If it seemed like 2016-17 was a banner year for Old Rochester Regional High School sports, it was.
In fact, it was a best-in-the-state kind of season. The Eastern Massachusetts state athletic programs are grouped based on similar size and makeup, and Old Rochester had the best overall winning percentage out of their 38-school division – an astounding 68.66 percent, meaning they won about two out of every three games they played across all sports.
It was the second straight year that Old Rochester was honored for being best in their division.
ORR’s big year started with a solid fall (55-41-11), but they were well behind several other schools. The football team led the way with their great 9-2 season and Class A title, and they are favored to have another excellent season behind running back Harry Smith – starting this Friday with a huge matchup against a powerful Wareham.
Also chipping in (no pun intended) was the boys’ golf team, which went 13-3 led by Collin Fitzpatrick, who was arguably the area’s best golfer and who returns for his senior season.
The girls’ soccer team went 14-6-1 and field hockey was 11-5-4.
During the winter, Old Rochester upped its game even further with a 52-17 record that was seventh best overall in their division. The boys’ basketball team went 16-6 and brought home a pair of tournament wins. But it was the hockey team (co-op with Fairhaven) that really had a spectacular season, getting all the way to the state final. Replicating that success without star Sam Henrie will be difficult, but the feeder program is excellent and another stellar season should follow.
The ORR girls’ basketball team had a bounce-back year at 15-7 and has been a winner for most of the last four decades.
But the Bulldogs saved the best for the spring season, finishing 88-28 overall. Not only was that best in their division, but only four programs in all of Eastern Massachusetts had a better winning percentage.
Basically, every spring team was all that and then some – boys’ tennis (19-2), girls’ lacrosse (19-3) and girls’ tennis (17-4) led the way, but all eight teams had a winning record. ORR will have to replace some talent from that group, including track star Brooke Santos, but look for big things from the girls’ lacrosse team that returns most of its key players.
Old Colony had a solid 2016-17 athletic season, finishing seventh out of 18 in the Markham 2 Division representing some of the state’s smaller vocational schools. The Cougars had a collective 42.5 winning percentage.
Sports are already under way for the 2017-18 fall season, and we’ll have coverage from ORR, Old Colony and Tabor Academy all year long.
By Jonathan Comey