Five sports, 27 divisions, and more traveling than a missed call in an NBA game – call it November’s March Madness.
Teams from across Massachusetts competed for state tournament glory this past week. It’s far from over, but not too early to look at some show-stealers.
With stakes higher and room-for-error lower, here are some local student-athletes who came to play:
Jamila Oriakhi – Swampscott volleyball
Despite a heartbreaker for Swampscott’s volleyball team – a 3-2 loss to Falmouth – and the end of Oriakhi’s high school career, one of the best players in program history played a strong match.
Oriakhi, who led the Big Blue with 231 assists her junior season, kept her unselfish play intact against Falmouth. She recorded 15 assists and 3 aces, distributing to five teammates along the way.
Brooke Moloney – St. Mary’s girls soccer
One of the top players in the state had herself quite the week. In a victory against Revere and loss to Danvers, Moloney delivered in both.
Against the Patriots, she dished out three assists and scored a goal to lead St. Mary’s to a 7-1 victory. Against Danvers a few days later, and despite a 6-1 loss, she tucked the Spartans’ only goal of the game to tie it, 1-1.
Melissa Caprio – Lynnfield field hockey
Good teams don’t wait until the end of games, and neither do good players. In a tight 2-1 win against Ipswich, Caprio-led Lynnfield took care of business at Pioneer Stadium.
Right before halftime at the 2:50 mark, a Lynnfield corner ended with Caprio finishing off a rebound for a 1-0 lead. Eighty seconds later, she wiggled her way through the defense to set up Taylor Valiton’s game-winning goal.
Emma Chevalier – Lynn Classical volleyball
In a program-defining, confidence-boosting home win against Lynnfield, the Rams looked to their playmaker: Chevalier.
She helped steal the show with 28 assists and two aces. Her consistent effort was needed in a wild match. Classical jumped ahead, 2-0, dropped the next two, then won the fifth and final set by two points.
Jovan Machado – KIPP football
Run, KIPP, run. In a game in which KIPP ran all over visiting Sutton (46-20 final), Machado led the charge – literally and figuratively.
Machado rushed for 140 yards and entered the endzone three times. Add another three touchdowns from Morenel Castro and nearly 200 first-half passing yards from Chanel Gutierrez – that’s good enough for a KIPP win.
Luke Maglione – Peabody football
Two touchdowns, 151 passing yards, and some terrific pocket movement from Maglione were enough to put Peabody past Arlington, 34-0, in round one of the Division II tournament.
From hitting his favorite receiver, Eli Batista, for gains of 40 and 42 yards, to throwing an on-the-run touchdown to Nicholas Dresser, the bright lights at Coley Lee Field didn’t bother the sophomore one bit.
Cam LaGrassa – St. John’s Prep football
If his star-powered performance against Catholic Memorial from two weeks ago wasn’t enough (254 rushing yards), LaGrassa repeated excellence against Leominster.
In The Prep’s 42-7 win, the running back rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns – in two quarters.
He bolted for a 64-yard touchdown on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage and added another 64 yards in the second quarter.
