Making it through an entire regular season and a grueling state tournament to grab a spot in the state championship game is an incredible accomplishment in itself.
So when you have schools — like St. Mary’s and a couple of others — that send multiple programs to their respective state title games in the same season, it’s worth taking notice.
St. Mary’s is one of only three schools in the entire state that has sent multiple teams to the state title game this winter, and one of only two schools that sent both of its basketball teams to the big game. Norwood has also sent its boys and girls basketball teams to the state title games in Division 2, while Watertown will see its boys basketball team and its boys hockey team battle it out for a state championship in Div. 3.
There’s even a bit of an overlap there, as the Watertown boys basketball team will go up against St. Mary’s in the Div. 3 state title game Friday night (7:30) at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.
And it’s sure to be something of an emotional game for the Spartans, who lost a heartbreaker to Watertown in the 2016 title game while many of the team’s current players watched from the crowd as members of the middle-school team.
Aside from being incredibly impressed with all of these teams and how they’ve made it all the way to the final game of the season, it’s hard to not be sent reeling when you think about the sheer amount of things that had to go right in order for us to get to this point.
We don’t need to look any further than the St. Mary’s girls basketball team’s last game, when the Spartans needed every last second to hang on for a 63-62 win over rival Bishop Fenwick in the Div. 3 semifinal. Or the Norwood boys’ Div. 2 semifinal game the other night, where the Mustangs battled back to tie the game in the final seconds before moving on to the 69-66 overtime win.
But the other thing about these instances of twin state title contenders — specifically pertaining to St. Mary’s and Norwood — is the fact that the schools’ teams will get to play their respective state title games back-to-back. The Spartan girls will kick things off Friday night at 5:30 p.m. against Rockland with the St. Mary’s boys taking the court right after at 7:30 p.m. against Watertown, while the Norwood boys will hit the court Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. before the girls come out for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
Regardless of how we got here or what history the teams hold with each other, one thing is for certain. Those of us lucky enough to go to these games in person this weekend will surely be in store for some incredible action.
