St. John's (Shrewsbury) Baseball Shuts Out Holy Name in Battle of CMass Powers

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

SHREWSBURY - St. John’s (Shrewsbury) is often known for its offense, but on Thursday evening Sean Burke showed why, this year, the Pioneers' success begins on the mound.

Behind five innings of shutout ball from Burke, and a multi-hit game out of Christian Jordan, the Pioneers coasted to a 10-0 win over Holy Name at St. John’s High School.

Burke, a University of Maryland commit, surrendered just one hit over five frames, while walking two hitters and striking out five.

Wachusett Softball Runs Away from Holy Name in Battle of CMass Powers

By John McGruik (@patsfan1313)

HOLDEN - This was the last thing you would have come to expect between two of the most historic and successful softball programs in Central Mass.

Rarely do we get an opportunity to witness a pair of powerhouses going head-to-head in the season opener. But, due to some earlier postponements caused by inclement weather, that is what transpired on Tuesday afternoon.

Wachusett Regional and Holy Name, neither a stranger to winning, squared off on a picture perfect, 80 degree afternoon. It is no secret that both programs are quite capable of running the postseason tournament table while vying for a state championship.

However, following Wachusett's stunning 12-0 mercy-ruled victory, it appears the Mountaineers are more-ahead of schedule to do so.

PHOTO GALLERY: St. John's (Shrewsbury) Tops Holy Name in D1 Central Semifinal

Photos by Ryan Bowman (@_ryanbowman_)

Earlier today, St. John's (Shrewsbury) fended off a Holy Name upset bid to punch its ticket back to the Division 1 Central finals. You can check out our full story on the Pioneers' big win here, or continue below for our photo gallery from the game.

You can click on any photo to enlarge.

St. John's (Shrewsbury) Pulls Away from Holy Name in D1 Central Semis

St. John's (Shrewsbury) junior forward Sean Burke fires a jump shot against Holy Name. Photo by Ryan Bowman.

By Jason Siegel (@jasiegel1821)

WORCESTER, Mass. - The St. John’s (Shrewsbury) Pioneers have something that most high school basketball teams in Massachusetts could only dream of having: Seven players who are at least 6-foot-3.

On Sunday afternoon at WPI, it was 6-foot-4 senior forward Cole Stairs’ turn to be the catalyst for St. John’s (18-3).

Stairs scored a game-high 19 points and pulled down 21 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Pioneers past the fourth-seeded Naps of Holy Name Central Catholic High School, by a final score of 63-51 in the MIAA Division 1 Central semifinals.

Blog: It's Time for the MIAA (Not Holy Name) to Let Kevin Mensah Play

Photo courtesy of ESPN Boston

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

If you follow football in Central Mass at all, you know that All-State running back Kevin Mensah is in a bit of a bind.

After deciding to return to Massachusetts, after briefly trying out Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, Mensah opted to school choice into Shepherd Hill in Dudley, rather than return to Holy Name, the private school in Worcester where he had rushed for over 2,500 yards the last two seasons.

That's when things got complicated.

You see, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association (MIAA) has rules about these sorts of things, and by MIAA rules, any student that transfers from one MIAA member school to another cannot participate in the sports they played at the previous school for at least a year.

For Mensah, a senior, that would mean his high school football career would be over. But, luckily, the MIAA allows players to avoid this one-year suspension, if they can get their previous school (in this case, Holy Name) to sign a transfer waver.

And that's where we're stuck because, heading into Week 2 of the season, Holy Name has still not signed that transfer waver, making Mensah ineligible, and prompting Shepherd Hill coach Chris Lindstrom to refrain from coaching on game nights, in solidarity with his new running back.

On the outside, Holy Name looks like it is displaying some grotesquely sour grapes. After all, Mensah did plenty for the Nap program while he was there, helping them come within a single play of a Division 4 Central championship last season. Furthermore, plenty of these transfer wavers go through every year in the state of Massachusetts (and pretty much every other state), and it is usually a formality for the former school to give its blessing, and allow the player to move on and play elsewhere.

But not so fast, because Holy Name's hands are kind of tied here.

Recruiting Update: Star Athlete Kevin Mensah Back in Central Mass

Holy Name running back Kevin Mensah looks for room against Grafton's defense in last season's D4 Central championship.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Ed. Note- Since the writing of this piece, Mensah has transferred to Shepherd Hill. You can find the complete story of his transfer over at ESPN Boston.

Central Mass already has four Division 1 football commitments in this year's senior class, and it will likely be getting one more as star running back and defensive back Kevin Mensah has decided to return to Holy Name for his final year of high school football.

Though it looked like the star back, who gained over 1,500 yards on the ground last year, would transfer to Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, the Naps will get back the centerpiece of their offense for another season.

That's very good news for first-year head coach Jim Romeo, who will have the services of a runner that averaged over 10 yards per carry and helped the Naps shock Central Mass and reach the Division 4 Central title game.

While Mensah's return to Holy Name is highly anticipated by his teammates, college coaches and scout will be watching the Nap athlete with equal interest. After a scintillating junior campaign, Mensah took home our "Show Time" award for the most "must-see" player in Central Mass of 2015, and now he's hoping to catch the eye of some big-name college football programs.

Central Mass HS Football All-Stars and Award Winners 2015

West Boylston's Cole McCubrey rushed for over 2,000 yards on offense and starred as a linebacker on defense for the Lions.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Better late than never, I always say. I've been out of the country for a few weeks, then we had the holidays, so this football All-Star team comes, unfortunately, just as Winter sports are getting going.

My apologies for that, but congratulations to all the kids that earned All-Star status, and one of our postseason awards.

Quarterback

1. Koby Schofer, Sr. Northbridge
2. Tim Cassidy, Sr. St. John's
3. Max White-Cohen, Jr. Uxbridge

Honorable Mention (HM): Noah Gray, Jr. Leominster; John Hogan, Sr. Quaboag

Central Mass Super Bowl Wrap

St. Bernard's corner Cooper Bigelow flips West Boylston running back Cole McCubrey when the big man attempts to hurdle him Saturday in the Division 6 Central final.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Saturday was a fantastic day for high school football in Central Massachusetts, as four Super Bowl champs were crowned in Worcester and Leominster. Those four CMass champs will now move onto the state semifinals next week, and are each just one step away from Gillette Stadium.

But it wasn't just about the winners, as several teams and players acquitted themselves very well in defeat.

Let's take a look back at the weekend that was.

Central Mass HS Football Week in Review: Playoff Surprises

St. John's quarterback Tim Cassidy celebrates one of his three touchdown runs against Leominster Friday.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Ed. Note- Since we won't be updating our Power Rankings until after the state championship games on December 5th, we will instead bring you a weekly review of Central Mass high school football.

The first weekend of the Central Mass high school football playoffs has come and gone, and we were treated to some shocking upsets, thrilling finishes, and break-out stars across the region.

Throw your expectations out the window, because top seeds and lower seeds went 4-4 against each other in the eight playoff games, including upsets in both Division 4 semifinals.

These past few days also brought us some intriguing non-playoff match ups that pitted up-and-coming programs against established powers, with bragging rights and momentum on the line.

Let's take a quick look back at the weekend that was.

Your 2015 Central Mass HS Football Playoff Preview

Leominster QB Noah Gray (19) and Nashoba OL/DL Mike Curtin will be two players to watch in the Division 2 playoffs.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We've already given you our final Central Mass Power Rankings of the regular season, so today we'll take a look at all four playoff divisions in Central Mass.

With 16 CMass teams still alive in the hunt for a state championship, here's what to watch for these next few weeks.

Central Mass HS Football Preview: Week 5

St. Peter-Marian quarterback Seamus Leary will look to lead the Guardians past rival Holy Name Saturday.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We've already looked back on Week 4 of Central Mass high school football in my latest Power Rankings, so let's move right onto previewing this weekend's games.

Game of the Week

Leominster at Wachusett, Friday at 7 pm

The Blue Devils got back on track last week with a huge home win over Shepherd Hill, but must beware of a let down against dangerous Wachusett. The Warriors sit just outside our Power Rankings, checking in as my No. 6 team in the region, and a win here would surely shoot them up the ranks.