Man About Canton: Sports Update

DID YOU KNOW …

The Canton High girls’ hockey team’s head coach is Dennis Aldrich, and the first-year coach has his team off to an impressive 11-2 start. The Bulldogs’ losses were to defending Division 2 state champs Duxbury and undefeated Falmouth High (11-0).

Senior captain Meghan Lennon, one of the Bulldogs’ top playmakers, has 28 points through 15 games.

The team’s coaching staff is made up entirely of Canton natives, including assistant coach Nick Maffeo; assistants Brian Wanless, Sarah Handman, and Kelly Robinson; and goalie coach Marty Sasin.

The Rooneys of Canton are playing standout hockey at the collage level. Bryan Rooney recently earned player of the week honors in the Northeast-10 Conference for Stonehill College while his younger brother, Kevin Rooney, is a freshman forward at Providence College. Also on the Providence team is Kevin’s cousin, Chris Rooney, a senior forward. Kevin and Bryan’s father, Dave Rooney, skated for the University of Massachusetts-Boston, while Chris’s father, Steven Rooney, also played at Providence College and won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986.

Canton’s Kevin Aufiero, a 2010 graduate of Xaverian Brothers High School, is another Canton standout playing for Stonehill College. Aufiero made the NE-10 All-Rookie Team last year. Senior forward Sean McNeil rounds out the Canton hockey players at Stonehill. Patrick Leahy, a Canton High graduate, is the head hockey coach at Stonehill College.

The Canton High School boys’ hockey team (9-3) remains in first place in the Hockomock League Davenport Division (5-0) with a recent thrilling 3-1 win over Franklin High, last year’s south champions. CHS junior Brian Brooks netted the first two goals while Matt Lennon added the third.

Lauren Berman, Canton’s all-world player in soccer, was named the Boston Globe’s Division 2 Player of the Year. Berman earned All-American Honors this past year. She is a two-time All-New England team member and finished her career as a three-time Hockomock League MVP, netting 136 goals and 40 assists. Next year, Berman will be taking her soccer skills to the University of Maryland on a four-year scholarship.

Julia Murphy was named to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Patriot Ledger’s All-Scholastic volleyball teams. The 5-foot, 11-inch Hockomock League MVP captained the Bulldogs to a 22-1 season and a spot in the Division 2 state semifinals. Also named to the Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic volleyball team was senior Mellyn Costello. Canton coach Pat Cawley called her the “anchor of the defense; the back-row leader.” CHS junior Avery Devoe, captain-elect for next year, was also named to the Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic team. The six-foot junior excelled at middle blocker for the Bulldogs.

For the fourth time this season, UMass Boston freshman Olivia Murphy of Canton (Julia’s sister) was named a women’s basketball Rookie of the Week in the Little East Conference. Olivia recently led her team to the Key Largo Classic Basketball Tournament Championship in Tavernier, Florida, and was named the tournament MVP, scoring 21 points and getting 10 rebounds in the final game.

Danny Erickson, head coach of the CHS boys’ soccer team, earned his 200^th career victory in the team’s final win of the 2012 season.

Meaghan McKenna, a CHS senior, was named to the Boston Globe All-Scholastic field hockey team, helping the Bulldogs to six shutouts and a 14-2-4 record. McKenna was a defensive force for Canton’s field hockey team and also its leading scorer.

CHS boys’ soccer goalie, junior Art McNally, allowed only 26 goals in 20 games this past season, while senior All-Scholastic Mike Denehy finished his career at Canton as the second leading scorer on the school’s all-time list with 55 points.

Canton High School volleyball head coach Pat Cawley has over 100 wins at CHS. She led her team to an undefeated regular season (18-0) and a 22-1 overall record that included a south sectional championship before losing to north champion Melrose High, who went on to win the state championship.

Junior Sam Riemer shot a team-best 76 to lead the CHS Bulldogs to a second straight Hockomock League golf championship. The three senior captains included JC Marcone, Gavin Monagle, and Rich Nee.

In football, MAC congratulates Elias Camacho, an All-Hockomock selection for his performance against Stoughton High, rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs won in overtime 28-26 for their first Thanksgiving Day win since 2004. CHS coach Dave Bohane said that Camacho “pound for pound is one of the toughest kids I have ever coached.”

Canton High School had 23 athletes named to the Hockomock League All-Star Team this past fall. The girls’ soccer and field hockey teams led the way with five all stars each.

UMass Dartmouth senior forward Colleen Moriarty of Canton was recently named the Little East Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week. She scored 22 points and hit the winning basket with five seconds left to beat Brandeis 50-49, and three days later she scored a season-high 26 points in a win over Salve Regina.

Erika Bornemann, a Canton High alum, is a starter for the 9-1 UMass Dartmouth women’s basketball team.

Vincent Burton, a senior at Blue Hills Technical High School in Canton, finished his football career as one of the most prolific players in state history. His career rushing total of 5,530 yards is sixth-highest in Massachusetts, and his career point total of 650 is second-best. This past year, Burton rushed for 2,196 yards and 36 touchdowns while scoring an EMass-leading 258 points as a senior. He scored at least one touchdown in his final 21 games, a record in Massachusetts.

Above all, challenge yourself. You may well surprise yourself at what strengths you have and what you can accomplish.

This is all for now folks. See you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

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