What was supposed to be a nice matinee match-up between two high school basketball teams turned into an all-out war on Saturday, as the Vineyard and Wayland waged battle for four periods and three overtimes in arguably one of the best games ever played at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
After nearly three hours of play, countless lead changes and more twists than a Russian novel, the Warriors finally prevailed over the Vineyarders by a final of 66-63 to send the packed crowd home disappointed but undoubtedly entertained.
Although the regular spring sports season for high school athletics is inching to a close, several teams will be starting a second season this week when they play in the opening round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament.
It was an up-and-down week for the Vineyard’s high school sports teams.
The boys’ hockey team won a pair of games to inch closer to a berth in the state tournament, while the girls’ basketball team lost both a blowout against an unknown opponent and a tight game against a familiar rival. Meanwhile, the girls’ hockey team shook off a slow start and began to show potential, while the boys’ basketball team won a game by 30 points and lost another by a single bucket.
The girls’ varsity lacrosse team represented their high school, their Island and their country with honor over two weeks during a 12-day jaunt to England where they played some of that nation’s top youth lacrosse teams while also making new friends and visiting some historic sites in Europe.
For coach Betsy Dripps and her globe-trotting troop of lacrosse players, it was the trip of a lifetime.
Just about every game this season for the boys’ high school basketball team has gone right down to the wire, which has provided last-minute thrills for some fans but conversely has caused something like an ulcer for coach Mike Joyce.
“All these games seemingly are decided by a single shot in the final seconds,” Mr. Joyce said following the Vineyarders’ 86-85 loss to Wareham on Tuesday. “It may be great for the fans, but it’s not easy on the coach. I think they’re trying to give me a heart attack.”
When students show up at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School next September, some will go to sea.
For the first time, the school is offering maritime courses. Students will be able to enroll in elective classes that teach boat handling, navigation and even knot-tying.
The newly created maritime studies program at the high school is a collaborative effort between a number of different organizations.
Even though the high school boys’ hockey team punched their ticket into the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament this week with an impressive shutout win over Bourne on Saturday, coach Matt Mincone still feels his team has yet to play its best hockey this season.
The words “goofy” and “high school principal” are unlikely to follow one another in a game of free association. For Margaret (Peg) Regan, who will resign as principal of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School this month after nine years in the job, that’s been part of the problem, particularly recently. Sitting in her office last week she explained why it is time for a break.
BreAnne Russell, sophomore forward on the high school girls’ hockey team, aptly sums up her love of the game by comparing it to a well-known circular food item.
A funny thing happened on the way to the state tournament this past week for the regional high school boys’ tennis team.
In the most bizarre of circumstances, the boys were forced to play the girls’ team from East Bridgewater in the preliminary round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament because of a little-known provision in the rules regarding mixed-gender teams.