Three days, 24 games and two distinctive narratives at the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic this past weekend.
The first we can tackle is the girls side, in which Central Catholic delivered a bonkers weekend of dominance.
The girls field was certainly super-charged with the presence of Natick and Bridgewater-Raynham, along with Pentucket and the Valley regulars.
You have to figure the rest of the Bay State had its radar up as the Raiders, already a top 10-rated team, never trailed over the three days.
Central is clearly established as the team to beat in the MVC behind its frontcourt duo of Aniela Kwo and Kerri Finneran, the last two Christmas tourney MVPs.
By the way, did you catch Finneran’s reaction when Kwo picked up the MVP?
Talk about priceless. The smile on Finneran’s face told of pure joy for her teammate. It was one moment of the tournament I just won’t forget. Simply amazing stuff from one of the most dominant female athletes we’ve seen in these parts.
Jumping over to the boys, we will have to wait to see in March just how good the MVC talent is on a statewide basis.
One thing the boys Christmas tourney did ensure is that the Tuesday and Friday nights this winter are going to be serious sources of drama.
Any combination of Andover, Central, Methuen and North Andover has the potential to be an instant classic. And I have not lost faith in Lawrence High, despite their winless record.
The passion Methuen, under first-year coach Ryan Middlemiss, brought to the Lawler Arena shook the walls of the place.
I’m no winter person. I hate the cold and snow. But the Christmas tourney again, as it has for five decades, reminded us that the boys hoop scene in the Valley is intense, and it’s special.
Some book-keeping
Clearing up a bit of a post-tourney controversy/discussion, the Andover boys win was indeed the first for coach David Fazio’s Warriors since they took the 2014 title behind Connor Merinder and Co.
Fazio’s 2021-22 Warriors, with Aidan Camman, Logan Satlow and the bunch, did indeed run off 18 straight wins to open the season on the way to a state final four appearance.
But, you might recall, the 2021 tourney, which was supposed to be held in Andover, was cancelled for the second straight year due to COVID-19.
And the winners are …
Coach’s Awards were handed out to a player from each team.
On the girls side, the awards went to Caroline Vient of champion Central Catholic, Brenna Woodbury of Bridgewater-Raynham, Kallie Martin of Andover, Sydney Rogers of North Andover, Katie Conover of Pentucket, Olivia Penn of Natick, Bella Medeiros of Methuen and Erin Keefe of Westford Academy.
The boys honors went to Nethaniel Clemente of Methuen, Josh Roux of Andover, Jordan Marion of Central Catholic, Zach DesRochers of North Andover, Ben Comeau of Newburyport, Gio Rodriguez of St. John’s Prep, Jacob Klass of Beverly and Brown Kouhiko of Lawrence High.