Sports
Winter Sports Start Off Strong
by Riley Sullivan
Winter sports started right in without skipping a beat from the end of fall season. So far, both girls and boys basketball teams have been working hard to get ready for their seasons.
Boys basketball started off strong with a home opener win against Dedham 68-61. Freshman starter Jack Carter (17 points) said, “I feel like we played well as a team and helped each other.” As for expectations for this season, senior captain Adam Hart (19 points) said, “I think you’ll see a lot more wins coming our way.”
Girls basketball won a thrilling home opener in overtime on Friday night against Dover-Sherborn and league MVP hopeful Elliana Scalibrine. Senior Hailey Bassett led the team with 13 points and 13 rebounds, all in the second half and overtime. After Friday the 15th, both boys and girls hoop are 1-1 with a lot to look forward to.
Winter track and field had their first meet as well as the first invitational. Although the first TVL meet of the season was a loss against Medway for both girls and boys teams, we found success in that many newcomers and returning athletes tried new events with some promising outcomes. Several athletes placed in the top 6 the following Sunday at the Mercury Invitational. Hopefully this will set the stage for a great season.
The boys hockey co-op w/ Bellingham has 4 Millis teammates, senior Brendan Curry, sophomore Liam Gregg, freshmen Braden Ingoldsby and Blake Shepardson. They took a 5-4 loss in a tight first game against the much bigger Quincy High School. Senior Brendan Curry was optimistic about the season, especially considering Quincy is two divisions higher than Bellingham: “Coach said it was the best he’s seen us play in three years, so that’s good.”
And this year we have a girls hockey co-op w/ Hopkinton with our very own freshmen Grace Heneghan. As for our gymnastics co-op w/ Medway we have seniors Jaime Conrad and Rayssa Oliveira (team manager), and sophomore Mia Ferguson.
Millis Athletic Director Derek Phinney said that "The winter season should bring some exciting basketball with the boys and girls having talented underclassmen balanced with senior leadership. The girls will have a target on their back after making it to the state championship last season, while the boys look to play an aggressive and uptempo style of basketball. Track & field has close to 70 athletes participating this winter which should make every meet extremely competitive. I'm grateful to have an amazing league that provides our student-athletes a co-op opportunity in ice hockey and gymnastics. It should be a special winter season thanks to our student-athletes and coaches." Good luck to all athletes this season and we hope to see lots of support for those training hard all season!
The schedules for all sports can be found at https://arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=14778
Football Beats Thanksgiving Rival Medway
By Liyla Glynn
The Millis Mohawks Varsity Football Team secured their second straight victory with this year’s Thanksgiving Day win on Thursday, November 23. The final result was a shut-out of 14-0. The game's score marked the second time such an outcome has occurred in thirty years.
On the first play of the game, senior Adam Hart, returning from an injury, trotted effortlessly into the endzone after receiving a flawless ball from freshman Jack Carter.
Hart scored another touchdown near the end of the first quarter with a handoff from freshman Liam Kraby and an impressive sidestep juke.
These plays and the ones that followed were made possible by stable pass protection courtesy of the offensive line. The defense carried the remainder of the game.
The rivalry between the Medway Mustangs and the Millis Mohawks has been continuous for almost a hundred years, so the players are hopeful to keep this streak alive. The team celebrated on Medway’s turf, taking the trophy back and awarding Liam Kraby the MVP award for nine tackles, two interceptions, and a hundred and six rushing yards. This was truly a game that the team could be proud to send their seniors off with.
The veteran members were ecstatic over the win, but also sentimental due to the game being their last. “There aren’t many things guaranteed in life…but you can count on a few. Life, death, and the Mohawks winning on Thanksgiving,” said senior Alex Barrett.
Another senior, Andrew Perruzzi, shed gratitude on his football career at Millis. “It was more than a game,” stated Perruzzi, “It was something we all dreamed of. All those hot summer days finally paid off, it was bittersweet.”
Lastly, senior Adam Hart reflected on the team's work ethic over the season by saying,“the conduct of each determines the fate of all.”
Millis Varsity Football would like to thank all of their seniors, Alex Barrett, Adam Hart, Beckett Giardi, Jackson Glynn, Nick Hill, Noah Lagos, Andrew Perruzzi, Grady Polimeno, and John Regan. Good luck in all your future endeavors.
Millis girls varsity soccer fronted by freshman keeper Ella Maher. Photo by Maria Govoni.
Girls Varsity Soccer Comeback Season
by Riley Sullivan
Millis Varsity Soccer team has high hopes and is looking to prove their abilities this season.
For the past couple of years, Girls Varsity Soccer has not been able to make it as far as they’ve hoped in the playoffs. Two years ago they made it to the elite eight but fell short to Monson High School. Last year was an even shorter playoff run getting bumped out in the round of 32 against Lenox Memorial.
The team is continuing to work incredibly hard under Coach Zitoli and her staff to make improvements, build strength and confidence, and highlight each player's abilities.
At halfway through the season, the Mohawks have collected 5 wins and 2 ties out of its 10 matches.
The TVL is made up of many Division 1, 2, and 3 teams so showing we can compete against these teams helps build confidence and prepare us for the Division 5 playoffs.
As of today, the team is sitting nicely in 9th place in the MIAA power rankings. These rankings have been pretty accurate through playoffs in the past where the top-ranked teams usually make it the farthest.
It’s not happening without continued hard work, staying healthy, and continuing to improve with each practice and game.
We have great leadership and team chemistry this year and that shows when we play.
We enjoy being around each other on and off the field and the support we get and give each other is something that every team hopes for and thrives off of.
I, along with our entire team, are eager to see where we end up ranked at the end of the regular season and hope to improve on our record. We hope to continue to see many of you cheering us on throughout as we love the excitement from the sidelines.
It pumps us up to see the students, staff, and Millis community rooting us on. Let’s keep it up Millis Girls Soccer!
Cross Country
by Ben McCarthy
The 2023 Cross Country season has just finished its regular season last week against Medway. The team was under the new guidance of Coach Maher and Assistant Coach Mick, both bringing a considerable amount of running expertise.
We had a middle school team this year for the first time and they show great promise. This will be important with keeping the team successful in the future.
It was an outstanding season filled with consistent personal bests week after week, as well as a big win against Bellingham. This coincided with Senior Night at Oak Grove for Ben McCarthy and Drew Miller (photo right).
The upcoming postseason will include the Middle and High School Divisional meets, and those who qualify will be at States.
Boys Varsity Soccer
by Maria Govoni
Losing a lot of talented players from the class of 2023, it has been a difficult way to start the season. This year there are 8 seniors on the team. The season had not been what the seniors had planned for their last season, but they continue to put up a fight.
On Friday, October 20 they beat the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell 7-0 for their first win of the season.
Golf
As the Millis Golf Team continues to improve, there's no doubt that they have a bright future ahead. Whether it's on the greens, in the clubhouse, or in the classroom the Millis Golf Team is making a significant impact for its community.
Captains Colin Burns and Aidan Sugrue successfully led the team to a great season this year. The team is an example of what can be achieved through hard work and dedication.
Their success on the golf course and their positive influence on those around them make them a prime example of what the town of Millis, Massachusetts is all about.
Photo: seniors Xander Petrush, Declan Corcoran, Buddy Ferzoco, and Colin Burns.
Volleyball Credits Coach, New Mantra For Success
by Olivia Mathews
Going into the 2023 season, the team and coach all had a similar goal in mind. Team, teammate, self, and in that order. It was decided at our first practice that this would be our mantra for the season.
Success and greatness will not come from one person, but instead a group of people working together for a common goal. But reaching that goal would be impossible with the self mindset we have worked to cut out completely.
This season started with a little bit of fog in the air, some sort of unsure way of play. We have also struggled with injuries, leaving us with very important gaps to fill. Since overcoming this fog and injury, the team has gelled like no other season and we have had the results and growth we continue to work so hard for.
Head coach Liz Gatz has given us full confidence in our play. Coach runs with the saying, “Work in practice so it is automatic in games.”
This strategy has not only started to make our play automatic, it has made us dial in for practice times with the intent of gaining the confidence to be automatic in games.
As of right now we are at a lovely 50/50 record, and are ranked 11th in the Division 5. Considering our aggressive schedule in the Tri Valley League, we have done an amazing job not only playing against these teams, but we are competing and winning as well.
We have had such amazing growth this year, beating teams we haven't in many years. This has been a pivotal year for the Millis Mohawks Volleyball program, with new connections and involvement with the younger teams as well. We not only as a volleyball team but as a program have gelled so well, and I am honored to be a part of that as a senior.
This is the legacy I want to leave behind to my underclassmen, that there is such an amazing sense of family in this program.
Fall Sports Show Support
by Macy Cyr
Coming into this school year, the Millis Active Minds chapter has grown exponentially. With 65 new signups since the club fair, there is no doubt how much destroying the stigma means to everyone. Last year, football made the homecoming game a Green Out game in support of mental health awareness. Seeing how the entire town rallied together to rep green, Active Minds wanted to grow this in a series of green-out games across all fall sports.
For World Mental Health Day on October 10th, Girls Soccer kicked off the fall green-out games. The players wore green outfits to school and even found creative ways to add green to their uniforms. Abby Wallace, a Grade 11 soccer player, was excited to dress up with her team and talk about mental health in sports, “It made me feel very supported to see everyone come together to support mental health.”
Golf followed Girls Soccer the next day to end their season with a Green Out Match. Although not a sport with a student section, players still wore green ribbons as they shot 18 holes.
A doubleheader for Friday the 13th, Football and Cross Country supported Green Out. Cross Country got their middle school runners involved and had them clad in green for their Twilight run. A great way to incorporate Julia Works’ upcoming Senior Project: an Active Minds chapter in the Middle school.
Girls Volleyball and Boys Soccer will hold their green-out games during the second week of this series. Active Minds is very excited to see what these two groups do to represent their support, just as everyone else did.
In the planning of these events, the cooperation of our athletic director Mr. Phinney, all of the fall coaches, and the support of the student body was imperative for this to happen. The money that was raised from selling pins and bandanas at lunch will be donated back to the Kyle Care and Active Minds parent organizations.
Playoff Outlook For Millis High Sports
by Andrew Morse
Millis fall sports are entering there last month within the fall sport seasons. Millis football is currently past the midway mark in their season with 3 games remaining, including the Thanksgiving football game played against Medway every year. They play in Bellingham on Friday, October 20th, and Dedham on Thursday, October 26th. Currently in the MIAA D8 Football Power Rankings they are ranked 13 spots from being in playoff position. You need to be in the top 16, and they are ranked at number 29 posting a 1-5 record.
The golf team has finished their season finishing with a 3-17 record beating Dedham twice in the season, and Bellingham once. While the Millis Golf team did not make the playoffs, Aidan Sugrue will be playing in the individual state tournament for Millis.
Millis boys soccer is struggling to get into the playoffs currently as well, falling only 11 spots from playoff position. They are posting a 0-12-1 record with 3 games remaining. Hopefully they can win and increase their ranking in order to continue their season into the playoffs.
Both girls volleyball and soccer are in good position in the rankings for a playoff appearance. Girls volleyball is 1 win off of a .500 win percentage, at a 7-8 record and ranked 11 in D5. They also have 3 games remaining in their season before their high chance playoff appearance. Girls soccer is ranked 7 in D5 with a 5-6-2 record, also 1 spot of a .500 win percentage. They have 5 more games before closing out their season.
Hopefully the Millis community can see the 4 remaining sports teams all make playoff appearances and represent Millis well.