Massachusetts

Friday night’s 10 high school sports takeaways, from triple OT to Shine retirement to Case football coach – The Boston Globe

Published

4 weeks ago

February 14, 2026

Friday night’s 10 high school sports takeaways, from triple OT to Shine retirement to Case football coach – The Boston Globe

We dive into it all, but first check out our new sport-specific scoreboards: Boys’ basketball | Girls’ hockey | Girls’ basketball | Boys’ hockey. Or find every score here.

Roundups: Boys’ basketball | Girls’ hockey | Girls’ basketball | Boys’ hockey

Top 20 rankings: Boys’ basketball | Girls’ hockey | Girls’ basketball | Boys’ hockey

League standings: Boys’ basketball | Girls’ hockey | Girls’ basketball | Boys’ hockey

Not seeing your team’s highlights in Takeaways? Here are all the ways to submit scores and stats to Globe Schools via phone, email, and social media.

▪ Andover junior Josh Roux needed just 4 points to reach 1,000 for his career and he got there early in a narrow 55-50 loss to top-ranked Central Catholic. He finished with 30 points in a battle.

Congratulations to Josh Roux for scoring his 1000th career point tonight in the 1st quarter of the Merrimack Valley Conference Championship against Central Catholic HS!! Incredible!! pic.twitter.com/fgncjGoSEc
— Jimmy D’Andrea (@AndoverPrin) February 14, 2026
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▪ Taunton senior Dray Thielker sank a free throw with 21.6 seconds left in a 69-62 win over Milford to reach 1,000 for his career. He finished with 22, including 11 in the fourth quarter, becoming the 13th member of the program’s 1,000 point club, which also includes his father (Matt, 1995).

1,000! Taunton senior Dray Thielker hits a free throw to complete a three-point play to hit 1,000 career points with 21.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Thielker is the 13th male Taunton player (joining dad Matt ‘95) to hit the milestone. #hockomock pic.twitter.com/4TCVfS3ROU
— Ryan Lanigan (@R_Lanigan) February 14, 2026

▪ Bishop Fenwick senior captain Caitlin Boyle, who is committed to Stonehill, eclipsed 1,000 career points during a 14-point, 10-rebound senior night effort to beat Shrewsbury, 63-30.

▪ West/East Bridgewater senior goalie Brayden Bates recorded his 3,000th career save in a 4-2 boys’ hockey loss to Stoughton/Brockton.

▪ Medfield sophomore Luke Dickson raced past 100 career points with a 6-point night featuring three goals and three assists in an 8-1 drubbing of Norton. His older brother, Matt, a senior, added two goals and two assists.

▪ Medway boys’ hockey senior captain Jason Drake reached 100 career points during a 3-2 loss to Hudson.

▪ In Tuesday’s 66-61 loss to Walpole, Needham senior captain Hannah Levine surpassed 100 career 3-pointers, the most of any player in the program in the past decade. The achievement was celebrated Thursday after beating Cathedral, 39-38.

▪ Lowell girls’ basketball pulled off a two-for-one, capturing both the Merrimack Valley Conference Division II Cup, and the Division 2 regular-season title outright with a 47-33 victory over Dracut. Deb Kisekka sparked the offense with 13 points and Quinn McDonald and Jeneasia Richardson both had 10.

▪ Oliver Ames boys’ basketball clinched the Hockomock League Davenport Division crown with a 70-51 win over Stoughton powered by 20 points from Zaire Maddox and 19 from Josiah Marshall.

▪ Durfee girls’ basketball earned a share of the Big Three crown with New Bedford by beating the Whalers, 51-42, and splitting the season series. Jasiya Norwood led the charge with 15 points.

▪ The Lynn Tech boys rode 30 points from Andy Batista to an 83-53 win over Lowell Catholic and Greater Lowell defeated Whittier Tech, 78-28, to share the Commonwealth Conference title.

▪ Duxbury senior captain Hailey Flynn connected on a midrange jumper at the buzzer to lift the Dragons to a 48-46 overtime triumph over Silver Lake. Flynn breezed past a defender, dribbled behind her back from right to left, and calmly stuck the shot with a hand in her face.

“It was just crazy,” Flynn said. “Everybody worked so hard the whole game, and getting to win in front of the crowd was super awesome. Celebrating together at the end was huge.”

▪ It took three extra sessions for Lawrence and Methuen to determine a boys’ basketball winner, with Jaydace Ferrer finally putting the Lancers ahead, 70-69, with an and-one with 1.2 seconds remaining in the third overtime. Aiden Torres paced Lawrence with 23 points, while Niles Scott produced 28 points and 11 rebounds for Methuen.

▪ The night also saw a double-overtime battle, as North Quincy’s Logan Le made a shot with 20 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, which led to a second extra period before Scituate pulled out a 75-72 win.

▪ North Andover boys’ basketball went to overtime to defeat Billerica, 52-51, supported by 14 points from senior Angel Sanchez.

▪ Quincy boys’ basketball erased a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter and Jaethan Pinet drained a buzzer-beater to produce a 49-46 win over Pembroke. Yhan Medina had 15 points and Malcolm McMorrow grabbed 13 rebounds.

Joe Baraky, Duxbury — The senior captain exploded for a career-high 34 points to power a 65-61 win over Silver Lake.

Thad Broughton and Mark Mendonca, Peabody — It’s hard to produce more identical statistical lines, with Broughton, a sophomore, finishing with 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Mendonca, a junior, nearly matching that with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists.

Brooke Fisher, Somerset Berkley — The senior was a pest defensively, nabbing eight steals to go with 24 points in a 48-21 win over Joseph Case.

Jahmari Harrell, Cathedral — The freshman — and younger brother of Providence freshman Jaylen Harrell, the two-time Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year — erupted for 33 points, knocking down 10 3-pointers and hauling in five rebounds.

Leila Kennedy, Cardinal Spellman — The freshman went for a career-high 22 points, adding 10 rebounds in a 46-16 rout of Randolph.

Burke Lombardi, Nantucket — The sophomore continued his season-long scoring surge, dropping 38 points in an 80-53 chomping of Sandwich.

John Milne, Plymouth North — The senior’s first hat trick came in a 7-4 victory over Nantucket.

Jenna Mishou, Archbishop Williams — The senior forward produced on both ends, scoring 18 points and dominating defensively with six blocks and 10 rebounds.

Elkin Pena, Central Catholic — The sophomore forward controlled the glass to the tune of 19 points and 18 rebounds in a 55-50 win over Andover.

Ladainian Rodrigues, Attleboro — The senior put up 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, igniting a 93-44 destruction of King Philip.

Four years after retiring as boys’ hockey coach, Dan Shine is retiring as athletic director at Arlington Catholic after 49 years, effective at the end of this school year.

Shine, class of ’72, will be succeeded by Rob Sarmiento, the school’s boys’ basketball coach and associate athletic director. Shine transitions to athletic director emeritus, a role which he will contribute to special projects and “represent AC at all MIAA meetings and events and will also serve as the liaison to the Town of Arlington.”

“Mr. Shine’s leadership has been instrumental in shaping a strong, values-based athletic program rooted in sportsmanship, teamwork, and excellence both on and off the field,” the school wrote in a statement. “Throughout his remarkable 49-year tenure, Dan has guided our athletic department from humble beginnings into one of the most recognized and respected programs.”

Sarmiento is social studies chairperson and has taught at Arlington Catholic for 16 years.

“We are confident that Rob Sarmiento will build upon the strong foundation Dan has established,” said Father Marc J. Bishop in a statement. “His leadership, vision, and enthusiasm will serve our students and athletic community well.”

Shine went 575-303-83 in 43 seasons as boys’ hockey coach, reaching 12 Super 8 tournaments and winning three state championships.

Wayland senior captain Nathan Hartunian announced he will wrestle at Wesleyan. The heavyweight won the Anthony Lisitano Memorial Tournament in Wakefield earlier this season and was the Division 3 Central champ at 285 pounds last year.

Seekonk has promoted offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brendan Costa to head football coach.

Costa has been on the Warriors staff since 2023, delivering an offense that produced 27 points per game and set a program record on Thanksgiving in 2024. He also served as defensive backs coach for the Warriors.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to lead our student-athletes and continue building on the work we have started,” Costa said in a statement. “My philosophy centers on discipline, communication and effort — controlling the things we can control and striving to improve every day. We will adapt our schemes to fit our players’ strengths, keep our systems clear and effective, and emphasize a team culture of accountability, positivity and shared achievement.”

Costa previously coached at Williams after playing quarterback at Bates. He won the starting QB job at New Bedford High as a freshman, then transferred to Joseph Case in neighboring Swansea where he threw for 4,095 yards and 45 touchdowns and ran for 3,121 yards and 47 touchdowns over three seasons, winning the Otto Graham award his senior year. A three-year captain for the Cardinals, he graduated with all season and career records for completions, passing yardage, and passing touchdowns, plus the single-game mark for rushing yards (328).

“We are very excited to see Brendan step into the head coaching role,” athletic director Kathryn Manigan said. “His familiarity with our students, his knowledge of the game and his dedication to building a positive team culture made him stand out throughout a highly competitive hiring process.”

Costa succeeds interim coach Matt Brown, who followed Jason Azulay, who coached from 2021-24, following former Patriots linebacker Vernon Crawford’s 10-year stint from 2012-21.

Seekonk High School Names Brendan Costa as New Football Coach: Superintendent Rebecca Kidwell and Athletic Director Kathryn Manigan are pleased to announce that Brendan Costa has been appointed as the new Head Football Coach at Seekonk High School. https://t.co/nxCnyFInM8 pic.twitter.com/Uev3GIPYFr
— Seekonk Public Schools (@SeekonkPS) February 13, 2026

Some upcoming tournament schedules:

The 15^th Larry McIntire IAABO Board 130 Classic will be played Sunday and Monday at Marblehead High. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.

Sunday, Feb. 15

1 p.m. — North Andover vs. Reading girls

2:30 p.m. — Gloucester vs. Cathedral boys

4:15 p.m. — Marblehead vs. Peabody girls

6 p.m.. — Marblehead vs. Bedford boys

Monday, Feb. 16

1 p.m. — Girls consolation

2:30 p.m. — Boys consolation

4:15 p.m. — Girls championship

6 p.m. — Boys championship

Luke Dickson, Medfield, 3

John Milne, Plymouth North, 3

Matt Dickson, Medfield, 2

Cooper Dunham, Danvers, 2

Jason Gillis, Norwood, 2

Canton Jenkinson, Nantucket, 2

Jake McSweeney, Stoughton/Brockton, 2

Timmy O’Malley, Hudson, 2

Mark Trahon, Norwood, 2

Luke Dickson, Medfield, 3

Jordan Sousa, Hudson, 3

Matt Dickson, Medfield, 2

10. Basketball leaderboard

Burke Lombardi, Nantucket, 38

Joe Baraky, Duxbury, 34

Jahmari Harrell, Cathedral, 33

Andy Batista, Lynn Tech, 30

Huey Josama, Saugus, 30

Josh Roux, Andover, 30

Jake Lofstrom, Silver Lake, 29

Ella Getz, Worcester Academy, 28

Niles Scott, Methuen, 28

Rolky Brea-Arias, St. Mary’s, 27

Nate Helms, Carver, 25

Brooke Fisher, Somerset Berkley, 24

Layla Rivera, Brockton, 24

Ladainian Rodrigues, Attleboro, 24

Oisin Faherty, North Quincy, 23

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames, 23

Aiden Torres, Lawrence, 23

Thad Broughton, Peabody, 22

Hezaki Brown, Doherty, 22

Leila Kennedy, Cardinal Spellman, 22

Mark Mendonca, Peabody, 22

Ryan Shean, Saugus, 22

Camden Hill, New Bedford, 21

Tyler Johnson, Old Colony, 21

Reagan Maniscalco, Tewksbury, 21

Tabby McDonough, North Quincy, 21

Alana McNamara, Archbishop Williams, 21

Elian Rodriguez, Salem, 21

Brandon Antwine, Lynn Tech, 20

Jackson Fournier, St. John’s (S), 20

Matt Lennox, Carver, 20

Zaire Maddox, Oliver Ames, 20

Dom Taylor, Somerset Berkley, 20

Elkin Pena, Central Catholic, 18

Victoria Colombo, Brockton, 14

Krem Amparo, Latin Academy, 13

Tyler Johnson, Old Colony, 13

Malcolm McMorrow, Quincy, 13

Ulices Diaz, Lynn Tech, 12

Cleto Deng, Salem, 11

Zade Garron-Ciberay, Plymouth South, 11

Cece Gilbert, Central Catholic, 11

Ella Riley, Pembroke, 11

Niles Scott, Methuen, 11

Tia Williamson, Attleboro, 11

Colin Cyr, Apponequet, 10

Aidan Dookhran, Somerset Berkley, 10

Maeve Horsman, Oliver Ames, 10

Leila Kennedy, Cardinal Spellman, 10

Jenna Mishou, Archbishop Williams, 10

Aymma Semedo, Brockton, 10

Ryan Crook, Somerset Berkley, 7

Aiden Deree, Old Colony, 7

Lilly Phillips, Central Catholic, 7

Thad Broughton, Peabody, 6

Connor Houle, Attleboro, 6

Dimitri Mendes, Cathedral, 6

Mark Mendonca, Peabody, 6

Giovanni Jean, Lynn Tech, 5

Celia Neilson, Bishop Fenwick, 5

Layla Rivera, Brockton, 5

Ladainian Rodrigues, Attleboro, 5

Brooke Fisher, Somerset Berkley, 8

Cece Levrault, Apponequet, 6

Brandon Antwine, Lynn Tech, 5

Lauren Carr, Somerset Berkley, 4

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames, 3

Hannah Kuriscak, Apponequet, 3

Jenna Mishou, Archbishop Williams, 6

Natalie Sanborn, Nashoba, 6

Victoria Colombo, Brockton, 5

Layla Rivera, Brockton, 3

Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.

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Massachusetts

Marijuana prices have been taking a nosedive. What comes next? – The Boston Globe

Published

2 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Marijuana prices have been taking a nosedive. What comes next? – The Boston Globe

Grocery prices are rising. Rents are up. There is one product, though, that’s actually getting cheaper: marijuana.

The price of a gram of weed — the amount in a large joint — was down to just above $4, on average, in January, the latest continuation of a years-long nose-dive that has brought prices plummeting over 70 percent since pot stores first opened in Massachusetts in 2018. In those days, a gram cost more than $14.

“I’m taking advantage definitely,” Tori Wells, a Boston customer, said of current rock-bottom prices as she left downtown dispensary Pure Oasis one recent afternoon.

While consumers are happy, low prices have launched the industry into turmoil. It’s a far cry from the visions of wealth in cannabis that laid the foundation for many entrepreneurs to enter the industry and the state’s efforts at enriching Black and Latino communities that were targeted by the war on drugs.

“Profitability is tough to reach,” said Gabriel Vieira, CEO of Zyp Run, the first cannabis delivery service to open in Greater Boston in 2023. Delivery business licenses remain exclusive to equity operators, but many have struggled to find success. Just last month, Vieira’s company had to settle a state tax debt of more than $410,000 in order to continue operating this year, he said.

Marijuana growers and manufacturers said retail businesses are increasingly stiffing them on payments as money runs thin across the industry. There are signs that lawsuits, debts, and unpaid taxes are piling up, while business closures accelerate. Last fiscal year, 13 retail stores closed after either having their licenses revoked or choosing not to renew their licenses operations — more than in all previous years of legalization combined. And of the 71 cannabis business licenses of all kinds surrendered since recreational pot sales began, almost half were given up in the most recent fiscal year.

“Every state has a bottom, and we are in it,” said Derek Ross, CEO of Nova Farms, a company with six dispensaries across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, and New Jersey, and hundreds of cultivation acres in the Northeast. “If we didn’t have opportunities in other states, we’d be struggling to keep our head above water.”

The industry’s dismal state is the result of an oversaturated market with too many marijuana plants being grown, said Commissioner Kimberly Roy, of the Cannabis Control Commission.

The commission is considering whether to freeze new cultivation licenses, with a public hearing on the matter likely soon. It’s a measure Roy supports.

“We need to hit the brakes,” Roy said. “Quite frankly, it’s overdue.”

By the end of 2025, the industry had the capacity to grow over 4.5 million square feet of cannabis plant canopy, up from 3.65 million in 2023.

Now cultivator competition is driving “razor-thin margins,” Roy added, and becoming a pain point for the entire industry.

Andrew Kazakoff, of Fathom Cannabis, a cultivator in West Boylston, said he supports a freeze on new growers.

“We need to take a halt,” Kazakoff said, adding: “Let the industry settle, work on itself, and come to equilibrium.”

As companies jockey for business there is also a “race to the bottom” on prices in the retail market that has led to “a lot of these businesses kind of cannibalizing each other,” said Ryan Dominguez, executive director of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition, a trade group. He added that a freeze could be a necessary step in righting the industry.

What’s happening in Massachusetts is something that other states have experienced, said Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center.

Cannabis prices have fallen nationwide, particularly in early legalizing states such as Colorado, California, and Oregon, whose head start in infrastructure building has quickly turned to rampant oversupply. Oregon has imposed various pauses on its cannabis licensing dating back to 2018, with new license approvals of any kind currently banned.

“If you’re not going to limit the amount that’s produced, you should expect to see these price declines,” Kilmer said. Likewise, other New England states, including Connecticut and Maine, have retained higher prices than Massachusetts, the first pot stronghold on the East Coast and still its largest grower, since going legal.

The low prices mean cannabis businesses are mired in money problems, even as demand has continued to grow for their products. The number of cannabis sales that occurred last year increased by 8 percent over 2024, but revenues from those sales essentially plateaued, totaling around $1.65 billion for both 2024 and 2025.

Ross, the CEO of Nova Farms, said he cut 25 percent of his multi-state workforce in the last 18 months, as even diversified outfits have had to become “lean and mean,” to weather today’s market.

Two dozen companies, including four cultivators and 12 retailers, were in court-appointed receivership, the state’s legal alternative to bankruptcy, in January, according to commission data. More have been added since. Bankruptcy isn’t an option for cannabis companies as long as the drug remains federally illegal.

Designated as participating in “trafficking,” cannabis sellers also pay significantly more in federal taxes, often at rates of 60 to 80 percent, and are barred from making some regular deductible expenses.

Brian Keith, cofounder of Rooted In, said his Newbury Street dispensary, which opened in 2022, would be profitable if it weren’t for the heavy burden of the federal tax code, which places the most strain on retail stores.

Brian Keith, owner of Rooted In, is one of many small cannabis shops facing plummeting retail prices on cannabis and a compression that is making it difficult for local owners to stay afloat.
(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

A future VIP social consumption private room is set up downstairs at Rooted In.
(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

He filed his taxes on time this year but didn’t have the funds, he said, and now it may take over 12 months to settle over $170,000 in outstanding debts through a payment plan with the IRS.

“We’re seeing the same number of people walking through the door, but less revenue,” Keith said.

Keith is a member of the state’s social equity program, aimed at helping communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs build wealth.

His company has raised more than a quarter million dollars from communities of color in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan to fund its initial operations, he said, but the profits he planned to bring back to those communities haven’t materialized because of the prices plummeting.

Keith’s business is one of about 100 owned by people in the state’s two equity programs — about 15 percent of all open businesses in the state. Many of these entrepreneurs are struggling to make ends meet, the Globe has reported.

The CCC has approved a framework to allow the opening of marijuana lounges, giving exclusive access to equity entrepreneurs and smaller operations, though that rollout is just getting off the ground.

Many cannabis cultivators and manufacturers are seeing an escalating issue of unpaid debts.

Kazakoff, the grower in West Boylston, said half his orders last year were not paid on time by retailers, and a few not at all. That was barely a problem before 2025, he said.

“I grapple with the fact every single month of: Do I stay in business when I’m not getting paid by dispensaries?” he said. “Or how am I going to pay my employees?”

Currently, the CCC has no authority to police these business-to-business transactions, Commissioner Roy said, though she said it’s time for them to try and address it. Cannabis reform bills pending in the State House and Senate look to reshape cannabis regulations, including by mirroring alcohol enforcement, by restricting delinquent companies to having to pay their bills as soon as they receive products and publishing their names. Both versions of the legislation would also dissolve the current five-member cannabis commission, replacing it with a smaller three-member body.

Zyp Run cannabis delivery advertisements are glued on many trash cans around South Station.David L. Ryan/ Globe Staff

Cultivators such as Kris Foley, CEO of Berkshire Roots, have taken matters into their own hands, initiating legal action to retrieve funds he said he is owed from around a half dozen retailers.

“A lot of partners that we worked with early on, they were good payers,” but that changed suddenly, said Foley, who runs two Pittsfield cultivation facilities and a nearby dispensary, as well as another shop in East Boston. He hasn’t been paid on time for between $150,000 and $200,000 worth of product since 2024.

Nova Farms has been shorted payment for an estimated $4.5 million in product in Massachusetts in the past two years, far more than its other states, Ross said.

Steve Reilly, co-owner and head of government relations at INSA, a large cannabis operator in Massachusetts and four other states, worries that debt issues in the industry have driven away investment.

“Most of these companies are just struggling to keep the lights on and they’re doing what they can do,” he said. “But as they’re doing that, they’re dragging everybody else down.”

Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism.

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Massachusetts

Pedestrian hospitalized after being hit in Waltham

Published

14 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Pedestrian hospitalized after being hit in Waltham

A person was hit by a vehicle Tuesday morning in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Police responded just after 10 a.m. to the crash at the intersection of Elm Street and Carter Street.

Officers began treating the pedestrian, who was then taken to an area hospital with unspecified injuries.

The driver stayed at the scene, the Waltham Police Department said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

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Massachusetts

People are moving out of Massachusetts but the population still grew

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

People are moving out of Massachusetts but the population still grew

More people left Massachusetts than moved in from 2024 to 2025, with the state ranking fourth in the nation for net domestic migration loss, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Thousands of residents left the Bay State for other states during that period. Regionally, the Northeast experienced a net domestic migration loss of 205,552, according to the data.

Despite the domestic outflow, Massachusetts’ population still grew by 15,524 when factoring in births, deaths, and international migration.

Here’s what to know about the states with the highest and lowest net domestic migration across the country:

Massachusetts’ net domestic, international migration from 2024 to 2025

From July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, Massachusetts had a net domestic migration of -33,340, with 33,340 more people moving out of the state than moving in, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, the state had a net international migration of 40,240, as 40,240 more people moved into Massachusetts from abroad than left.