By John Orrell, Contributing Writer
Photo/submitted
Westborough — If it appears that there is an extra bounce in the steps of players and coaches of the Westborough High School (WHS) boys’ varsity basketball team these days, there is more than ample good reasoning.
After admittedly being afterthoughts in the always-tough Mid-Wach B a year ago (6-13), they are no longer so. This 2016-2017 Ranger bunch has turned a corner and in doing so have awoken those who might have been expecting another season mired in mediocrity.
Instead, this is a unit that believes in one another, supports each other and has clearly adopted the winning culture of team first as its record of 9-3 shows. What makes this even more special is the team’s improbable to some, 58-54 victory over perennial powerhouse Marlborough High on the Rangers home court on Jan. 24.
“That’s was a huge win for us,” said senior captain James Coffey. “As far as Central Mass. goes, we weren’t getting a ton of respect in the rankings and that was because we hadn’t beaten a top-ten team yet. Beating a team like Marlborough was huge. They’re one of our biggest rivals and they’ve been getting the best of us for a while. It definitely has given us a lot of confidence.”
“Our kids played very hard that game mentally and physically,” added sixth-year varsity head coach Brian Willar, who is assisted by Chris Simmoneau, Jay Tortora and Dan Bready. “We knew that if we wanted to earn respect, we had to beat a team like Marlborough. This game was a huge test for us. Hopefully, it’s a springboard for us going forward.”
The 2016-2017 Ranger squad is led by senior captain Coffey, a skilled and dedicated forward who has brought leadership and stability to the floor and locker room. He is flanked by senior starters Ryan Hughes, a forward, and 6’3” center Vinny Rosa, who is a solid rebounder and takes control in the interior. Joining them are sophomore twins Matt and Mike Doherty, 5’10”, 155 lbs. each, who have stabilized the guard positions for Willar.
Others seeing floor time as circumstances dictate are senior forwards Reed Chandler, AJ Nowak and Kyle Clarkson along with guard Ethan Gaffney. There are no juniors on the team this year so the next generation of Rangers to take to the hardwood will be sophomore guards Dominic Caspariello and Jake Hughes as well as center Jack Lentine. All are learning and gaining valuable experience from the team’s seven seniors.
“These kids just love to play basketball and they want to win and they want to win for Westborough,” said Willar. “They don’t want to win for individual stats. I have some very high-character kids. My younger kids see what the older kids have done and they buy into it. When you see these kids fighting for each other and not about themselves, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.
“There are no egos here. It’s such a good group that works hard every day and expects to win every game. The culture here has changed 100 percent. The kids came back this year with a new-found optimism. These kids have bought into everything we’re doing and it shows.”
What this team aspires to the most is for berths in the annual Clark Tournament in Worcester as well as the Central Mass. Districts. Both have been elusive to Ranger teams for years but that drought in being welcomed appears to be about to come to an end.
“It’s (tournaments) been one of my personal goals growing up,” said Coffey, who was forced to miss his sophomore season due to a knee injury. “Last year the team didn’t do so well but this year as a captain my main goal has been to turn around the culture of the program. We’ve got some great sophomores who will be great down the road in the future but for us seniors our goal from the beginning we all agreed was to make the Clark Tournament and Districts. We’re on the verge of something special here.”
“We’re all together this year and really working hard in practice,” added Rosa, who has started over 30 of the team’s past games. “We push each other to do better. This year we’re confident because we’re going out and beating teams but we never get too confident.”
Often times, being a younger player on a team heavy with seniors can be a burden but not so with these Rangers, said sophomore Mike Doherty.
“This season’s been a lot of fun. It’s a lot different than last year. The atmosphere in the locker room’s been different, everyone likes each other and we have a lot of good comradery. It’s been a lot of fun.”
