The New England Patriots have reached the AFC championship game for the 7th consecutive year and are playing the Jaguars on Sunday. This may come as a surprise to many this year who expected a rematch between the Steelers and Patriots, who battled it out for league title last season. But in the divisional round, the Jaguars shocked the Steelers and beat them 45-43. The Patriots took care of business against the Titans, beating them 35-14.

The matchup will showcase a young Jaguars team with a stout defense consisting of a great pass rush led by Calais Campbell and a strong secondary with rookie Jalen Ramsey leading the way with 4 interceptions on the year.  Jacksonville’s ground-and-pound offense is led by rookie running back Leonard Fournette and quarterback Blake Bortles. Bortles has been very inconsistent in his career but is 2-0 in the playoffs and competing for a trip to the Super Bowl.

Everyone knows what the Patriots bring to the game on Sunday, an explosive offense that scores a lot and a defense that can stop teams in the red zone. The Patriots will face their toughest opponent all year, according to the players. Brady and the offense will look to do what Pittsburgh did and score a lot of points, but the Jaguars’ pass rush could affect Brady and the offense. The Patriots defense will have to put up with a great run attack and try and force Bortles to make a mistake. When Bortles throws an interception, the Jags have a losing record, so it will be key for the Patriots to try and get the ball on defense.

This should be a great matchup on Sunday, but the game is in Foxboro and the Patriots are virtually unbeatable there in January. Jacksonville will have to play the perfect game and its defense will have to shut down Gronkowski and sack Brady multiple times. But when the game is over, I believe the Patriots will be on their way to there 8th Super Bowl in the Brady-Belichick era and will be playing in Minnesota for their 6th ring together as a duo.

During the last off-season, Celtics general  manager Danny Ainge made a deal that, at the time, seemed questionable. He traded the Celtics first overall draft pick – which would have almost certainly been Washington’s guard Markelle Fultz – for the 76ers’ number 3 overall pick and another pick. Now this is where it gets interesting.

The additional draft pick included in that trade will be the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2018 pick, if it falls between the 2nd and 5th picks. If not, the Celtics will receive the Sacramento Kings’ 2019 first-round pick unprotected.

Many didn’t see this as an amazing trade until all of the pieces started fitting in perfectly. And that’s just what usually happens with Danny Ainge. Markelle Fultz was injured early in the season,putting  his future jump-shooting abilities in jeopardy. Then the Celtics’ 3rd overall pick, Jayson Tatum, started to show that he could be a dominant scorer in the league. And to top it all off, the Lakers – the team that was supposed to have a turnaround year with the addition of UCLA guard Lonzo Ball – now owns the second worst record in the NBA.  They currently are a game and a half higher than the 11-30 Atlanta Hawks.

The trade for the number one pick last off-season currently has the high potential of ultimately being Markelle Fultz (PHI) for Jayson Tatum and one of the top prospects such as Arizona’s Deandre Ayton, Duke’s Marvin Bagley, or Real Madrid’s Luka Doncic.  And to heap further praise on Ainge, the Brooklyn Nets pick that was included in the trade with Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving is now projected to be the 9th overall pick in the draft.

With 22 wins and just four losses, the Boston Celtics have the best record in the NBA.  After losing their first two games – and Gordon Haywood to an injury — people began to write them off. But the Celtics rattled off 16 straight wins and several players have stepped up and filled their roles better than expected. Kyrie Irving has  been the leader of the pack, averaging about 24 points per game and taking over as the Celtics “go to” man every night. His partner in the back court, Jaylen Brown, has been terrific in his second year in the NBA. Brown has found his stroke from beyond the arc and is averaging 14 a game and shooting 40 percent from 3 point. The biggest surprise is rookie Jayson Tatum. The kid is only 19 years old but looks like he’s been playing in the league for five years. He’s shooting 51 percent from 3 point range and scoring 14 points a game. He has stepped up in Hayward’s absence.

The Celtics haven’t lost to a western conference team yet and could remain the best team in the NBA. In my opinion, NBA basketball gets really good right after Christmas so we’ll see how the Celtics continue to play down the stretch of the first half of the season.

The New England Patriots are finally shaping into the Super Bowl contenders we expected. They have won six straight games dating back to their 23-7 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, and they haven’t looked back since. Two of the wins came on the road, in Denver and in Mexico City. 

Over the last couple of games, the Patriots have really shut down their opponents on defense, allowing  just 12.5 points per game. The offense has been on fire all season long and there is no sign of them slowing down. Brady at the of age of 40 is having yet another MVP caliber season, leading the league in passing yards with 3,146 yards and 22 touchdowns to only two interceptions.

Out of the backfield, Dion Lewis has been spectacular these last couple of games, catching touchdowns, rushing, and returning kicks to become one of the many featured running backs this year for the Patriots. Lastly, Brandin Cooks has started to look like the receiver we traded a first-round draft pick for last summer. He’s caught 45 passes for over 750 yards and four touchdowns. Brady has been connecting with Cooks often; his 64-yard touchdown reception on Sunday was the longest this year for the duo.

As the Patriots look to continue this hot streak, a few things will be  important. The first is staying healthy. The Pats have lost a few key players already to injury in Julian Edelman in August and linebacker Dont’a Hightower.  Second is to continue playing well on the defensive side of the ball. This team is very dangerous when all three phases of the game are clicking as we saw last Sunday night in Denver. Lastly, they must win home field advantage throughout the playoffs since it’s very difficult for opponents to win in Foxboro. 

Football

After a bumpy start to the season, the Indians drew a tough tournament opponent in Dennis-Yarmouth, and suffered a 42-7  loss in the Division 5 South quarterfinal. Still, the team is approaching its remaining games with heart. The Indians will have the home field advantage for the Thanksgiving Day game against Norwell.

Cheer

Competing for the first time in the co-ed division, the team worked hard in two invitational to prepare for league championships. At the South Shore Cheer Invitational at Abington High School on Nov. 1, the squad celebrated a first place finish. At the Patriot League Cheer Championship on Nov. 5, the team was crowned Patriot League-Fisher Division champions. And at the challenging state competition on Nov. 19, the squad came in fourth.

Boys Soccer

With a 7-8-3 record, the team earned a tough first round matchup in the Division 3 South Tournament. Seeded 16th, they faced top seed Seekonk (15-0-3) on their opponent’s home turf  Nov. 4. Despite strong leadership by captains are Garrett Madison, Joe Doyle and Ryan Hennessy, the team lost -2-1.

Girls Soccer

After finishing 9-4-3 in the regular season (1-1-3 in league play), the team earned 7th seed in the Division 3 South Tournament. They played 10th seed Rockland Nov. 4. Senior Captains Alyssa Frates, Hannah Levin and Marisa Shoulla tried to  capitalize on the home field advantage, but the team fell short, 3-1.

Cross Country

The team performed strongly at the Patriot League Meet on Oct. 28.  Junior captain Nick Courtney finished 18th overall with a time of 17:48.8 on the 5,000 meter course at Pembroke High School. Freshman Chris Pacino was 23rd with a time of 18:01.5. Junior Alyssa Nee finished 12th among the girls in 28.02.8. All three were named Patriot League All Stars.

The MSTCA Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational, held Nov. 4 in Wrentham, was the final meet before the Divisional Championship on Nov. 11. The girls have seen excellent performances by Nee, Audrey Wheeler and Erin Flynn while the boys have been lead by  Courtney, Pacino, and Tomas McDonough.

Golf

The team had a strong start, going into Homecoming with a 10-2 record and three matches to go. The finish wasn’t as solid  as the boys had hoped, though, and they ended up 11th at the Division 2CC Tournament. Captain Drew Zielinski led the team with an 81 in the match.

Volleyball

Behind senior captains Taylor Scott, Cassie Calabro and Morgan Lundin, the squad ended the regular season 9-11 and fell just short of a tournament spot. Needing to win its last four games to qualify, Hanover took down Abington, Norwell and Plymouth South before losing to Rockland on Oct. 26.

http://www.hhsindian.com/2017/11/02/field-hockey-season-ends-in-first-round-of-tourney/

Going into the first round of the Division 2 South tournament, the field hockey team had never even heard of Dighton-Rehoboth High School, never mind how their field hockey team shaped up. But the Indians quickly found out how tough an opponent they had.

Hanover entered the tournament in the 19th seed with a 8-6-4 overall record. Dighton-Rehoboth High earned the 14th seed with a record of 9-6-2.  The Nov. 1 game took place on a grass field, which Hanover was not used to. Throughout the entire season, the team had only played on grass in two of its 18 games. Going into the game, the team knew it had to face this obstacle head on and play hard.

After 60 minutes of tough field hockey from both teams,  the Indians fell short when the buzzer blew. The final score was 2-0, and the season was over.

Led by Captains Alyssa Wilcox, Abby Hammett and Alesandra Paluzzi, the team should be proud of a great season. Graduating seniors have brought a lot to the program and put in a lot of hard work and dedication to become great leaders this year. We will miss you!

Despite a rather slow start to the season for the defending Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots are starting to find their rhythm. After opening up the season on an embarrassing 42-27 loss at home to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Patriots responded with back-to-back wins over the New Orleans Saints and the Houston Texans. A  heartbreaking home loss to the Carolina Panthers, 33-30 on a last-second field goal, put the Patriots at 2-2. Then on a short week, they went down to Tampa Bay and beat the Buccaneers in a Thursday night matchup.

Going into Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, everyone knew what the Patriots weakness was, and it was on the defensive side of the ball. Statistically they have been the worst defense in the NFL, allowing over 440 yards per game. Teams led by pass quarterbacks are thriving against New England’s defense, which has allowed more than 324 passing yards per game. The run defense isn’t any better, allowing 115 yards per game, 20th in the NFL.

With all the struggles on the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots have had to rely on 40-year-old quarterback Tom Brady. Fortunately, Brady has been lighting it up this year. He has thrown 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions and is on pace to throw for over 5,000 yards this year. He leads the NFL, averaging 309 passing yards per game, with the help of his new weapon this year in Brandin Cooks. Cooks has been a great addition to the pass game this year, adding a downfield threat to the receiving core, something they haven’t seen since Randy Moss back in 2007. Chris Hogan leads the team with five touchdown receptions

On Sunday, their first AFC East showdown of the season, the Patriots beat the Jets, 24-17, and moved into first place in the division. This win brought them to 4-2 on the season, and saw the return of Rob Gronkowski who, after battling multiple injuries this year, bounced back well with two touchdowns.

Now the Patriots have a Super Bowl rematch this Sunday. The Atlanta Falcons are coming to New England, and we all know what happened the last time these two teams played. We should have a good game on Sunday Night.

Fun fact: Tom Brady became the most winningest quarterback of all time in the regular season, passing Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre with 187 wins.

Hanover High’s fall sports teams are deep into their seasons and working toward spots in post-season play. This weekend, we celebrate Homecoming with the football team’s  7 pm game Friday at the Harry Gerrish Memorial Field. Spectators will also be treated to performances by both the Cheerleaders and Marching Band.  In addition, members of the State Champion Rugby Team will be recognized and the Hanover High School Homecoming King and Queen announced.

Admission for the game is $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens, and $3 for all students.  Two HHS Cheerleaders, Sammi Shisler and Lindsey Hillier, are leading a charge to Black Out Cancer.  The students have been selling long-sleeve shirts that they designed.  All proceeds from the sale will be donated to the local organization Wicked Good Cause.  Anyone wearing the Black Out Cancer shirt at the game will be admitted free of charge. Shirts can be purchased before the game at a table located next to the concession stand.

Football is 1-2 in league play with an overall record of 2-3.

In other sports:

Field Hockey is 5-2-0 in league play with an overall record of 6-4-1. The team has been playing well and will now be tested on the road, said athletic Director Mr Hutchison.  The team, led by captains Alyssa Wilcox, Abby Hammett and Alesandra Paluzzi, plays its final regular season home game on October 23.

Boys’ Soccer is 4-3-2 in league play with an overall record of 4-4-2.  They have won two games in a row and look to extend that streak with home games against Silver Lake and North Quincy this week.  Team captains are Garrett Madison, Joe Doyle and Ryan Hennessy.

Girls’ Soccer is 4-4-1 in league play with an overall record of 5-4-1.   They have two home games next week: Monday against Pembroke and Friday night against Rockland under the lights.  Captains areAlyssa Frates, Hannah Levin and Marisa Shoulla.

Volleyball is 3-7 in league play with an overall record of 5-8.  They play three home games in the next two weeks.  The atmosphere in the Edward M. Amaral gymnasium during volleyball matches is something everyone should experience, Hutchison said.  Varsity matches start after freshmen and JV games end, which is typically 5:15PM. Team captains are Taylor Scott, Morgan Lundin and Cassie Calabro.

Golf is having an excellent season.  They are currently 10-2 with three matches remaining. Team captains are Drew Cratty and Drew Zielinski.

Boys’ Cross Country is 3-3 on the season and Girls’ Cross Country is 2-4.  The seniors will run in their final home meet next Tuesday against Plymouth South.  A great spot to support the seniors and the entire program is on the hill at the opening of the middle school trail, according to Mr. Hutchison. Captains are Brian Hoyt, Kevin Talbot, Nick Courtney, Lauren Gelly, Sierra Little-Gill and Kristen Marchetti.

Cheerleading is approaching its competition season.  The competition team, led by captains Jaclyn Mignosa and Cammie Porzio, has been working hard to prepare its routine in hopes of defending its South Sectional Championship from a year ago.

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