Shrewsbury Lights Up Nashoba's Renowned Defense in Win

 By Connor Evans (@RonnocEvans)

Final game before the playoffs and two of the toughest teams in CMass to meet? I'm in. On a perfect October football night, the Shrewsbury Colonials came out and dominated at home, securing a win over the Nashoba Chieftans, 35-7. Let's break it down.

PHOTO GALLERY: Shrewsbury vs Grafton Football

Photos by McKay Lewis

The Shrewsbury Colonials edged the Grafton Indians in this weekend's premier Central Mass clash. You can read Connor Evans' full write up of the game here, but continue below for photos from our McKay Lewis. 

Note that you can click any photo to enlarge it, and launch a slideshow.

Postgame Blog: Shrewsbury Outlasts Grafton in CMass Slugfest

 By Connor Evans (@RonnocEvans)

GRAFTON - Friday’s matchup between the neighboring Grafton Indians and Shrewsbury Colonials was a hard-fought, physical game. Shrewsbury dominated the first half and despite a strong Indians resurgence in the fourth quarter, the Colonials hung on to win 21-14. 

Late-Game Fireworks Propel Shrewsbury Softball Past St. Peter-Marian

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

SHREWSBURY - Down, but certainly not out, Shrewsbury was still in search of a turning point that it could feast upon.

In the St. Peter-Marian fourth inning, it finally came. With the Guardians on top by a run, loading the bases, they sat on the cusp of putting a dagger in the backs of the Colonials once and for all.

But lo and behold, Shrewsbury pitcher Molly O'Neill found a way to tight-rope her way out of trouble by not allowing the Guardians to add to their total, as the junior walked out of the circle unscathed.

As a result, the Colonials quickly seized momentum, scoring six times in the fifth, and adding four more in the sixth, to runaway with a convincing 11-4 triumph in the quarterfinal round of the Division 1 Central Mass. tournament.

RADIO: Shrewsbury Lacrosse, Leominster Baseball and More

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

This week on "The Local Sports Luncbox" on WPKZ, I chatted with The Telegram & Gazette's Chris Kyne about local baseball and lacrosse, with a focus on the surging Leominster Blue Devils baseball team. Then, we were joined by Matty Ward and Chris Campbell, stars of the Shrewsbury lacrosse team, to tell us how they've been able to turn their season around.

Listen in below for all that, and more, on this week's show.

Shrewsbury Tops Old Rochester for Boys' D3 Hockey Crown

Photo from Shrewsbury hockey on Twitter, @ShrewsburyPuck

By Nick Beaudoin (@beaudoin91_)

BOSTON - Today’s Division 3 MIAA State Hockey Championship featured a matchup of two teams with a ton of firepower in the Colonials of Shrewsbury and the Bulldogs of Old Rochester/Fairhaven.

What a thriller it was.

Coming into today’s Championship Sunday contest, the Colonials sat at an undefeated mark of 23-0-1 while Old Rochester was 24-3. Today is a day every young hockey player dreams about reaching, as both teams have traveled to the TD Garden in Boston to battle for the right to call themselves state champions.

Today would be the Colonials' day, however, as Shrewsbury took home the D3 title by a final score of 3-1.

Your MIAA D3 Central Hockey Primer

By Nick Beaudoin (@beaudoin91_)

Ed. Note- SuiteSports is thrilled to welcome our newest correspondent, St. John's (Shrewsbury) alum and current Quinnipiac journalism student Nick Beaudoin. Nick will be manning our Division 3 Central hockey coverage, and was kind enough to provide us with this preview. Welcome aboard Nick!

As the 2017 MIAA hockey playoffs are set to begin, here is your Division 3 Central Mass boys’ preview.

Let’s start with the favorites, the undefeated Shrewsbury Colonials. Entering the playoffs with a tie to Wachusett as their only non-win this season, the Colonials are poised to make a run back to the district final. After a disappointing loss last season to Algonquin in a shootout, head coach Steve Turnblom and his team know what it takes to get back and pull through with a win this time around.

With three of the top five scorers in Central Massachusetts in Matt Ward, and the Quinlivan brothers, Anthony and Liam, offensive firepower will not be lacking for Shrewsbury. If rookie goaltender Pat Shaughnessy can stay hot, there is no team getting in the way of this Colonial squad.

Shrewsbury Takes Down Algonquin, 21-14, in D2 Central Mass Final

By Connor Evans (@RonnocEvans)

What a game from two very talented teams out of the CMass D2 bracket. Both teams definitely earned their chances to play here in the regional final. After four quarters of tough battling, Shrewsbury prevailed over Algonquin by a final of 21-14.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Shrewsbury Tops Leominster for Playoff Spot

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

SHREWSBURY, Mass. - Shrewsbury punched its ticket to the state tournament Friday night, with a dramatic home victory against Leominster.

This one came down to the final play, so continue below for a complete video recap of all the action.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Algonquin Outlasts Shrewsbury in Critical Clash

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

SHREWSBURY, Mass. – In a game with playoff and league title implications for both teams, it was visiting Algonquin who made just enough plays to top rival Shrewsbury Friday night.

Check out our full video highlights below.

Postgame Blog: St. John's Pulls Away from Cross-Town Rival Shrewsbury

St. John's attackmen Jack Donahue (3) and Drew Kozub (6) each scored four goals in a rivalry game win over Shrewsbury.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

St. John's and Shrewsbury lacrosse games are rarely uneventful, and for at least a half it looked like we were headed for another classic.

St. John's (5-2) led the host Colonials 6-4 at the half, but Shrewsbury (2-5) had scored in the final minute before intermission to seize some momentum. Unfortunately for Shrewsbury, the visitors came out of the half on fire, scoring six unanswered goals to coast to a 12-7 victory Saturday.

St. John's was powered by four goals from both junior attackman Drew Kozub and sophomore attackman Jack Donahue, along with two goals from senior middie Andrew Cox and sophomore middie Brendan Rocco.

Junior goalie Matt Mongeau made five saves as the Pioneers rolled to a rivalry game victory.

Here are a few takeaway points from the St. John's win.

CMass Lax Power Rankings: 5/25/15

Shrewsbury attackman Joe Buduo looks to score against St. John's pole John DeFlumeri and goalie Hunter Gaither. Buduo, a senior, reached 200 career points in Shrewsbury's season finale against Framingham Sunday.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

This whole region is a mess, and that's actually a great thing.

I don't know what else to say. St. John's just beat Algonquin, but Shrewsbury beat St. John's convincingly, while Algonquin beat Shrewsbury twice, but Grafton beat Algonquin, and Tantasqua split a season series with Grafton. Oh yeah, and Westboro beat Shrewsbury, but St. John's topped the Rangers by 10+ goals, and Tyngsboro just keeps on winning.

Yeah, try and figure this all out.

Well, I guess I'll try, but things will really be decided in the tournament. Until then, here is my best shot at ranking the best lacrosse teams in Central Mass.

Postgame Blog: Algonquin Slips Past Shrewsbury in Overtime… Again

Algonquin sophomore attack Zach Skowronek looks for room against Shrewsbury senior pole Tim Hally.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It was another game between old rivals Algonquin and Shrewsbury with league title and tournament ramifications, so naturally the Tomahawks and Colonials played another classic.

The Mid-Wach A rivals played a 5-4 thriller earlier this season that ended when Algonquin senior Alex Sabel threw home the OT winner, but this time Sabel would settle for only the game winning assist. His dodge right and pass back to center set up classmate Paul Luongo's golden goal, and gave the T-Hawks sole possession of first place in the league.

Here is your reminder that this blog is just my rambling thoughts on yesterday's game. If you'd like a full recap, with some pictures I grabbed before my camera decided to call it quits, head on over to the new and improved BostonLaxNet to check it out.

Anyways, onward to the blog.

Postgame Blog: Shrewsbury Gets Defensive Against St. John's

Shrewsbury pole Tim Hally and St. John's attack Jared Ward had quite a battle Saturday.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It looked like another nail-biter between cross-town rivals Shrewsbury and St. John's (Shrewsbury) for most of the first half, but a four-goal run and some dominant defense allowed the visiting Colonials to run away with an 8-3 win over the Pioneers.

It was the second victory in a row for Shrewsbury against St. John's, following up a win in the Division 2 Central/West semifinals last year, and a win that let the rest of Central Mass know: The Colonials are no one-year wonders.

Here is a reminder that this blog is just my rambling thoughts on the game. My full story will be up on BostonLaxNet later, and you can check out my highlights, complete with interviews with Shrewsbury seniors Tim Hally and Joe Buduo, along with coach Nate Skermont, here.

Now, let's get right to it.

CMass Lax Power Rankings: 4/19/15

Algonquin senior Alex Sabel (22) scored an overtime game-winner against rival Shrewsbury last week.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Welcome to a special holiday edition of our Central Mass Lacrosse Power Rankings. Due to the fact that tomorrow is a Marathon Monday, and that I will be attending a game between two of the best teams in the region (more on that later), I felt it would be best to release these rankings a half-day early.

Without further ado, here are this week's Power Rankings, along with some notes about some of the big games this week.

Shrewsbury's Skermont Named MIAA Lax Coach of the Year

Shrewsbury coach Nate Skermont (far left) celebrates the 2014 Division 2 Central/West championship with his team.     Photo credit: Shrewsbury Lacrosse.

 By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Following a season in which his team captured the first district title in school history, Shrewsbury lacrosse coach Nate Skermont was named the 2014-2015 Lacrosse Coach of the Year by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA).

Last year was a dream season for Shrewsbury in many ways. The Colonials avenged a 9-0 defeat at the hands of rival St. John's, knocking the Pioneers out of the playoffs in the Division 2 Central/West semifinals, then captured their first ever district title days later in a double-overtime thriller against Westfield.

The Colonials had many heroes last season, as goalie Chris Gorman earned All-American honors, attackmen Joe Buduo and Derek Tinsley wrote themselves into the program's history books with playoff game-winners, pole Griffin Couture established himself as one of the state's best players, and the squad rallied around then-junior Tim Hally's mother, who had suffered a brain stem stroke the year prior.

Skermont remembers last year's team as the best in program history, and a special group with character in spades.

CMass Lax Power Rankings: 4/6/15

Led by junior goalie Cadrin Msumba, Grafton scored a huge win over Algonquin Saturday, holding the T-Hawks scoreless in the second half.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Lacrosse season is finally underway in Central Massachusetts and, despite several game cancellations due to snow, some big games have already been played.

If you want to check out all of my CMass Lax previews, click here to view them in our SuitePreps section, and keep reading below for our first Power Rankings of 2015.

2015 Central Mass Lax Previews: Shrewsbury Colonials

Shrewsbury celebrates its playoff win over rival St. John's last year.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Over the next few days I will be unveiling season previews of the top high school lacrosse programs in Central Massachusetts, leading up to the season opening in early April on what we can only hope will be snow-free fields.

We began with the Grafton Indians, and continue our look around the region with reigning Division 2 Central/West champion Shrewsbury. The Colonials rode a wave of momentum all the way to the D2 state semifinals last year, but must replace some key pieces, especially on the back end, to repeat as district champs. Luckily for Shrewsbury, it still has plenty of talent returning throughout, and a number of players with big-game experience.

Central Mass HS Football All-Stars and Award Winners 2014

No running back in the state has gained more yards the last two years than Auburn's Mark Wright.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We've already broken down the best teams in Central Mass with our postseason Power Rankings, but now we honor those individual players who excelled in the Heart of the Commonwealth.

Here are your 2014 Central Massachusetts High School Football SuiteStars and Award Winners.

Quarterback

1. Koby Schofer, Jr. Northbridge
2. Drew Jean-Guillaume, Sr. Shepherd Hill
3. Connor Bassett, Jr. Littleton

Schofer and Bassett each led their teams to Gillette as run/pass threats, while Jean-Guillaume did most of his work on the ground in Shepherd Hill's Double Wing. All three of these guys were the main reason their team advanced deep into the playoffs, and each powered an offense that scored over 32 points per game.

Central Mass HS Football Preview: Week 8

Star middle linebacker Sam Norton and the St. John's defense will look to bounce back this week against a physical Marlborough running game.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

As we enter the final week of the regular season, much is still to be decided. Many teams are fighting for playoff positioning, but several squads need a win to get into the postseason at all.

Here's everything to watch for in your last regular weekend of CMass football for 2014.