Weekly Recap

This week we play our final couple of regular season games of the fall season which means many students will be turning their attention to their winter sports.  We set a record with the fall participation and hope to do the same this winter. 

Whitman Hanson offers 10 sports in the winter (a complete list of sports and coach contacts are listed at www.whathletics.com under the coaching directory tab). All students interested in joining a team should attend the pre -season meeting on Thursday 11/1 at  1:49pm in the PAC.  Following the school wide meeting, students will then go meet with their coaches for sports specific information.  This is a mandatory meeting.

1)      It was a disappointing night for the football team Friday in the first round of the MIAA Division 3 South playoffs losing at North Attleboro, 21-13.  The score is somewhat deceiving as the Panthers purposely allowed NA  to score late in the 4^th quarter in order to get the ball back.   

Billy Martell and Mike Connors had Interceptions for the Panthers but the offense struggled to find consistency. One bright spot was Ethan Phelps who carried 15 times for 73 yards and a touchdown, Rian Schwede completed a touchdown pass to Nate Beath and Jake O'Brien kicked a point after. 

Even though the Panthers are eliminated from the playoffs, the season is not over. Whitman Hanson will play 2 consolation games (WH hosts Bishop Feehan this Friday at 7pm) and will host Abington on Thanksgiving.

2)      The girls soccer team will wrap up the regular season on Monday when they travel to Norwell to take on the talented Clippers in a non-league game. 

The Panthers wrapped up Patriot League play with a 1-0 win over Duxbury on Friday. Whitman Hanson scored in the first half when Nora Manning took a Riley Bina pass and beat the Duxbury goalkeeper. The Panthers defense took over from there and kept the Duxbury offense from any strong chances. Courtney Woodward led the defense with the help of Sam Perkins, Erin Wood and Olivia Johnson. Samantha Smith, who had a hat trick earlier in the week, had an outstanding game in the midfield for the Panthers. Keeper Skylar Kuzmich made 10 saves to record the shutout.

The girls are currently 12-1-4 overall and 9-0-4 in the league.  Hingham has 2 games left and if they were to lose one, WH would  win the league title. If Hingham ties one, WH would share the title.

3)      The boys soccer team wrapped up the season on a positive note, beating Rockland, 2-1.  In the second half Brendan Nehiley (sophomore) and Jason Brodeur (junior captain) linked up twice to give W-H the victory 2-1. Brendan had 2 assists and Jason scored twice. W-H finished the year 4-14-1 overall.

4)      Whitman-Hanson volleyball beat Bridgewater-Raynham this week, 3-0. The set scores were 25-19 (WH), 25-16 (WH) and 25-8 (WH). The Panthers played a strong match with great teamwork. Leaders on the court include senior outside Allison Hanlon with 8 kills and senior tri-captain libero Nicole Scott with excellent defense. Senior middle Erin Leahy had an explosive match with 7 kills and 6 service aces. Sophomore setter Sophia Berardinelli made her varsity debut in the second set with fantastic communication and energy. The Panthers are 7-11 overall, 6-8 in league play and wrap up the season Monday at Bridgewater-Raynham.

5)      The cheerleaders are performing just as advertised winning their second Invitational in as many tries. The girls were fantastic in winning the Braintree Invitational on Saturday.  The team will host the annual Panther Invitational/Patriot League Championship on Saturday at 5pm here at Whitman-Hanson.

6)      The field hockey team wrapped up the season with a home loss to West Bridgewater, to finish the season 1-9-3 in the league and 2-10-6 overall.  Despite the record, the team turned a corner this year playing every team very tough.  The season ended with a truly special senior night presentation.  The JV team produced a moving and emotional video which was played on the scoreboard while the team warmed up.  During introductions, a baby picture of each player was displayed and then dissolved into their current year individual picture.

7)      The golf team did not make the state tournament but senior captain Owen Manning represented Whitman Hanson at the Division 2 qualifying round.  Owen started the day strong, shooting even after the first 9 holes at Easton Country Club.  Though he struggled a bit with his putter on the back 9, he finished the day with a 6 over par 77, which was the 3rd lowest score on the day. He was one of 11 players (out of 87 competing) to advance to the finals at Marshfield Country Club this Tuesday. 

Impressively, this is the fifth time that a Whitman-Hanson player has advanced to the state finals as an individual in the past 7 seasons.

8)      The boys and girls cross country teams outlasted some dangerous weather this week but could not defeat visiting Plymouth South.  The race was suspended for 45 minutes due to a tornado warning.  The boys (3-5) lost to Plymouth South in Patriot League action 21-35. Scoring for the Panthers on the 5K course were Sophomore Theo Kamperides (2nd, 17:29), Junior Brandon Hager (6th, 17:56), Freshman Evan Jewett (7th, 17:58), Junior Captain Adam Solari  (9th, 18:05) and Sophomore Liam Cafferty (11th, 18:21.).

9)      On the girls side, Plymouth South placed the top three finishers to top Whitman-Hanson (3-5) in Girls Cross Country 21-34.  Top finishers for the Panthers over the 5K course included Junior Tori Boss (4th, 21:26), Senior Captain Maeve McDonough (5th, 21:40), Junior Niki Kamperides (6th, 21:44), Senior Dorothy DiMascio-Donohue (9th, 23:15) and Junior Tori Carleton (10th, 23:22.)