RallyNorth.net: High School Sports – Merrimack Valley and Southern NH

11 Andover students?—Hector, Hector, Hector—Do you really expect me to get out of my pj's and drive over to Masco West to see my team play a bumch of yokels whose coach makes each player touch the ball twice on each possession before someone is allowed to shoot? Do you?

No.15 in eastern Mass?—How about No.15 on Rte 125? Do these clowns really want to get into the MVC? Maybe they should be allowed–it would be good for Tewksbury's morale when they pick up a couple of W's over the Good Nights…er…the Scarlet Knights.

Thank goodness it happened on a Monday night when the Boston Glub's rating team was sleeping off their Super B hangover.

McVeigh's basketball coaching like his players' feet is mired in cement…our grandfathers really loved the Princeton back door but Mike, come on! Maybe you should pay the tuition to Hooptown for a semester or two and let Faz show you how it's done!!

Frankly, this tag North “Andover” is a little embarrassing…Can anybody change this? How about North “Rockport” or North “Ipswich”…I don't like the use of the word “Andover”…a little denigrating to our Town and our basketball.

Yup…the real Andover sent a real message

ANDOVER, WOW. Your PJ's. Are you a 5yrs old girl, you sleep in your PJ's. Being 2nd best to a Lawrence team, I mean CCHS really does bother you. You really do know how to rub it in after the game is played. Can someone please tell me what is so good about the town of Andover that it could say the things this girl is saying about North Andover. This girl from Andover that goes to bed at 7pm in her PJ's cuts down the North Andover coach but, the coach from Andover can't beat that Lawrence team, I mean CCHS.

I will agree with you that Andover is a far superior town to North Andover. Far more money, far better schools, far better athletics, far nicer downtown, far better industry and far better reputation.

Having said that, CCHS regularly abuses Andover in athletics. It might be better if you showed a little humility.

ANDOVER, You have a problem. I know you act like a girl in PJ's but, George_T_Kattar has a 5yr old mine and he's on your side. Just wait and see who else comes out of the woodwork to side with you. I'm betting it's one of these 2 raider4life and sp0rtsfan.

Wow. Interesting thoughts. Nothing like an anonymous website to cut others down and prop yourself up. Andover played really well and NA didn't. Simple as that. They're high school kids and it happens. Must be some short term memory loss on your part but just 3 days before on Friday night that same vaunted Andover team was losing 12-3 at then end of the first quarter to Lowell. They had 25 points at the end of 3. And lost to a team they had beaten by 13 the first time through. Did Faz just remember how to coach offense again over the weekend? Or is it maybe that high school kids just like the rest of us have good days and bad days. McVeigh's a class guy and a very good coach. Same guy and team that gave ANdover everything they could handle in the Christmas Tourney. It was one night and NA got pressured into turnovers and mistakes by an Andover team that desparately needed a win after three losses. Andover dominated and hopefully for them got their season back on track. NA got a reality check before some important league games and the D2 tourney. Hopefully it will help them too. It's a regular season game nothing more or less. Or do you want people judging Andover on being down 38-12 at the half to Brockton and 62-26 after 3?

I'd like to apologize for my grandson's comments. I'd also like to say that regardless of his own personal peccadilloes let me assure you all that when I was at Princeton we never went back door on anyone. Those are the times we wish he'd stay in his pj's. Embarrassing indeed.

D97, are you referring to a 5 year old land mine? cause that could be real dangerous or do you mean a 5 year old diamond mine because that would be worth some dough for George… either way it is futile for us to try to make sense out of what goes on in your mind.

Andover…
No comments after last Tuesday night's game??? But, after last night, you surface with those comments?
Seems strange.
There is only school locally who regularly delivers beat downs, night in and night out…and it ain't Andover.

Oy. It looks like Brockton handled LE without breaking too much of a sweat. btw, did anyone else see the emerging controversy over LE's alleged recruitment of the kid from East Boston. MIAA to meet this Friday and things could get very interesting come tourney time. But if you've followed the Lynn programs this hardly comes as a shocker.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/...

But to local relavancy, Brockton held Central-killer Woumn to just five points. Could be a couple of defensive lessons for the Raiders as they have a relatively quiet week going into Comcast.

Thank you raider4life, I win the bet. ANDOVER's Grandfather, WOW, what a family.

Wrong again D97. It is quite humorous how you play yourself off as a Central guy when clearly you are not.

Not to worry though, there is plenty of room on the CCHS bandwagon bus for you–we don't discriminate on Hampshire St.
We love all God's creatures even the feeble minded.

LE was even with Brockton going into the fourth quarter. Woumn and Byrd were both on the bench with 4 fouls each. Brockton went on 19-4 run and that was it. Definitely a case of LE playing a cupcake schedule to date in the NEC with no formidable opponenets in non-league action.

Still think that LE faces CCHS again in North Final if they can get their act together at LE and brackets are aligned.

Taking pot shots at Mike McVeigh is disgraceful! The guy is a class act and is a great coach. NA should join the MVC and be part of creating more natural rivaliries in our area. A win-win for everyone.

Totally agree on NA to the MVC. Would be great for the town and the area. And contrary to the above post, NA would be very competitive in the MVC Small. They'd take their lumps from teams like CC, AHS, Lawrence in the Large, but what Small team doesn't? Let's hope it happens!

I honestly try not to get invloved with “back and forth” stuff in any forum that allows people to freely post. It often gets nasty, and behind a keyboard, people can be as tough as they want to pretend they are.
That being said….
d1997, once, just friggrin' ONCE, I'd like to click on to this board, and read some new, insightful, original thoughts you might have about a particular game, player, or situation. Your style of simply parroting back stuff you have already read, or saying how “awesome” this current Central team is, and how it is the best of all time, grows tiresome. Have a new or original thought…and back it up with legit points. Normally, and I'm not trying to be funny here, your posts read like that of an 11 year old talking sports with his buddies in the school yard. Example: kid #1 says the Red sox are going to be great this year. Kid #2 happens to be an Oriole fan and says they are going to be better. Kid #1 says no way, “The Sox are going to be great because they are freaken awesome!” No fatcs, opinions, or original analysis. Just “freaken awesome”. D1997…your posts sound just like that. Or, they are intended to start trouble, and stir things up. Add something else.
Last week, I really thought Central was in a spot to lose a game over the weekend, and had the balls to post it.
You jumped right in with a ridicule of my post, and laughed it off, saying that Central doesn't know how to lose (whatever that means).
My post had an idea I wished to express, and I clearly stated why I felt that way.
Your post meant absolutely nothing, and again, you had to tell us that “they are the best team ever”.
Reconsider your posting style.

sp0rtsfan, You do post great blogs and are very interesting with a good points of view. You are right. I do go off when someone cuts down a school program or a city. I really hate when people blog hateful things and have no facts and they just blog it to blog it. When someone blog things like, if a kid goes to CCHS he will get into a better collage than a kid that goes to a public school. To me, saying something like that is just crazy and not true. John Stark, is another blogger just like you that post great blogs but, He attacked the city of Lawrence with hateful and false facts. I'm sorry I just couldn't let him say the things he said about the city of Lawrence. Thats just me. There are others that just say things and I want them to know if they come with no facts I will say something. You 2 do blog great stuff and there are a few more but, there are some like ANDOVER and George_T_Kattar that are just off the wall. Not looking to start trouble. Again CCHS vs AHS had great games and 99% of the fans were great but, there are some people that blog about the little things like kids being kids at a high school game. sp0rtsfan, you and some others is what is great about reading this blog.

Couple of points: First, David, this is not the first time you've used the phrase “false facts”. You might want to re-think that one. And I sincerely apologize for any misstatement made months ago about the City of Lawrence. As reflected in today's news, it's clearly a well-run, fiscally responsible city with thoughtful leadership.

Second, the Central student section has become a game within the game. The color themes, the coordination, the singing, and the flat-out numbers are very impressive. Many Central fans sat on the Haverhill side last night due to CCHS students occupying two-thirds of the home bleachers. All of which makes for an even more entertaining evening.

If CC gets through Comcast unscathed, are we looking at Prep-CC for top seed in the north?

Who is in the comcast besides CC and BC?
I have heard BC is down this year and CC should get past them without issue. Was quite the drubbing of HHS last night (not that anyone expected anything less) but it was good to see some other CC players role players getting some confidence. We will need those extra 6-8-12 points when the Tourney starts–you wants those roll guys to put the ball in hole with confidence when the defense sags off them (and they will with CD, JZ, LP & MA to worry about first).

John Stark, Your blogs that you post are good one's. When you are wrong and don't have the right facts, I said something. The city of Lawrence is a easy target. But we are talking sports. Just like raider4life when you and him were talking about CCHS moving. You 2 were way off and didn't have the true facts, you both had false facts. I just corrected you and you both got mad. I do think you are one of the best bloggers here. There are others but, if they come with false facts I will say something.

Everett and Newton North round out the Comcast field. Should be CCHS vs. Newton North in the finale. CCHS should be the favorite? What's the status on Jimmy Z?

Central should get by the Prpe next week. The Connaughton kid is a great offensive player (better baseball pitcher apparently) but not sure if their size and other starters match up against the defense of Luis, Jaycob, and Jimmy – let alone the Big Guy in the middle.

I agree with that and the role players. I liked what i saw from Conlin and Ouellette the other night from behind the arc. They can hit the shot folks – don't leave them open!

Few thoughts from the Haverhill game…in the event anyone is interested.
The CC fans have truly created a home court advantage. I don't care how calm, cool, and collected the opposing team's players are, they are still just kids, and they will be intimidated by the Central crowd. Very, very impressive stuff.
They changed it up last night, and wore all black. Just a sea of blackness. Same, well timed, pre-game chants set to music.
And, cut from the same cloth as “the parting of the Red Sea”, last night they installed “The Bowling Ball”. As Carson was introduced, and jogged onto the floor between the lines of cheer leaders, he was tossed a basketball, which he rolled “bowling” stlye, toward the student section. When it hit the stands, they all fell backward in an oderly fashion, looking like pins falling for a strike. Great stuff!
Great chants throught out game..including the chant of “snooo day….snoooo day…snoooo day” directed at the school principal, for the duration of the forth quarter. They even mixed in “…for our safety…. for our safety”. Very funny.
The basketball:
If you are looking for a turning point in this game, a point when the game was no longer in question, I guess the final whisle of the Bishop Hen game would be it. I sincerely mean no dis-respect to Haverhill (they are going to be very good in a year or two) but when their bus pulled into the Hampshire street parking lot, there was really no reason to get off it.
Central (no JZ) was well focussed, as they ran out to a 14-0 lead.
Great moment when the Hillies finally scored their first bucket, as both the Haverhill fans, and the entire Central side errupted in cheers.
Central let them climb back in for a tiny bit, as Haverhill cut it to19-14 with 5 minutes to play in the half, but Central tightened the screws, and the crowd became re-energized on a Carson dunk at the 2 minute mark, bringing the lead back to 33-16.
The score at the half was 36-19 and the party was on.
The only dramatic moment in the second half came with 1:35 to play in the third. After a missed shot, Carson ripped a rebound down, and went back up for a soft put back. He hit it, and was fouled on the way up, creating an “and one”. However, after the made lay in, the defender fell to the floor, and Carson made a very distinct kicking motion at him (#4 for Haverhill), which, I believe, the refs and coach Nault may have missed. Well, the kid pops up looking for a piece of Carson, and reaches out and shoves him. Carson simply walked to the foul line, looking to let things cool off, but Haverhill's player (wish I had the name), while being restained by two teamates, and a ref, continue to try to get at Carson, thus drawing a T. Carson missed all three free throws (the original 1, plus both techs) but the score at that point was 50-28, and the game very much over. Both players were removed by their coaches, never to return.
The fourth quarter was simply passed by seeing how creative the Central fans could be with their chants, and many of them were very funny.
With 25 second to play, Haverhill did draw an intentional foul call, which stired things up very briefly…but order was restored very quickly.
Couple of final points….I love the non-stop intensity of the Haverhill coach…working his players and the refs from beggining to end, but can't for the life of me figure out how he avoids techniclas.
Saw JZ walk around quite a bit last night during warm ups. Never saw him run, or even jog. But his walk was perfectly normal. No noticable limp…so, maybe…..

I heard that he will be ready for the comcast… whether that means game #1 or #2 I am not sure. Could be good for the guys to keep stepping up (without JZ) but you also want him to shake off any rust and get a game or two under his belt post injury to feel strong & ready (timing-wise) for the real tourney.
I am hoping that Rick has that defense kicked up another notch come tourney time–my memory of those pre-tourney practices with Licare were all about defensive intensity. I expect the same this year–take no chances & leave it all out there-this year is an opportunity to do something special. As dominant as CC has been recently you cannot take for granted any game vs anyone in the state tourney.

The concensus seems to be that CC will beat BC High in the first round and get NN (if it's Everett, buckle up) in the final. They have a couple of bigs so it will be a good test for the Raiders with Jimmy back. Then onto the Prep and tourney. I'm thinking bye in the first round, then two home games, one of which could very well be Andover or Lawrence. If they run the table until the seedings, they have a good chance of avoiding LE until the north final, barring upsets, of course. Good move letting JZ, who wanted to go last night, fully heal.

In recent years the CC student section has turned out in big numbers for the tourney. Can't imagine what this year will be like after last night's remarkable attendance for a meaningless MVC game vs. a sub .500 team. Quite the carnival atmosphere. You have to love how these kids support one another.

No school cancel/delay or early release for CCHS today… unbelievable they even beat the weathermen!

Anyone catch the Bishop Hendricken game? What happened? Are they that good this year?

Looks like LE will end up as the number one season barring an unforeseen loss. If King Phillip site that has current look at what state seedings might look like if the season ended today is accurate, LE is not counting the Brockton loss which they don't have to. CCHS does have a loss listed though so they must have to or chose to list BH loss on Sunday. And Andover is not listing the Brockton loss either.

Should be interesting down the homestretch.

I did not get to see it-but BH is very good every year.

I did catch the CC girls vs Masco on Sunday and let me tell you even though the Masco girls got beat handily they are a tough, tough young ladies. One girl had a tooth/(piece of) knocked out and calmly handed it to the her coach and kept playing never missing a beat (Brooke?-goood player too). Only to be trumped by a teammate who dislocated a finger and as the CC trainer hesitated when the player told her to pull it out-her Dad (I assume) came out of the stands-told her to look away and popped it back in-she also went right back in the game. Very impressed with their toughness.

they're good. Better than Lenny Degnan is at covering his a** here…

Sounds like Hecy needs a nap