The New England Patriots clinched the AFC East this past Sunday with a 41-13 crushing win over the Miami Dolphins. It’s the sixth straight season that the Patriots have won the AFC East, which is very impressive. The Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts also clinched AFC playoff berths.

So far, only one NFC spot has been claimed, won by the Arizona Cardinals. There are still 21 teams vying for the eight remaining playoff spots. Who will win them is anyone’s guess.

If the Patriots win this Sunday against the horrid 3-11 New York Jets, they will also get a first round playoff bye and home field advantage for the remaining playoff games. The Patriots are one of the best teams when they play at home, almost impossible to beat.

If you walk into the Ed Amaral Gymnasium through the cafeteria, turn around, and look up, you will see among others, a banner for Boys Basketball League Championships. The last year listed? 1990. Since Nick Hannigan was chosen as the Varsity coach in the summer of 2012, it is something he has emphasized to his players must change. He doesn’t care about 1,000-point scorers and individual goals; he wants the team and the program to achieve and succeed. If someone breaks 1,000 and is an all-scholastic along the way, good for them. This is one of Hanover’s best chances in recent seasons to have a new year put on the banner.

The team might not return as much experience as others, but it’s returnees are more talented than most. Senior Captain Jack Buckley is back to start for his third straight year, and may very well exceed 1,000 points. Two games in, he is already averaging a double-double. Senior Captain Jack Phelan is also back for his third varsity season after he was called up midway through his sophomore year. He runs the Hanover offense well and is a tough defender,  already putting out two very good games. Junior John Carroll is the final team member going on his third varsity season, called up during his freshman year. An excellent shooter and vocal leader on the floor, Carroll put up 14 points on Seekonk and 8 on Quincy. Matt McGillivray, Zach Thomson, and Evan Elkhill were also on varsity last year, some longer than others, but nonetheless they have been big factors for Hanover so far. The Indians also have been supported by an influx of JV players coming off a successful year. Freddy Damon, Jonny Ferrarini, Pat Flynn, Justin Paskell, Jeff Davis, Zach Chase, and Adam Murphy have all filled roles for Hanover this year.

The team is two games into the season, so maybe preview isn’t the apt word. But in two games, Hanover has proven they are going to be good. On December 12th, Hanover opened up with Seekonk at home in front of a large crowd and demolished them to a tune of 74-47. That was followed up with the opening of league play against the league’s premier team, the Quincy High Presidents.  After getting blown out of the gym in Quincy last year, Hanover lost to Quincy 80-72 at home on Tuesday. Hanover played competitive and fiery all game long in what was a physical contest but Quincy’s talent, experience and strength won out. Jack Phelan had a well-rounded game, Jack Buckley had 26 points and 12 boards and Evan Elkhill emerged with 18 points of his own. Hanover goes to Patriot Fisher foe North Quincy on the 19th.

The team is looking as strong as ever, and as as long as guys in lesser roles continue to do well, Hanover will be one of the best teams around this year. The League title is very much in their grasp. Scituate is always very tough and matches up well with Hanover. North Quincy has been to the Divison 1 South Sectional Final in two consecutive years, and even though they have lost a lot of their talent, they reload as well as anyone and are always a challenge. Pembroke, Middleboro, and Plymouth South will compete to have a say in the matter as well. On the Keenan side, Hanover might come into some games as the favorite, but there will be no easy games. D3 South is also open for Hanover to make a move, but time will tell how good teams like Wareham, Rockland, and Martha’s Vineyard actually are.

On another note, the Ed Amaral tournament is back after a couple of years hiatus. Hanover will be hosting the tournament over winter break, on the 27th and the 28th. The participants are Holbrook, Medfield and Hanover. Opening night on the 27th will kick off with Norwell-Medfield ollowed by Hanover versus Holbrook. The consolation and championship games will be determined from those results. Things are looking up for the Indians this season; as long as they keep working hard, things will fall into place.

The Monday after Thanksgiving marked the opening of the MIAA Winter Season.  Now, almost two weeks later, teams have wrapped up tryouts and are ready for their first games. The Fall Sports teams at HHS had successful regular seasons but then simmered down in the Postseason. Not to take anything away from them, but this winter, HHS Athletics is primed to surpass the efforts of Fall Teams in what should be an exciting couple of months. Here’s a brief preview for some of the teams. You can find the Boys’ Hockey preview in our last edition and Boy’s Basketball in a coming edition.

Cohasset/Hanover Girls Hockey- The Cohasset/Hanover co-op program enters its 5th year and will be looking to continue its recent improvement. After a rough first couple of years, CH Puck reached the MIAA tournament for the first time last year and beat King Phillip in the first round before bowing out to Milton. The team will be very good again this year with many top returnees from both towns. Junior Goalie Shea Kearney and Senior Forward Valerie Farren will lead the Cohasset front with several sophomores. Both were huge contributors to last year’s success.  Hanover will bring back Junior Forward Samantha Taylor, Junior Defense Molly Cameron and Sophomore Callie Hoadley as some of their key players.  Deb Beal of Cohasset will be the head coach and has guided the team all five years. Their first game is Saturday, 12/13,  vs. Medway, 12:45 PM at Zapustas Arena

Swim and Dive Team- The Hanover Swim and Dive Team is looking forward to a competitive and successful season in the pool. The Boys’ team is very senior-laden, with Eddie Geswell, Joe Ferrarini, Adam Hayes and Shawn Doolin filling key roles. The Girls team is led by Junior Calley Madison, and team captains Jill Locke and McKenzie Shoff. Their first meet is Sunday, 12/14 at the YMCA versus Hingham and they are coached by Barb Toohey.

Girls Basketball- Led by a talented Senior Class and under the guidance of Coach Brian Fisher, the Lady Indians won a share of the Patriot League Title last year. They graduated four seniors who had vast varsity experience.  This year, the Senior experience will be a little less with only Marissa Nimeskern returning. She will have fellow Senior Sydney Lambert to help her lead a talented crop of players. Junior Forward Stephanie Flynn, team co-captain, will be back to start for a third straight season and was a dominant force for the Indians last year. Sophomores Megan Dixon and Meaghan Raab will also reprise their starting roles and be important to the team’s success. Juniors Kayla McMahon, the other co-captain, will join Emily Sweeney and Alyssa Delahunt to fill big roles for the Indians as well. Despite a tough Patriot League schedule, the Indians have what it takes to repeat and possibly exceed last year’s success. They open up with a game at Quincy High School on Tuesday, 12/16.

Ski Team- Based out of Blue Hills, the ski team will have its largest team in years. That gives them a good shot at finding more success than in years past. Some of the key returning members are Senior Pat Wilson, and Juniors Justin Rusko and Matt Paschal. Justin Rusko and Annika Rowland are the captains. Their coach is Robert Egan. Besides Blue Hills, the team will also have a couple events at Rugged Mountain in New Hampshire.

Wrestling- After winning a share of the Patriot League Title last season, the Wrestling team is striving for a repeat performance. Sophomore Hunter Gillis may have been the team’s most successful individual season tournament wise last year and he will be expected to perform well this year along with Senior Captain Mike McLeod and Seniors Dillon Russell, Jeff MacDonald, and Tyler Anderson.  Coach Andy Cook will be back to lead the team after many successful seasons.  Their first meet is an 8 team meet at Bristol Aggie this Sunday, 12/14.

Gymnastics- The Hanover Gymnastics team is another team with great potential. The team’s made up of talented gymnasts of all grades, but Seniors Devan Martin and Breanna Harris and Sophomores Lauren Galotti and Sophie Baker will lead the charge. They are coached by Kerriann Hart.

After nearly five grueling months of hard work and immense effort by Hanover High School’s cheerleading team, the cheerleaders were rewarded with the Division Champs title for their 2014 competition season! But it was not an easy feat to accomplish…

Leading up to their first competition on November 1st, the cheerleaders worked diligently on perfecting their skills and routine. Running a routine full-out is not something to take lightly; after nearly two minutes of vigorously clenching your muscles, forcefully yelling a cheer, running and tumbling across the mat, tossing girls your own age into the air, all while maintaining a megawatt smile, it truly takes a toll on you. Especially when you have to run that routine over and over and over until your bones are aching, your throat is sore, and your muscles are numb. But after a tough week of intense practices, the team arrived at their inaugural competition feeling confident and prepared.

The team’s first competition was an invitational held at Braintree High School, where Hanover competed against numerous teams, some composed of intimidating girls nearly twice their side. “It was definitely a nerve-wracking experience,” said Junior Charlotte Calkin. “Seeing those other girls definitely took a toll on our confidence.” But despite any lingering fears and insecurities, Hanover took the mat with large and unwavering smiles plastered on their faces, and hands clenched tightly at their sides. The girls performed the routine perfectly, until about three quarters of the way through the music section. Suddenly, their song cut out, and all 15 girls stood shocked in place, wondering what could’ve gone wrong. But in an incredible example of team work and perseverance, the team began to count out their music for the last few remaining eight counts, leading the audience in a thrilling chant that was punctuated with an eruption of praise and applause when the routine had finished. So even though the team suffered quite the mishap on the mat, they were able to power through and finish their routine without the music keeping them in line. Judges most definitely took this into account, and when the time for awards came around, Hanover was awarded first place in its division, making for a very happy HHS team.

After returning from their invitational with a large pink trophy held high above their heads, the girls knew that in order to keep their place on top, they would need to work extra hard to keep up with the other teams, who would certainly be raising the stakes of their own routines in order to compete with Hanover’s talent. But after another week of rough, dragging practices that nearly wore holes in the girls’ shoes, they felt prepared for their second competition, this time where the league title would be at stake.

November 8th brought nervous smiles and shaky knees as the team filed into Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. This was the moment they had been dreading since beginning captains’ practices in July- this was the moment that their hard work had been leading up to. Their performance time snuck up on them, and before they knew it they were huddling together on the edge of the mat preparing to begin. The girls took their last few seconds to give each other parting advisory remarks: “stay clean!” “Don’t forget to smile!” “Be loud!” And before they knew it, the DJ was announcing, “HANOVER HIGH SCHOOL, YOU MAY TAKE THE MAT.” And their routine began. After making it through without any music mishaps, the girls ran off the mat exhausted, yet invigorated with adrenaline.

Flash forward to the award ceremony — the girls were nervous, for though they had performed to their highest capacity, the judges at the league competition were known to be harsher than those at the invitational. And perhaps giving their all wouldn’t be quite enough in this scenario. The DJ stepped up to the microphone and began to announce the winning teams from each division, and when Division 4 was called, every Hanover cheerleader clutched each others’ hands with white knuckles and squeezed their eyes shut in anticipation. And in a frenzy of excited shouts and screams of joy, Hanover High School proudly took home the title of not only Division 4 champion, but of second place in the entire league, something that they have been working toward for years. The entire team was grateful for how far they came in their competition season, and their numerous awards prove how dedicated they were. They were rewarded not only with trophies and plaques, but with the support and respect of their fellow students, which is all they could ever ask for.

When asked about the hard work put in by the cheerleaders, Senior captain Skye Howard said, “this season has been one of the best for HHS cheer thanks to everyone on the team, from coming to 6 am practices, staying after school until the sun is completely gone, and coming even when they’re sick.” And all of the present seniors have expressed similar regards to their beloved teammates, mourning the end of the season and promising to return next year with new ideas for future routines. Skye said, “This has been one of the hardest seasons we’ve ever had and without the dedication of each and every cheerleader, we wouldn’t have made it as far as we did.”

“Our season may be over,” says sophomore Nicole Cirafice, “But we are definitely still a team. And I don’t think that’s something that will go away”.

The Red Sox were able to lure in two mega free agents for the 2014-2015 season: Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. The team hopes the additions will mean more wins and a trip to the postseason after their disappointing performance last year.

Ramirez, who will be 31 on December 23rd, agreed to a four year, $88 million deal with a fifth year option for an extra $22 million. Ramirez, a former Los Angeles Dodger, was originally signed with the Boston Red Sox in July 2000 as an international free agent but was traded in the deal where the Sox got Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota. For most of his 10-year career, Ramirez has played shortstop but has told the Sox he’d be willing to change positions.

Pablo Sandoval signed with the Red Sox for a five year, $95 million deal with a $17 million option for a sixth year. In 2012, Sandoval was the World Series MVP and helped the San Francisco Giants win three championships. Also in 2012, he earned the nickname “Kung Fu Panda” and became a fan favorite.

The Red Sox unfortunately failed to grab Jon Lester, who signed with the Chicago Cubs, but just recently got some good trades for a couple of pitchers that will surely help this upcoming season. Just last night, the Sox acquired left-handed pitcher Wade Miley from the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitchers Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster and a minor leaguer. Also, the Sox were able to trade Yoenis Cespedes to the Detroit Tigers for starting pitcher Rick Porcello.

When you’re the state runner up, it’s quite a challenge to improve from the previous season. There’s only one step left to take, but it’s the hardest step of all. After Hanover got trounced by Shrewsbury High School (a school with 1,630 students!) at the TD Garden last year, the makeup of the Hanover program immediately changed. The Class of 2014 was incredibly talented and extremely determined to reach the state final. Replacing them will be a hard task for the Indians. They also lose a pair of key juniors because Nick Joy left for Juniors and Colin Mahoney transferred to the Nobles & Greenborough school in Dedham.

The team still has a strong chance to repeat and potentially exceed last year’s performance. Now in their second year in D3, the Indians face inferior teams except for the final three games or so in division. They are one of the most talented programs in the division and will come into  the tournament as one of the most battle-tested after a tough Patriot League schedule as well as non-conference games against top D3 foes Cohasset and Bishop Stang. In other good news, Hanover returns four of its top nine forwards from last year’s run. Junior Captain Landon Hasenfuss is back at 1st line Center.  Senior Captains Tom Martin and Tyler Powers are back as well as Junior Trevor Doucette. Martin, Powers and Doucette formed a very potent and physical 3rd line during last season. They will be reinforced by seniors Ernie Meads, Joe Maguire, and Alex O’Dowd who had minor

roles on the varsity team last year as well as a slew of JV players moving up. The Indians will need the same offensive success from last year to make a deep run.

Defensively, things are a little fresher coming into this season. In the net, the Indians will be rock solid. Junior Captain Noah Clapp returns between the pipes after leading Hanover last season to their stellar year. He will be backed up Senior Drew Zwart, a talented net minder in his own right. Senior Cole Methot and and Sophomore Mike McGlame are the only returning defensemen who saw a regular shift last year but they will be reinforced by Seniors Christian Sarruda and Shane Fallon who saw varying degrees of Varsity ice time last year. The defense will need great contributions from underclassmen this year as well for Hanover to be successful. As the cliche goes, “Defense wins championships,” and it applies especially to hockey.

As is the case in other sports Hanover competes in, we will be the smallest school in the league. That has never prohibited the program from performing well. This year’s crop of players might be slightly behind last year’s team in terms of experience and talent but that doesn’t mean they won’t attain a high level of success. In fact, if the Indians play well, we have a good chance of seeing them at TD Garden again this season.  To start the season, the Indians will play most of their games at the Hobomock Arena in Pembroke. To see their complete schedule please visit hanoverhshockey.com.

The Star-Spangled Seniors beat the General Juniors 7-0 in the annual Powderpuff football game Nov. 24. Under the lights on a windy night on Gerrity Memorial Field, with the HHS band playing on the sidelines, the winning touchdown was scored by Hana Chahid.

Senior Coach Shane Fallon credits the whole team with pulling together. “The reason we won is that we played well as a team and didn’t rely on just a few standout players.”

Powderpuff is a fun one-hand touch football game between the Junior and Senior girls. Both gradesspent weeks practicing for the big game. Seniors are usually the favorit, perhaps because many of them  have the experience of playing junior year under their belts.

“We definitely knew what was going on and instead of just trying to get a feel of the game, we got right into the plays,” said senior Amy Leonard. “We were familiar with the whole thing.”

The juniors this year put up a good challenge, according to players on both sides.

“For the whole game it was very fair,” Leonard said. “No matter what, seniors (usually) win but we won that game fair and square.”

“We had some nice offensive plays, and we were close to scoring a lot of times,” said junior Kayla McMahon. “The senior defense was really good so it was hard for us to run the ball long. ”

There is no prize for winning other than bragging rights and glory for the rest of the school year.

“Our players left their hearts on the field and made us coaches proud,” said Junior Coach Joe Byrne.

Watch a student-made video about the game.

It’s a cold, brisk fall day. The sun is out but the sky is still rather gray. You, a parent or two, and your siblings head over to the field. The orange leaves are still on the ground but fall is fading. You watch in awe as the high school plays against Norwell in front of a huge crowd. You fool around with friends on the grass, and you try to emulate the kids out on the field.  You see your neighbors and you see people who have moved away  back in town for this special event. You leave happy no matter the result, ready for an awaiting feast.

Those are the memories I have of the annual Thanksgiving football game. Thanksgiving football games are a unique tradition. Almost every school in Massachusetts plays a rival school on Thanksgiving morning. The tradition extends, in some form, to the rest of New England. Connecticut has at least 48 Thanksgiving games. Rhode Island is similar to Massachusetts in that every town has a rival. Maine only has one. Missouri has one, California has two and New Jersey has a fair amount. New York and Pennsylvania have a couple.  It’s an event for two communities that brings back alumni and former town member. The two schools create the biggest crowd some teams will play before all year. The atmosphere is very upbeat and supportive.

For the teams, it might be the biggest game all year. It’s the rivalry game, and it’s a game participants remember all their lives. Everyone wants to win the Thanksgiving game, and for most teams, it’s their seniors’ last game and eternal bragging rights are on the line. In Hanover and lot of other schools, it is the only time they play this rival all year and since most varsity careers are only 2-3 years, it’s a rare opportunity to play in a game of such magnitude.  Some schools have bitter rivalries and Thanksgiving is their chance to leave it all on the field.

The Hanover/Norwell rivalry isn’t all that bitter, though both sides want to win more than anything on that given Thursday. This year, Hanover goes to Norwell while on a 6 game win streak, and a lot of those wins came at Norwell, 4 out of 6 to be exact. That being said, both teams had solid regular seasons. Hanover made the playoffs but has lost 5 games in a row. Norwell played well this year, but did not make the playoffs. Hanover should be the favorite going in but Norwell will be a challenge for them as always. Seamus Boutin of Hanover and Dan Hilson of Norwell are the offensive weapons to watch in this game.

Recently, the aura surrounding Thanksgiving football has changed a little bit. Due to the new playoff system with the games occurring well before Thanksgiving,  things have changed. Thanksgiving  games don’t determine playoff spots anymore whereas in the past there was always a spot or two riding on the result of the game.  There are also a couple more teams who now know they have a game after Thanksgiving and strategically do not play their best players, which takes away the spirit from the game.

Also, because of the new system, for some teams the Thanksgiving game is no longer a once a year affair. For example, Cohasset and Hull will face each other for the second time this year on Turkey Day. They had to play a regular season game against each other in the South Shore Small Division and they could have played again if Hull made the playoffs. Central Catholic and Andover will face each other three times now in one season. First in league play, second in the opening round of the playoffs, and finally on Thanksgiving. The familiarity definitely takes away a little bit of excitement from the game for everyone involved. However, those are minors kinks that can maybe be worked out in the future. The system was implemented on a two year trial basis and will be up for review. Although the the likely decision will be to keep the system the same, it would be a good opportunity to address some of those issues.

Either way, Hanover and Norwell’s tradition looks to be going strong. The game will be at Norwell High School’s new field (which marks another end of an era for a lot of people who usually go, as both teams now have new turf fields) around 10 or 10:30 a.m. on Turkey Day.

The New England Patriots are hoping to extend their winning streak to seven games this Sunday when they play the Detroit Lions at Gillette Stadium.  Game time is 1 pm.

The Lions have the best run defense in the league so the Patriots will not be able to use running back Jonas Gray, who played a big role in last week’s win against the Indianapolis Colts. Gray,  who made his first appearance on Oct. 16 because of an injury to running back Steven Ridley, had four rushing touchdowns and 199 rushing yards in the 42-20 victory.

The Pats will  have to rely on receivers Rob Gronkowski, Brandon LaFell and Julian Edelman when they take on the Lions. They’ve won their last 14 games at Gillette, so hopefully the home field advantage will be with them.

I expect the Pats to beat the Detroit Lions by at least 10 points by the way they have been man-handling opponents.

Cross Country

XC had its sectional meet over the weekend. Everybody who participated ran their best. It was the final Cross Country meet for most of them.  Junior Steph Flynn was the only team member to qualify for states. Some boys ran well too. Alex O’Dowd, Tim Good, and Will Deboer made up their top three. O’Dowd ran a 19:04, Deboer a 18:52, and Good a 18:08.

Boys Soccer

The boys soccer team had their season cut shorter than they would have liked last week. Top seed Medway defeated them in Medway on a cold, rainy night. The score was 2-0 but it could have been a high scoring game. In the first half, Medway pounded on the Indians, who were down Jason Gallagher and Joe Maguire due to injuries and Jack Phelan because of a suspension. Medway put in two goals and had many scoring bids. Hanover’s Johnny Ferrarini made some big plays and Zach Chase had a goal saving play with his foot. In the second half, play evened out a lot and Hanover had some opportunities to score, including a penalty kick.  Medway was an extremely athletic and skilled team but they had to earn this win. It was a tough loss for this close-knit team, but the season went well for them despite the loss.