Jay Horrigan talks with HockomockSports.com about the Top 20 Teams of the Decade

"Enjoy this show which is about the Hockomocksports.com Top 20 teams of the decade with a focus on the Franklin teams on the list. It is long because there was a lot to cover but a great show. Thanks to Ryan Lanigan and Josh Perry. Wish Kevin Papa was able to join us but it was graduation week."

View the video on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jay.horrigan/videos/10158974752379617/

Jay Horrigan talks with HockomockSports.com about the Top 20 Teams of the Decade

#2 - FHS girls soccer
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/05/hockomocksportscom-teams-of-decade-2.html

#5 - FHS girls basketball
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/05/hockomocksportscom-teams-of-decade-5.html

#8 - FHS boys hockey
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/05/hockomocksportscom-teams-of-decade-8.html

#16 - FHS girls lacrosse
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/05/hockomocksportscom-teams-of-decade-16.html

#17 - FHS wrestling
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/05/hockomocksportscom-teams-of-decade-17.html

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #2: 2012 Franklin Girls Soccer

Team: Franklin Girls Soccer
Year: 2012
Record: 22-0-1
2012 Kelley-Rex Division Champions
2012 Division 1 State Champions

"With the benefit of hindsight, it is obvious just how talented the 2012 Franklin girls soccer team was, but heading into that season there were question marks about a roster featuring 15 freshmen and sophomores. Only two years removed from a trip to the state semifinal, could the Panthers incorporate so much youth and still compete with the top teams in the league, let alone the state?

They could and they did. The Panthers outscored opponents 98-15 over the course of an unbeaten season, winning the Kelley-Rex division title for the third straight year, just missing out on perfection with a tie in the regular season finale, and claiming the program’s first-ever state championship.

It was a remarkable finish, but one that was hardly guaranteed at the start.

“I had some kind of idea of how they would be,” Franklin coach Tom Geysen said of the incoming freshmen, “but especially in our league, because our league is very competitive, if you’re not a very physically aggressive person then you can be taken out of your game almost immediately.”

Continue reading about the 2012 FHS girls soccer team
https://hockomocksports.com/teams-of-the-decade-2-2012-franklin-girls-soccer/

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #2: 2012 Franklin Girls Soccer

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #5: 2020 Franklin Girls Basketball

Team: Franklin girls basketball
Year: 2019-2020
Record: 25-0
2020 Kelley-Rex Division Champions
2020 Division 1 State Champions

"It may still have been the regular season and there was a lot of basketball standing between the teams and a trophy, but there was a distinct sense of anticipation when Franklin and Bridgewater-Raynham met up in the first round of the Comcast Classic at Woburn High. A lot of people in the stands were wondering if the Panthers, who had been widely-considered the top team in the state since preseason, were as good as advertised.

Franklin made a statement, leading from the opening tip and pulling out a comfortable 58-41 victory over the eventual Div. 1 South champion. It was a turning point, where the 2020 Franklin girls basketball team recognized that it could play at another level, one that even the top teams in the state would struggle against. It was a confidence boost that carried the Panthers to a second straight D1 Central crown, a perfect season, and the program’s first state championship.

“That’s when we started to realize, and that was in February, that maybe it’s even beyond what we originally thought,” said Franklin coach John Leighton. “Some of the kids said they wanted to go undefeated from day one, and that’s a great goal, but seeing it become a reality is a different thing.”

Continue reading the article at HockomockSports.com
https://hockomocksports.com/teams-of-the-decade-5-2020-franklin-girls-basketball/

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #5: 2020 Franklin Girls Basketball

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #8: 2015 Franklin Boys Hockey

Team: Franklin Boys Hockey
Year: 2014-2015
Record: 17-4-3
2015 Kelley-Rex Division Champions
First Ever Hockomock Super 8 Selection

"Following three straight appearances in the Div. 2 state title game at the TD Garden, Franklin hockey found itself bumped up to Div. 1. It was a new challenge for the program, but one that it met head on. After in the South quarterfinal in year one, the Panthers brought back a team loaded with experience and that group not only made Franklin history but broke new ground for the league as well.

In just its second season as a Div. 1 team, the 2014-15 Franklin hockey team became the first Hock team to get an invite to the prestigious Super 8 tournament.

“At that time, it was our second year in Div. 1, so we had a lot of doubters,” said Ryan Spillane, a senior center on the 2014-15 team. “It felt great to put Franklin hockey on the map and to prove people wrong. I remember the entire school was behind us, so it was definitely a special time to be wearing a Franklin hockey jersey.”

Even for a program accustomed to success, there were high expectations for that year’s team, largely because the Panthers were returning 21 seniors who had grown up through the town’s youth hockey program and had been playing together for the better part of a decade."

Continue reading the article
https://hockomocksports.com/teams-of-the-decade-8-2015-franklin-boys-hockey/

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #8: 2015 Franklin Boys Hockey

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #13: 2018 Franklin Volleyball

Team: Franklin Volleyball
Year: 2018
Record: 20-1
2018 Kelley-Rex Division Champions
2018 Division 1 Central-West Champions
2018 Division 1 State Semifinalists

"With a strong group of returning players, the Franklin volleyball team entered the season as the top-ranked team in our Hock 5 rankings. But there were few, at least outside of the program, that expected the Panthers to be as good as they were.

While the Panthers graduated a couple of key pieces from the lineup a year before, first-year head coach Kelsey Weymouth inherited a talented, experienced group that looked primed to get back atop the Kelley-Rex division. There were signs very early of just how talented Franklin was, including a 3-0 sweep over non-league foe Bishop Feehan, a 3-0 sweep over defending division champ King Philip, and a 3-1 win on the road over Hockomock power Canton — all in a five-day span.

Senior Lauren McGrath returned for her third year as the team’s starting setter was a key piece in orchestrating the offense as well as an important part of the Panther defense. After dishing out 545 assists her junior year, McGrath crossed the 1,000-assist mark as a senior with 547 assists. McGrath had plenty of choices to work with offensively with four players reaching the 100-kill mark: Ellie Wisniewski (151), Maggie Doyle (135), Allyson Bonnet-Eymard (102), and Hailey Sanders (100)."

Continue reading the article online
https://hockomocksports.com/teams-of-the-decade-13-2018-franklin-volleyball/

 

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #13: 2018 Franklin Volleyball

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #16: 2014 Franklin Girls Lacrosse

HockomockSports.com has compiled their "Teams of the Decade" listing and started revealing them this week working up from #20 to #1. In the 16th slot we find the FHS Girls Lacrosse team.

Team: Franklin Girls Lacrosse
Year: 2014
Record: 19-4-0
2014 Kelley-Rex Division Champions
2014 Division 1 East Champions & State Semifinalists

"In the life of any top program, there is a moment that takes a team from being one with potential to one that should be considered a threat to win a title every season.

For the Franklin girls’ lacrosse program that moment came in 2014. The team not only reached its first sectional final but also won the program’s first trophy, a springboard to the Panthers being considered among the state’s top teams every season.

“We had talented players and players who really wanted to take it to the next level,” said Franklin coach Kristin Igoe Guarino, who was in her second year as the head coach in 2014. “They kind of got a taste the year before and then just set high goals and worked hard.”

In Igoe Guarino’s first season in charge, the Panthers went unbeaten in the league and won the Kelley-Rex division title outright (after sharing with King Philip the year before). Franklin was emerging as the dominant force in the Hockomock, which would be borne out by eight straight league titles and more than 80 straight league wins (and counting), but there was a desire to see the team compete at the state’s highest level against the likes of Westwood, Needham, Wellesley, and Notre Dame Academy. "

Continue reading about the 2014 FHS Girls Lacrosse team
https://hockomocksports.com/teams-of-the-decade-16-2014-franklin-girls-lacrosse/

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #16: 2014 Franklin Girls Lacrosse

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #17: 2014 Franklin Wrestling

HockomockSports.com has compiled their "Teams of the Decade" listing and started revealing them this week working up from #20 to #1. In the 17th slot we find the FHS wrestling team.

Team: Franklin Wrestling
Year: 2013-2014
2014 Kelley-Rex Division Champions
2014 Division 1 Central Champions

"There have been a lot of great individual performances by Hockomock wrestlers through the years, but few teams had the depth of Franklin in 2014. The Panthers started slow as they incorporated new faces, but they rolled through the league (including a big win at North Attleboro) to win the league double, claiming both the dual meet and league championship meet titles.

Franklin carried that success into the postseason, winning the Div. 1 dual meet crown and the D1 Central title as well. The Panthers finished third in Div. 1 and fifth at All-States, showcasing a high level of wrestling throughout the roster.

Head coach Carmine Colace said after the Panthers edged North Attleboro at the 2014 league meet, “We do have a lot of depth; we do and that really helps. Today was a real team effort because we had some tough matches in the semis, but nobody got down on themselves and they all battled back.”

After winning the dual meet title, Franklin went into the Hockomock Championships as favorites and took control of the leaderboard early on. The first four weight classes were won by the Panthers. Mike Coppola (108), Cam Kelly (113), Ben Zogby (120), and Dan Pisani (126) went back-to-back-to-back-to-back to start the final round and Griffin Tighe (195) added a fifth individual title later that evening."

Continue reading about the Franklin wrestling team
https://hockomocksports.com/teams-of-the-decade-17-2014-franklin-wrestling/

HockomockSports.com: Teams of the Decade #17: 2014 Franklin Wrestling

“The ’60s – A Musical Tribute” - Sep 23

THE BLACK BOX launches a new Decades Series on Saturday, September 23 with “The ’60s – A Musical Tribute” at the downtown Franklin venue. Two shows will be presented at 7:00 and 8:30 p.m. Featuring a six-piece professional band and talented area singers in an intimate nightclub atmosphere, the tribute will showcase some of the greatest songs of the decade including hits by music legends Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Frankie Valli, Simon and Garfunkel, Otis Redding, the Rolling Stones, the Mamas and the Papas, The Doors, and many more. 

Hosted by Raye Lynn Mercer and Nick Paone, The Decades Show will include narration, musical and pop culture references, and trivia, giving the audience a chance to step back into the ’60s and celebrate unforgettable moments from an influential era that changed the face of modern music.

The ‘60s Show headliners are popular Franklin music teacher Jamie Barrett, local entertainer Alan Mercer, and FPAC director-performer Nick Paone. Featured singers include Katie Gray, Kylee Rollins, Sam Evans, and Griffin Wilkins. The program of music includes the most popular Rock, R&B and Folk hits, movie themes, and novelty songs of the decade.

Tickets are $24 for adults and $20 for students and seniors. The home of the Franklin Performing Arts Company and a suburban hub for great music, THE BLACK BOX is located at 15 West Central Street. A cash bar is available. For tickets and more information, visit www.THEBLACKBOXonline.com or call (508) 528-3370.

“The ’60s – A Musical Tribute” - Sep 23