PHOTO GALLERY: Scituate vs Nipmuc in the D5 Super Bowl

Photos by Andrew Bowman (@andrew_bowman5)

Foxboro, Mass. - Scituate captured its first Super Bowl win in program history, defeating Nipmuc 35-14 at Gillette Stadium Saturday.

Our Andrew Bowman snapped some quality shots, which you can view below. Click any image to enlarge.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Scituate Runs Away from Nipmuc in D5 Super Bowl

Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Foxboro, Mass. - Scituate left no doubt Saturday at Gillette Stadium, defeating Nipmuc 35-14 in the MIAA Division 5 state championship game.

The Sailors are Super Bowl champs for the first time in school history, and our Matt Siegel was field level at Gillette to bring you the highlights. Check those out below.

VIDEO CLIPS: Grafton tops Nipmuc for Fourth Consecutive Sectional Title

Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Marlborough, Mass. - The Grafton Indians held on for an 8-6 victory over Mid-Mass rival Nipmuc Thursday night, winning their fourth consecutive Division 3 Central/West title in the process.

Our Matt Siegel was there to capture a few video clips of the big win. Continue below for all the highlights.

2018 Mid-Mass Lacrosse League All-Stars

Senior goalie Dan Hollis is just one of many Hopedale stars selected to this season's Mid-Mass All-Star team.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The 2018 regular season is nearly in the books, and the Mid-Mass Lacrosse League has released its All-Star team following a banner year for the league.

League champion Grafton will look to get back to the Division 3 state championship game for a fourth consecutive year, and the Indians will be joined by fellow Mid-Mass squads Nipmuc, Hopedale and Tantasqua in the postseason.



If your league has released its All-Star team, feel free to pass that along to me at my Twitter handle above, or email it over to jparello86@gmail.com.

Continue below for the complete Mid-Mass All-Star team!

Nipmuc Edges St. Bernard's in Defensive Struggle

By John McGuirk (@Patsfan1313)

FITCHBURG - Averaging 28 points-per-game in its first four contests, Nipmuc has made it look relatively easy during the first half of the regular season. But on Friday evening, that scenario was altered a bit.

Facing a stout St. Bernard's squad, the Warriors needed to scratch and claw their way from beginning to end in order to pull out a 7-0 Dual Valley Conference victory at the Bernardian Bowl.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: The End of 2017

It's hard to deny the significance of what coach Alan Rotatori (right) and his Grafton Indians have done the last three years, but is Grafton our top team in CMass this season?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The state championships have come and gone, and another season of Central Mass lacrosse is in the books. It was a year of surprises, memorable runs and, unfortunately, tragedy, with the passing of former Tantasqua coach John Pedace.

While it was a bitter sweet season for many in the region, several teams did make their presence known at the state level, some for the very first time. So, without further ado, here are our final Central Mass Lax Power Rankings of 2017. Be on the lookout for our annual CMass All-Stars and Award Winners later this week.

Postgame Blog: Nipmuc Storms into D3 C/W Finals with Win over Mt. Greylock

By Connor Evans (@RonnocEvans)

MILFORD - A trip to the D3 Central/West championship on the line. Two great teams. Only one advances.

On a pristine night in June, the Mt. Greylock Mounties trekked out to Milford, MA to play against the Nipmuc Warriors. Though it was close a few times, Nipmuc left little doubt. A 15-7 final score has the Warriors set to meet the rival Grafton Indians in the sectional finals.

Nipmuc Lacrosse Pulls Away From Worcester

By Connor Evans (@RonnocEvans)

UPTON - Worcester's last ditch effort to make playoffs was stuffed by a strong Nipmuc Regional team. After opening a two-goal lead in the first, Worcester allowed six consecutive goals to the Warriors over the next two quarters, scoring only twice the rest of the game. Nipmuc in turn, would pile on 7 goals in the fourth period to win going away, 13-4.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: Week 7

Grafton junior goalie Matt Nicalek

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Like I said last week, it's too late in the year for lengthy introductions, but this week does bring a new No. 1 team in our Power Rankings, and the league races across Central Mass are starting to stabilize.

Continue below for this week's Top 10.

Postgame Blog: Hot Start, Solid Finish Carry Grafton Past Nipmuc

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Grafton opened Tuesday's game at league rival Nipmuc like a team looking for redemption.

After a double-overtime loss to the Warriors earlier this season, Grafton came out with great energy, building a 7-0 lead over the first quarter-plus, en route to a 13-8 victory that handed Nipmuc its first loss of the season.

Grafton (12-2, 8-1 Mid-Mass.) also outscored Nipmuc (9-1, 5-1 Mid-Mass.) 3-1 in the fourth quarter, to stave off a would-be comeback by the Warriors, who went on a 10-3 run in the middle of the game. Each team showed toughness, both mental and physical, in a rough and tumble game where hits were many and flags were, perhaps, too few. But, in the end, it was Grafton who started faster and ended stronger.

"I honestly thought we played almost flawless in the first half," Grafton coach Alan Rotatori said. "To be honest, they didn't come out very strong. They were a little bit flat… But we knew that wasn't going to hold up for the whole game."

"We gave them the first quarter, dug ourselves into a six-goal hole, and (Grafton) is a tough team to dig out of that against," Nipmuc coach Eric Brockett said. "I thought we did a nice job after that. We were back in it going into the fourth quarter, but then we just fell apart in the fourth. We were clawing our way back, but it was too little, too late."

Here are a few other takeaways-

PHOTO GALLERY: Grafton Lacrosse vs Nipmuc

Photos by Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

In a battle atop Mid-Mass., and in positioning for the Division 3 Central/West tournament, Grafton defeated Nipmuc 13-8, avenging an early-season loss to the Warriors. We'll have a full postgame blog up later tonight, but for now, check out the images of the Indians and the Warriors.

Also note that you can click any image to enlarge, and launch a slideshow.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: Week 6

Jared Collari (1) and Griffin Shoemaker (3) are just two of Littleton's many weapons.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It's too late in the season for lengthy introductions, so I'll just say that this week brings a matchup of the top two teams in our Power Rankings.

Check out our latest Top 10 below as a huge week for CMass lax begins.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: Week 5

Nipmuc is the last remaining unbeaten in Central Mass after a wild week.  Photo courtesy of @NipmucHSLax

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Just when you think you've got the region figured out… Wow, did last week give us a lot to think about, and there was a great deal of movement in our rankings as a result.

Let's not waste any time. Continue below for this week's Top 10.

RADIO: Nipmuc Lacrosse, Baseball with Tom Flanagan & ESPN Layoffs

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We were all over the place this week on "The Local Sports Lunchbox" on WPKZ. First, Nipmuc lacrosse stars Brandon Lefebvre, Ryan Richards and Pat Donelan joined me to discuss their early success, and the potential for a Mid-Mass. title.

Then, the Telegram & Gazette's Tom Flanagan called in to break down the Central Mass baseball scene, and I close the show with my thoughts on ESPN's recent brand-wide layoffs (spoiler, ESPN is doing it wrong).

For all that, and more, listen in below.

MIAA Top 25 Boys Lacrosse Poll: 4/25/17

Lincoln-Sudbury seniors Jack Sutherland (left) and Hayden Frey have been on a tear to open the season

Our rankings of the best teams in the state during the 2017 lacrosse season, as selected by our panel of staff writers and correspondents. (Updated 4/25)

1. Lincoln-Sudbury (7-0; Last Ranking - 1): This group continued to shine with a win at nationally ranked Ward Melville (N.Y.) and came home to win a fourth consecutive Coaches Challenge Cup the following week.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: Week 2

Tantasqua's senior attack trio of Anthony Law, Ben Beaudry and Mike Frio is off to a hot start.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

As you might expect, there was tremendous movement from Week 1 to Week 2 in our Power Rankings. Only top-ranked St. John's is ranked in the same spot as last week, as a slew of upsets and close calls shook up our Top-10.

Check out this week's rankings below.

Central Mass Lax District Semifinals Preview

St. John's goalie Matt Mongeau and pole Sam Correnti (4) will be key for the Pioneers against top-seeded Minnechaug.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Seven Central Mass lacrosse teams remain alive across three districts and two divisions, but nearly all of them head into this week's semifinals as underdogs.

Let's take a look at each team left standing, and what they must do to take the next step.

Division 2 Central/West

The only D2 bracket to feature Central Mass teams still has two CMass squads alive, but each will enter the semifinals as underdogs against Western Mass powers.

Postgame Blog: Worcester Bounces Back Against Nipmuc

Fortune favored the physical Tuesday, as Worcester's C.J. Gallagher (25) and Luke Hanlon (9) combined for 24 ground balls (12 each) against Nipmuc. WooLax dominated when the ball was on the ground, collecting 45 GBs on a slippery day when possession was hard to maintain.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Just four days after fading in the second half against Nipmuc, Worcester returned the favor against the Warriors with a 7-6 victory at home Tuesday.

With the game tied at four late in the third, Worcester (5-2, 3-1 Mid-Mass) drew a foul for a slash, then another foul for arguing with the officials. Nipmuc (4-4, 3-2 Mid-Mass) took advantage, as Patrick Donland put the Warriors up 5-4 (Note, both teams are nicknamed the Warriors, so I'm going to use "Warriors" to refer to Nipmuc, and "WooLax" to refer to Worcester. Thanks for bearing with me).

But Worcester dug itself out of that whole when James Goggins wrapped around nearly the entirety of his team's offensive zone to score an elongated wrap around goal while WooLax was still two men down. The teams went to the fourth knotted at five, and Worcester began to take control.

A Banner Year for Central Mass Lacrosse

St. John's and Grafton had two memorable matchups this year, with the Pioneers barely winning both. Here, Grafton All-American Tyler Reilly looks for room against St. John's star defenseman Aidan Fox.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

While Central Mass champion St. John's bowed out in the D2 state semifinals, the Pioneers and region as a whole accomplished a ton in 2013.

Early next week I will release my Central Mass All Stars, but first, here are some of the highlights from what was a memorable 2013 for the CMass lacrosse community.

Big Wins Out of Region

Blog: CMass Playoff Bracket Released

Fantastic drawing of tournament bracket provided by Northbridge High School Lacrosse.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

It's Selection Friday for high school lacrosse here in Massachusetts, and the MIAA has set the draw for the CMass Tournament.

Well, sort of. The actual brackets with times and dates are not up on their website yet, but here is a beautiful drawing of the CMass bracket from Northbridge Lacrosse's twitter. I assume the artist we can thank is coach Steve Falconer, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions.

Anyways, here are a few thoughts on the bracket.