The Old Rochester Regional High School boys basketball team was initially slated to start its shortened 2021 season on January 5, but players were forced into quarantine, leading to the cancelation of a scheduled season-opening matchup against Seekonk. During the week-and-a-half-long quarantine, the Bulldogs were also disallowed from practicing together.
Despite only getting two practices in before their second attempt at opening the season— and only having seven players available to play— the Bulldogs were able to win, 45-42, over Joseph Case High School (Swansea) on Friday.
“I’ve been around a lot of basketball games, but that’s one I’ll always remember— when it comes to the rewards of being a coach, too,” Old Rochester head coach Steve Carvalho said.
Alex Wright led Old Rochester with 16 points, 12 of which came off of three-pointers. Sawyer Fox also knocked down four threes, finishing with 15 points to go with his eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Steve Morrell led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds, while Liam Geraghty had eight points and six assists. Wayne Andrews chipped in the last of Old Rochester’s scoring, finishing with six points.
“It was a big win,” Carvalho said. “I felt, with the way they played out there, that we were able to knock down some threes early and take a lead on the road, that when we do get healthy and get guys back, that there will be greater depth.”
After their Tuesday meeting with Somerset Berkley, Old Rochester doesn’t play again for another week as a game originally scheduled for Friday at Apponequet has also been canceled.
Girls basketball
Unlike the boys, Old Rochester’s girls basketball team was able to open its season against Seekonk, winning that meeting by a 43-27 score. The Bulldogs also played against Case on Friday, once again winning decisively by a score of 54-23.
“I’m happy with the way they’ve played to start the season because we didn’t really have anything to go on,” Old Rochester girls basketball coach Rick Regan said. “You come in a little bit blind in the sense that you get to see the teams twice in the season. We just basically went off of last year, what teams had coming back, and go from there. It was a feeling-out process, and it will be for the rest of the season as well, but I think if we can take care of ourselves and improve every day— that’s the goal— then I think things will be fine.”
There has been no shortage of offense for Old Rochester in the early going, and the attack continues to be balanced as in years past. Maggie Brogioli led the Bulldogs with 10 points against Seekonk and matched her output in the win over Case. After scoring nine points apiece against Seekonk, Logan Fernandes (18 points) and Meghan Horan (11 points) led Old Rochester in scoring against Case. Horan also grabbed 15 rebounds in a double-double effort against the Cardinals.
“I like the balance of the offense so far,” Regan said. “We can go to a number of people late in the game. We like to have the ball in the hands of our guards coming up the court late in the game, but I think because we have balanced scoring, it will limit teams as to whom they’ll be able to focus on. That should allow us to see as the game is played out where we need to go with the ball.”
While the girls are still set to face Apponequet at 6:30 pm on Friday, their Tuesday meeting with Somerset Berkley was canceled.
Boys Ice Hockey
After opening with a 2-2 tie against Bourne, the Old Rochester/Fairhaven boys hockey team earned its first win of the season at the expense of Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech, 13-0.
Chase Couture and Chris Gauvin led the Bulldogs on offense, both finishing with three-goal hat tricks. Thomas Galavotti finished with 22 saves in his first career varsity shutout, which also happened to be his first win at that level.
The Bulldogs get back to work on Saturday against Somerset Berkley. The puck drops at Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne at 3:30 pm.
Sports Roundup
By Nick Friar