BEVERLY PANTHERS 1. 2003 boys lacrosse
Why, after more than two decades, does this team earn the top spot among Panther squads of the 21st century? It’s simple: their 8-7 championship victory over Duxbury, played before 6,500 people on a sunny June afternoon at Hurd Stadium, came at the Division 1 level against not only the defending state champs, but a squad that would go on to win the next six titles in a row. It was also the first time a lacrosse team from the North Shore had won a state crown of any kind (Ipswich would win the Division 3 crown the following day).
Beverly was a LWL team — Loaded With Legends. Attackman Jeff Kaylor, a two-time All-American, had 74 goals and 108 points, while senior captain Mike Sciamanna nabbed 57 goals and 101 points. Eddie O’Reilly (57 goals, 37 assists) almost gave his team an unprecedented three 100-point scorers. Captain Chris ‘Buck’ Bernard, Ryan Shairs, Josh Sallese, Pete Lauranzano and faceoff superstar J.P. Wioncek were other key cogs in an offensive juggernaut, while goalie Larry Kline held down the fort in net. Eddie Read, Steve Rollins, Anthony Nardella, freshman Brent Read, John Coffey, Greg Hayes, Mike Romani, and Nick Justesen all played vital roles defensively.
Ranked among the top 25 teams in the country that year, the Orange-and-Black went 22-1 and scored 330 goals while allowing just 101, a miniscule 4.39 goals allowed per contest. Six players on this Beverly team went on to play Division 1 lacrosse in college, a testament to this squad’s all-time legendary status.
2. 2012 football Don’t let anyone tell you that this wasn’t the absolute best team ever in the 130-plus-year history of Beverly High football; the numbers, the players, and the end result back in all up. Dan Bauer’s steamroller of a squad scored 472 points, ran for 4,392 yards and piled up 13 yards short of 5,000 for the season — all school records — while going a perfect 13-0 and capturing their second Super Bowl crown in three years, a 28-21 win over Natick in the Division 2A title game at Gillette Stadium. Brendan Flaherty ran for 1,496 yards and scored a combined 22 touchdowns for a school record 160 points; fellow captain Kenny Pierce (901 yards, 15 TDs) and junior Isaiah White (862, 6 TDs) making for a three-headed backfield beast. Dave Rollins threw for 400 yards and 7 TDs; captain Dom Abate starred in the defensive secondary while linemen such as Brian Perry, Mike Dooling and Marc Babcock protected the skill guys.
3. 2013-14 boys hockey Buoyed by the program’s all-time leading scorer in Connor Irving (198 points) and its best-ever goaltender, Tim Birarelli, the Panthers took home the first state title in program history by defeating Medfield, 2-1, at TD Garden for the Division 2 crown. Finishing the season at 22-1-1, the two-time Northeastern Conference champions didn’t lose until the final game of the regular season and were being considered for an invitation to the prestigious Super 8 tournament. Instead they rolled through the Division 2 playoffs as the top seed, giving up just four goals. Birarelli went 20-1-1 with a 1.26 goals against average with a .929 save percentage and five shutouts on the year; the deepest defense in school history was led by Nick Albano (45 points), captains Sean Munzing and Matt Hamor, and fellow senior Jack Morency. Graham Doherty (33 points), J.J. Bachini, Jesse MacLaughlin, Jack Straw, Kevin Lally and Ryan Santo added to an explosive offense.
4. 2019-20 boys basketball Never before had the Panthers won a North final or been to the state semifinals, but this edition of the Orange-and-Black changed all that. Behind the deadly 1-2 punch of Duncan Moreland (20.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg. and the Salem News Boys Basketball Player of the Year) and fellow fellow big man Jack Crowley (13.8 ppg., 14.1 rpg., 4.1 apg.), Beverly blitzed its way through the regular season en route to the Northeastern Conference title. They then did something now BHS hoop unit had done since 1934: win three straight postseason contests, including a thrilling overtime triumph over Burlington in the second round — before easily dispatching of Belmont, 76-59, for the Division 2 North crown. Although a state semifinal loss to Whitman-Hanson at TD Garden ended their dream season at 21-3, Beverly set the bar extremely high for all future cagers to follow.
5. 2018 baseball
A 20-5 overall record, a Northeastern Conference title, a Division 2 North crown and a berth in the Division 2 state championship game made this one of the greatest diamond squads in school history. Spencer Brown, who went on to play minor league baseball, was co-MVP of the conference while leading the entire North Shore in pitching wins (8), strikeouts (93) and, on the offensive end, both hits (37) and RBI (34) while batting .440. Timmy McCarthy and Matt Collins were excellent in the middle of the infield, with a bat in their hands and on the basepaths for Hall of Fame head coach Dave Wilbur, and fellow all-star Nick Berry came up with clutch hits regularly while locking it down at both third base and the outfield.
6. 2012 girls soccer Behind an amazing 50-goal campaign from junior striker Caitlin Harty and stellar defense from Kristen O’Connor, Becca Kemmer, Diandra Crowley and goalkeeper Casey Cook, the Panthers went 18-4 and captured four playoff wins to capture the program’s first Division 1 North title.
7. 2002 boys lacrosse Behind All-Americans Kevin Kaylor in the midfield and the North Shore’s all-time leading scorer, Craig Boaman, up front, the Panthers reached their first-ever Eastern Mass. final before falling to Duxbury in the Division 1 title match. One year later, they’d get their revenge and make history.
8. 2016 girls swimming{strong style=”font-size: 1.17em;”} {/strong}Behind nationally ranked record breaker Kaitlin Harty (the Salem News’ Female Swimmer of the Year) as well as Andrea Higgins and sisters Sarah and Nicole Welch, Beverly placed second in the state for the second straight season, this time to Division 1 champ Westford Academy.
9. 2010 football Started the season 0-5, then won all five of their Northeastern Conference Small games to claim the league crown and advance to the playoffs for the first time in 222 years. There, the Panthers shocked the Massachusetts high school football world by defeating both Scituate (41-14) and Somerset (28-20), two teams that were a combined 21-2, to win their first Super Bowl title.
10. 2013 field hockey Brought home their sixth consecutive Northeastern Conference title and won a pair of playoff games before falling in an overtime classic to Acton-Boxborough in the Division 1 North semifinals. Kate Silvestri, Marycate Flaherty, and Player of the Year Nicole Woods were among the team’s many standouts.
11. 2014 girls hockey Led by one of the greatest lines in North Shore hockey history with Player of the Year Nicole Woods (70 points), Kristen McCarthy and Julia Nearis, the Panthers had a remarkable season that saw them go 18-3-2, included by the program’s first-ever victory over St. Mary’s of Lynn.
12. 2022 golf
With North sectional champion Aidan LeBlanc leading the charge, the Panthers went a perfect 13-0 during the regular season to capture their third straight Northeastern Conference crown, then won the North sectional and finished fifth overall at the state championships.
13. 2021 boys basketball{strong style=”font-size: 1.17em;”} {/strong}A year after reaching TD Garden for the Division 2 state semifinals, the Orange-and-Black got excellent seasons from Gabe Copeland, Treston Abreu and Nick Braganca and made the most of a pandemic shortened season by hammering all 13 teams they faced to go unbeaten.