Sunday, October 27, 2013

WH Athletics Update

We are thankful we had a hard frost this week and the Triple E ban has been lifted for Whitman-Hanson.  People have been critical of the Hanson Board of Health but they are simply following the guidelines set forth by the Department of Public Health.  Everyone should remember that all 3 members of the board are volunteers and they make decisions that they feel are in the best interest of the residents of the town of Hanson.  While I do not personally know two of the members, I have known Terry McSweeney for several years and we have developed a relationship that allows for healthy discussion.  His sincere interest in working toward a long term solution to this issue is encouraging.  Terry and I have a plan to revisit this issue early in 2014 so perhaps we can find better solutions moving forward. 

Now to our update:
1)      The football team played its first home game under the lights this year on Friday night and lost 21-0 to Hingham.  Like many of the games this year, it was much closer than the final score would indicate.  The Panthers were locked in a scoreless tie with the Harbormen until the final seconds of the first half when Hingham grabbed a 7-0 lead.  With the loss, Whitman-Hanson finishes as the 12 seed in Division 3SE, which puts us in the consolation round.  Unofficially this is the schedule: 11/1 at Pembroke, 11/8 Host Falmouth, 11/15 at Sandwich.  The game on 11/8 will be our new Homecoming game.  While the students have already enjoyed a great homecoming dance sponsored by the student council last week, we will have our athletic activities on the 8th.  This includes the parade of champions where last year’s league champions will be presented with their banner.  We are hopeful that many of the members from the class of 2013 will be on hand to join their coaches and teammates in the parade at halftime.  In addition, many sports teams will have tables on display where fans can purchase gear, enter raffles and participate in other types of contest and fun.  The superseats and the halftime kick to win contest will also add to the festivities.  In addition to this being our homecoming game, it will also serve as senior night for our football team, the band, the majorettes and the cheerleaders.  Those festivities will take place at 6:45pm.  There is still the possibility the MIAA could change the schedule, but as of today,  this is what we expect it to be.
2)      Our cheerleaders put on a spectacular display at the Braintree Invitational on Saturday. The girls won the championship in their division while also being crowned Grand Champions.  The team is looking forward to defending their league title at the Patriot League Championships on Sunday November 10th here at Whitman-Hanson.
3)      The golf team competed in the state tournament at Easton Country Club.  The team shot a 330, 18 shots behind the winning teams of Nauset and Hingham.  However, Sophomore Cole Manning fired an impressed 4 over par 75 to finish second in the entire tournament and earn a spot in the state tournament tomorrow at Blackstone National in Sutton.
4)      The boys soccer season came to an end with their senior night game against Bridgewater-Raynham last night.  The team avenged a 5-1 loss earlier in the year by earning a 1-1 tie.  It was a  great night with the senior players and their parents honored in a pregame ceremony.  The parents also had a tailgating celebration for the team after the game.  The boys missed the tournament by just 3 points and played great soccer over the second half of the season.  They had an incredible come from behind win against Plymouth North on Thursday scoring 2 goals in the final 2 minutes to erase a 2-1 deficit and earn a 3-2 win.
5)      The girls soccer team also had a great senior night on Saturday under the lights.  Coach Floeck knew he would have a tough decision in this game though as he has 12 seniors and only 11 players can start.  He had given it a lot of thought about how he would handle it but in the end the decision was made for him when Senior Marina Kelly approached him before the game and told him that she wanted her 11 teammates to start since she had started every game this year.  This selfless act is a testament to Marina’s leadership and character.  Karma was in full force as she ripped home a goal when she finally stepped on the field.  The girls soccer team has qualified for the tournament and will likely be on  the road to start.  However, there is an outside chance they could still earn a high enough seed to play at home and we will tweet and blog that information when we get it.
6)      The volleyball team has a wonderful senior night as well with all of the seniors playing the majority of their game against Bridgewater-Raynham on Friday.  The girls rallied in the 4th game to force a 5th where they dominated to earn their 7th win of the year – a dramatic improvement from a year ago.  I have always been proud of this team this year in how they represented Whitman-Hanson.  Win or lose, they have stuck together and continued to work hard. The seniors on the team have laid a strong foundation for the future of the program.  Whitman-Hanson volleyball says goodbye to Seniors Alyssa Andrews, Abby Benvie, Erin Doherty, Samantha Doyle, Sarah Mossman, Ashlee Poirier, Erin Slayton and Abby Trapp.
7)      The cross country teams both won league titles again this year, wrapping up their home schedule on Tuesday with their senior night and convincing wins against Duxbury.  Both teams had strong outings at the league meet on Saturday as well with the boys finishing in second with 46 points, only 6 points off the first place pace. Brian Sheppard was the overall winner.  The girls captured the win at the league meet beating the next closest team by an incredible 29 points. Kelsey Tierney was the top finisher for Whitman-Hanson placing 3rd.


A reminder to everyone about our Ronan Tynan concert scheduled for November 16th.  Tickets can be purchased at www.whathletics.com .  If everyone could help us get the word out, that would be greatly appreciated.

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