RADIO: The Local Sports Lunchbox- CMass Hoops & National Signing Day

Grafton's Ifeatu Melifonwu has been committed to Syracuse since July, but will some late interest from Michigan change his mind as National Signing Day approaches?

 By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

This week on the show, we welcome Tom Flanagan from the Telegram & Gazette to talk local hoops, and break down where all the best local football players will be signing to play their college ball next week.

Also, we reveal the Local Sports Lunchbox Top 10 for boys basketball, discuss Kevin Mensah, the region's biggest uncommitted football prospect, and wonder aloud where Grafton's Ifeatu Melifonwu (a Syracuse commit) will end up, after some late interest from Michigan. Listen in for all that, and more, below.

Recruiting Update: UConn Visits Kevin Mensah

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

With less than three weeks until National Signing Day, things are starting to heat up for Shepherd Hill running back Kevin Mensah, who was visited in school today by UConn tight ends coach Corey Edsall, the son of recently re-hired Husky coach Randy Edsall.

The elder Edsall, who originally coached the Huskies from 1998 to 2010, and again became UConn's head coach last month, followed up with Mensah in late December to let him know UConn is still interested. The head coach and Mensah scheduled an official visit to Storrs for the weekend of January 28th, and the younger Edsall made the trip to Dudley to chat with Mensah today.

The SuiteStars: Our 2016 MIAA All-State Football Team

Duxbury quarterback Bobby Maimaron

By SuiteSports Staff

SuiteSports is proud to unveil its first ever MIAA All-State football team, compiled with the input of our many contributors who hustled across the state all season long. Please keep in mind that we do have an "athlete" category, so be sure to check there before you freak out that your favorite player didn't make the team, and continue all the way down for our annual award winners.

One rule we're going to lay out here: We encourage debate and discussion, and we'd love to hear who we "snubbed." However, we ask that you avoid personal attacks on players. It's not a good look, and personal attack comments will be deleted.

Also note that we have listed, in parenthesis (), where a player has committed to play college football. Obviously, not everyone on our team has picked a school, or chosen to play college football at all, but if we missed a commitment, Tweet editor Joe Parello and let him know.

Postgame Blog: Wachusett Wins a Classic as Kevin Mensah Debuts for Shepherd Hill

By Connor Evans (@RonnocEvans)

Friday night’s SuiteSports Game of the Week was a thriller right down to the end. A game filled with dramatic plays, lots of penalties, and a second half downpour, the Rams and Mountaineers sure gave us one to remember.

But, in the end, it was Wachusett (3-0, 1-0 Mid-Wach A) sealing the deal with a 28-21 victory over Shepherd Hill (0-3, 0-2 Mid-Wach A). Let's take a look back at this thrilling Mountaineer win.

Postgame Blog: St. John's Pulls Away from Shepherd Hill

It was a big night for St. John's juniors Steve Bucciaglia (10) and Hunter Gorgas (7).

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It was a tale of two halves in Dudley Friday night, as visiting St. John's scored 30 unanswered points in the game's final 17 minutes to top Shepherd Hill 44-20.

The Pioneers ran only 20 offensive plays in the first half, but junior quarterback Steve Bucciaglia got things going just before intermission. From the final three minutes of the first half on, Bucciaglia threw for three touchdowns, ran for another, and was able to step in and deliver his throws with confidence.

Talking Week 2 of Central Mass Football on WPKZ

SuiteSports editor Joe Parello joined the voice of Doyle Field, Dick Tucker, and Howie Kahn to recap the wild opening weekend that was in Central Mass high school football, and look forward to Week 2.

The guys discussed all the happenings on the field, plus the controversies off the field involving Shepherd Hill's Kevin Mensah and Doherty's Mike Oppong.

The Sentinel & Enterprise's Sean Sweeney called in as well, so listen in for everything you need to know about high school football in the Heart of the Commonwealth.

SuiteSports Game of the Week: St. John's at Shepherd Hill

Shepherd Hill, and it's powerful offensive line, hosts our Game of the Week against St. John's Friday night.

By Connor Evans (@RonnocEvans)

This week’s Suite Sports Game of the Week is a heavyweight matchup between two Central Mass powerhouses. The St. Johns Pioneers (1-0) will head to Shepherd Hill (0-1) and attempt to pick up huge back-to-back wins to open the season, after defeating Catholic Memorial last week.

Shepherd Hill, despite being the host, may have to work uphill a bit. The team faces controversy as former Holy Name star running-back Kevin Mensah is being barred from the field by MIAA rules. In order to show support for Mensah, Shepherd Hill head coach Chris Lindstrom sat out the Rams' season-opening loss to Shrewsbury.

Expect to see the same thing again this week.

Ed. Note- Since the publishing of this story, coach Lindstrom has announced he WILL coach, and that both schools are making progress on getting Mensah back on the field.

St. John's is also dealing with a distraction off the field, as at least one player was involved in a racially-charged group chat that occurred after Doherty junior Mike Oppong took a knee during the national anthem Friday night. 

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.

Central Mass High School Football Road Trip: Shepherd Hill

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

From now until the Massachusetts high school football season begins on September 9th, I'll be no the road checking out some of the most promising teams in Central Mass.

We begin today with the Shepherd Hill Rams, a team that enters 2016 with lofty expectations after an eventful 2015. The Rams didn't qualify for the postseason last year, thanks to a slow start against a brutal early slate, but rebounded to play some of their best football late, and built the foundation for this year behind a newly expanded offense and defense.

Add in the fact that Shepherd Hill received a transfer from All-State running back Kevin Mensah, to go with its already loaded offense, and hopes couldn't be much higher in Dudley.

All this couldn't have come together at a better time for Shepherd Hill, as realignment has placed the Rams in the new Division 2 Central, which also happens to be the largest classification in Central Mass. How will the Rams stack up against regional powers like Leominster and St. John's? Here's our camp report.

Exceed Sports Performance & Fitness Pushing Athletes in Central Mass

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Exceed Sports Performance & Fitness moved into a brand new and expanded facility in Westboro earlier this summer, allowing co-owners and coaches Sean Smith and Shane Davenport to expand the training they do for some of the best athletes in the area.

Exceed's client list includes a number of NFL players, college athletes, prep stars, youth athletes and weekend warriors, and it offers programs for all ages and abilities. I stopped by Exceed last week to chat with Smith, Davenport and one of their more talked about clients, All-State running back Kevin Mensah.

I do want to make it clear that this is not sponsored content or native advertising. In other words, they're not paying me for this video. I just know Exceed works with a bunch of the athletes I cover, and I think they do a great job.

Anyways, check out our video on Exceed below.

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.

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.