can't make it out to the game, park yourself in front of your computer screen and watch live high school football action courtesy of LowellSun.com.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

How big is that Dracut-Everett high school football game this Saturday? Big enough that lowellsun.com will broadcast it live!

That's right...The Sun is packing up the camera equipment and heading to Everett High for those of you unable to make the trek down Route 1. Just click the link here at 2pm Saturday, September 20th to watch the game .

Go Middies!!!