NORTHBOROUGH – The start of another season. A rivalry renewed.
After a thrilling, down-to-the-wire football game on Thanksgiving Day, Algonquin and Westborough wasted no time adding yet another chapter to their storied rivalry. Algonquin won that Turkey Day showdown on the gridiron, and the Titans proved to be winners yet again, defeating visiting Westborough 46-38 in both basketball teams’ first game of the young season.
“Our main goal was to come out with the ‘W.’ First game – we wanted to win and set the tone for the year. Last year we were 5-15, so obviously getting that first win and starting off on the right foot – that was our goal,” said Algonquin’s Zach Ruthfield after the game. “Honestly, holding them to as few points as we could was another goal, and I guess we did that. The offense wasn’t really there, but defensively we did really well.”
With a big quarter from Algonquin senior Jordan Lopez, who scored all seven of his points in the first frame, the Titans jumped out to an early 13-7 lead. But the Rangers showed some of the spunk that made them such a threat last season, which included the program’s first state tournament appearance and a 13-8 overall record. In the second quarter, Westborough outscored Algonquin 16-4, with key plays from Justin McCafferty (13 total points) and Alex Carpenter (8 total points).
After controlling the first quarter, the Titans found themselves down 23-17 going into halftime. The team needed to regroup.
“I think the big message is to not get down. We know how good we are. We get in our own way sometimes, so it was about coming together as a team, supporting one another, and trusting what we have,” said Algonquin Head Coach Andrew Kinney. “Once we did that, we opened it up a little bit in the second half … We’re coming fresh off of a Thanksgiving game against Westborough – it was very close, lots of talk on social media. It was nice timing to have Opening Night with Westborough.”
“At halftime, we were like, ‘We know we’re better than this team.’ We had to play better, we had to be better, and we had to act like we’re better. Coming out with the right mentality – defense first, offense second, and pushing the ball up the court, which we didn’t do in the first half – gave us great results,” added Ruthfield. “We played much better after halftime.”
Ruthfield (7 points), Dylan Poirier (10 points), Brody Faessler (7 points), and Cam Adams (9 points) helped power the Algonquin offense forward after intermission. The Titans outpaced Westborough, outscoring their rival 14-6 in the third quarter and 15-9 after that point. The Algonquin fan section – dressed in holiday attire – kept the Rangers informed of their deficit.
An opening-night, rivalry win was redeeming for the Titans. But, according to Kinney, the team can always improve.
“We can come together more as a team. Supporting each other – it’s really something we can never stop getting better at.”
