Massachusetts
Conference champions, tailback terrors, and more among Thursday’s 10 high school sports takeaways – The Boston Globe
Also Thursday, the girls’ volleyball tournament got started in earnest and field hockey continued with first-round matchups.
And, of course, all the scores live here.
▪ With a 32-0 win over Wakefield, Burlington football completed its first undefeated regular season since 2006.
▪ Cardinal Spellman senior captain Kaylee Perrault reached 500 career kills during a 3-0 preliminary-round win over Pope Francis in the Division 3 girls’ volleyball tournament.
Four conference champions were crowned on the gridiron, as Barnstable won the Southeast Conference outright with a 28-18 win over Bridgewater-Raynham, Amesbury routed Manchester Essex, 40-0, to claim the Cape Ann League crown, Scituate topped Hanover, 21-7, to share the Patriot League Fisher title with the Hawks, Abington shut out East Bridgewater, 20-0, to win the South Shore Sullivan, and Medfield rode another big Brady McCormack performance to a 30-12 victory over Norton and at least a share of the Tri-Valley League Small championship.
▪ Winthrop boys’ soccer finished its season with a 10-4-4 record Monday, marking the best winning percentage in program history and capturing the Northeastern Conference Lynch Division title for the first time.
Wednesday, the first day of the field hockey and girls’ volleyball tournaments, featured very few upsets. Thursday wasn’t much different.
In Division 1 field hockey, 22nd-seeded Wachusett knocked off No. 11 Natick, 1-0, behind a third-quarter goal from Lilli Mitchell and a 22-save shutout from Alyssa Davis.
The highest-seeded team to falter thus far in the girls’ volleyball tournament was Turners Falls, the 14th seed in Division 5. They were eliminated by No. 19 Avon, 3-0.
Ben Atherton, Ashland — The senior did it all, rushing for four touchdowns and throwing another one to Kevin Ozulumba in a 41-13 Tri-Valley League win over Norwood.
Will Bush, Swampscott — The senior captain found the end zone four times, rushing for 124 yards in a 33-0 Northeastern League win over Salem.
Brady McCormack, Medfield — If Takeaways had a loyalty program, McCormack would be racking up the points. Another big week saw the senior rumble for 221 yards and two touchdowns, adding a 95-yard kickoff return TD in a 30-12 Tri-Valley League win against Norton.
Austin Rodenhiser, Holliston — Arguably the night’s top performer, the senior rumbled for five touchdowns and 156 yards on just 13 carries, bulldozing the way for a 33-0 TVL win over Dedham.
Matthew Tasker, Lincoln-Sudbury — Noticing a pattern? This senior running back ran wild, scoring four times and piling up 153 yards on 23 carries in a 35-0 Dual County League win over Wayland.
Duxbury has a new softball coach: Charlie Finn. Previously a volunteer assistant at Marshfield, Finn has been an active member of the South Shore softball community, serving as head coach of the 16U Lady Rams travel team. He is also an assistant basketball and field hockey coach at Marshfield. He takes over a team coming off a 10-9 season and a loss in the second round of the Division 2 tournament under previous coach Mike Barba.
Charlie Finn is the new varsity softball coach at Duxbury High.
Finn, an active member of the South Shore softball community, most recently volunteered with the Marshfield Rams.
“I’m extremely excited and grateful for this opportunity,” Finn said. pic.twitter.com/mMML8bbLAZ
— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) October 30, 2025
▪ Dartmouth College freshman women’s soccer player Anna Leschly, a 2025 Brookline graduate, was called up to the US Under-20 Women’s National Team for its fall training camp, which concluded Thursday at the University of Kansas. Leschly was one of 10 college players who joined 12 professionals and two club players.
▪ UMass Dartmouth senior Zuri Walters, a Boston Latin graduate from Dorchester, was named to the All-Little East Conference Second Team Singles for the second straight year. Walters went 6-6 at No. 1 singles, finding her stride midway through the tennis season with a 5-1 stretch starting in September.
Max Morin, Hanover, 170
Tim Durocher, Plymouth South, 141
Justin Dube, Abington, 100
Cole Doyle, North Quincy, 2
Michael Wildfire, Cohasset, 2
Brady McCormack, Medfield, 221
Jayson Dyer, Barnstable, 171
Austin Rodenhiser, Holliston, 156
Matthew Trasker, Lincoln-Sudbury, 153
Cameron Banda, Shawsheen, 137
Will Bush, Swampscott, 124
Erik Knight, Billerica, 120
Ty Holmes, West Bridgewater, 113
Austin Rodenhiser, Holliston, 5
Ben Atherton, Ashland, 4
Will Bush, Swampscott, 4
Matthew Trasker, Lincoln-Sudbury, 4
Noah Allen, Whittier, 3
Cameron Banda, Shawsheen, 3
Gianni DePrimeo, Winchester, 3
Gus Green, Cohasset, 3
Andrew Orphanos, Bishop Feehan, 3
Joe Puleo, Amesbury, 3
Ian Alexion, Fairhaven, 2
Jake Banda, Shawsheen, 2
Jake D’Antonio, Marshfield, 2
Jayson Dyer, Barnstable, 2
Ty Holmes, West Bridgewater, 2
Erik Knight, Billerica, 2
Aaron Lague, Fairhaven, 2
Breydan Lewis, Bridgewater-Raynham, 2
Brady McCormack, Medfield, 2
Nick Rotondi, Winchester, 2
Will Wood, Xaverian, 2
Caiden Blake, Bridgewater-Raynham, 186
Kellen Balducci, Hanover, 89
Shane McDonald, Plymouth South, 85
8. Volleyball leaderboard
Gabby Vigeant, Newburyport, 22
Sophia Jeager, Attleboro, 20
Brooke Braswell, Lynn Classical, 18
Kelsey Dinjian, Nashoba, 16
Francesca Reardon, Shawsheen, 13
Olivia Leonardo, Attleboro, 12
Sydney Lynch, Peabody, 12
Shauna Baker, Dennis-Yarmouth, 11
Lizzy Bettencourt, Peabody, 11
Kendra Marino, Billerica, 11
Haley Carter, Attleboro, 31
Rafaela Prebianchi, Dennis-Yarmouth, 30
Nicky Murphy, Barnstable, 27
Emma Chevalier, Lynn Classical, 22
Siena Torili, Nashoba, 20
Meghan Downs, Billerica, 17
Reese Schaiberger, Swampscott, 14
Ilaisha Taveras, Greater Lawrence, 23
Paige Martin, Shawsheen, 20
Isabella DiSalvo, Shawsheen, 19
Ellie Freeman, Nashoba, 18
Sophia Cantwell, Dennis-Yarmouth, 15
Sophia Jeager, Attleboro, 14
Sage Young, Attleboro, 14
Haley Carter, Attleboro, 13
Lizzy Bettencourt, Peabody, 12
Maria Sirota, Swampscott, 11
Kendra Marino, Billerica, 6
Jaydalise Davila, Greater Lawrence, 5
Carly Deacy, Shawsheen, 5
Brooke Braswell, Lynn Classical, 3
Ellie Freeman, Nashoba, 10
Gabby Vigeant, Newburyport, 8
Jazzy Coyer, Barnstable, 6
Emma Chevalier, Lynn Classical, 5
Maria Rosario, Greater Lawrence, 4
Hector Bermudez, Somerville, 2
Raegan Dillon, St. John Paul II, 5
10. Field hockey leaderboard
Shannon Lane, Canton, 4
Carolyn Schiavo, Canton, 3
Hayden Emerson, Foxborough, 2
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
Yankee Candle is a staple in the Bay State, famous for its colorful jars full of fragrance and warm light.
And while its candles can essentially be bought from anywhere, the mothership of the iconic candles lies in South Deerfield at Yankee Candle Village.
The flagship store, known for its ginormous collection of Yankee Candle scents and retail goods, is a winter holiday destination for those in New England.
- This is the most popular candle scent in Massachusetts, according to The Loupe
Leading up to Christmas, the store turns into a complete holiday stop.
Now on prominent display are the brand’s many different winter scents, including such classics as Red Apple Wreath and Balsam & Cedar, and such holiday scents as Christmas Cookie and North Pole Greetings.
Bavarian Christmas Village, arguably the most festive room in Yankee Candle Village, is Christmas all year. Guests will stroll through an enchanted forest featuring a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree, nutcrackers, winter village displays and even indoor snow that falls every 4 minutes.
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But scattered throughout the flagship store are hints of Christmas and a winter wonderland — from the home section filled with holiday kitchen decor to the Toy Shop filled with jolly trinkets.
Santa even pays a visit to the Yankee Candle Village, hosting a storytime with kids every Monday through Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
And if the shopping and holiday joy become overwhelming, the store even has cafes that offer a bite to eat. Guests can also indulge in sweet treats in its candy store or try freshly made fudge.
Yankee Candle Village is located at 25 Greenfield Road in South Deerfield. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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It swims in the family.
A mother and calf wandered off the beaten path and got stranded in a Massachusetts marsh, forcing an emergency mammal rescue crew to save the wayward dolphin pair.
On Dec. 8, the Wareham Department of Natural Resources responded to a report of two stranded dolphins in the area of Beaverdam Creek off of the Weweantic River, a 17-mile tributary that drains into Buzzards Bay, which directly connects to the Atlantic Ocean.
When crews arrived, two common dolphins were located alive and active, but partially out of the water stranded in the marsh, according to the Wareham Department of Natural Resources.
Responding authorities alerted the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Marine Mammal Stranding Response Team, based in Cape Cod.
IFAW team members put the dolphins on stretchers and brought them to safety, where they conducted preliminary tests on the wayward dolphins.
“Our teams were easily able to extract the animals and transport them via our custom-built rescue vehicle,” Stacey Hedman, senior director of communications for IFAW, said.
The dolphins were weighed; the smaller of the two weighed approximately 90 lbs, and the larger mammal around 150 lbs.
Upon further analysis, it was revealed that the dolphins were an adult female and a socially-dependent juvenile female, a mother and calf pair.
According to Hedman, IFAW had some concerns over the mother’s decreased responsiveness and abnormal blood work, though it was deemed the pair was healthy enough to release back into the ocean at West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Mass.
“By releasing them into an area with many other dolphins around, this would hopefully increase their chances of socialization and survival. Both animals have satellite tags that are still successfully tracking,” Hedman said.
A 19-year-old Massachusetts man was seriously injured after he was thrown from a moving vehicle he had grabbed onto during a domestic dispute Thursday morning.
Duxbury police said they responded to a report of an injured male who might have been struck by a vehicle on Chandler Street around 5:22 a.m. and found a 19-year-old Pembroke man lying in the roadway with serious injuries.
Through interviews with witnesses, officers learned that the man had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Chandler Street to confront her current boyfriend. An altercation ensued, during which police said the 19-year-old appears to have jumped on the hood of a vehicle and was then thrown from the moving vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation, police said. At this time, they said no charges have been filed.
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