Field hockey: Frontier marches into Div. 4 semifinals following 2-0 shutout win over Ipswich (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

SOUTH DEERFIELD — After knocking on the door of a state semifinal appearance the last few years, the Frontier field hockey team is heading to the MIAA Division 4 Final Four.The Redhawks reached the state quarterfinals in both 2022 and 2023 but on...

Football: Josiah Little’s record-breaking performance helps Franklin Tech rout Monument Mountain, 50-16

By GEORGE MILLER

TURNERS FALLS — Different football teams treat assigned non-playoff games differently, but for two teams that were co-champions in their respective leagues, Friday night's meeting did carry a playoff feeling about it.Thanks to Josiah Little's 271...

UMass basketball: Late rally falls short as Minutemen fall to West Virginia, 75-69

The UMass men’s basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start against West Virginia on Friday. The Mountaineers roared out to a 25-10 lead with just over 10 minutes to go in the first half before taking a 45-28 lead into the intermission. The...

Keeping Score with Chip Ainsworth: Election Day trip to the Granite State

Good morning!Politics is sport, and on Election Day I visited two New Hampshire voting locations for a glimpse of what to expect after the polls closed.At the entrance to Hinsdale High School a woman held a large sign that said, Roe, Roe, Roe Your...

Football: Greenfield races out to 30-0 lead before knocking off Belchertown, 46-13 (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

GREENFIELD — The confidence gained from the Greenfield football team following a big win over Athol carried over into Friday’s contest against Belchertown. The Green Wave knocked off the Bears, 22-14, thanks to a late touchdown last week, and that...

Local roundup: Frontier girls volleyball falls to Joseph Case MIAA Div. 4 quarterfinals

Tensions were high, the crowd was loud and both teams were scrambling proficiently in a wild opening set during Friday’s MIAA Division 4 Girls Volleyball quarterfinal match between No. 6 Frontier and No. 3 Joseph Case.Neither team backed down as...

UMass basketball: New Hampshire spoils Minutewomen’s home opener with 48-45 win

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Clinging to a one-point lead over New Hampshire with 12 seconds remaining in the game, the UMass women’s basketball team was set to inbound the ball after head coach Mike Leflar called a timeout to advance it into the frontcourt.On the...

UMass hockey: Minutemen head to Vermont for weekend pair at Gutterson Fieldhouse

By RYAN AMES

The No. 18 UMass hockey team will head to Vermont for a two-game set against the Catamounts this weekend, where it’ll look to improve upon its 4-3-1 record.UMass secured a 4-3 win over American International College on the road last weekend,...

High School Football: Franklin County, Hampshire County schools fail to qualify for state tournament

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

For the first time since the statewide tournament format went into place in 2021, neither Franklin County or Hampshire County had a football team qualify for the state playoffs. Entering the final week of the regular season last week, Franklin Tech...

HS Roundup: Frontier volleyball advances to Div. 4 quarterfinals following 3-1 victory over Rockland

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Frontier girls volleyball team had to reset after the opening set of its MIAA Div. 4 Round of 16 contest against Rockland on Wednesday. The sixth-seeded Redhawks led 21-13 in the opening set but the 11th-seeded Bulldogs didn’t go...

Field hockey: Frontier shuts out West Bridgewater, 5-0, to advance to D4 quarterfinals (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Good luck scoring goals on the Frontier field hockey team this postseason. The Redhawk defense has been lights out all season long, allowing more than one goal just twice during the regular season. That defensive effort has continued...

On The Ridge with Joe Judd: Bobcats a very real part of our New England landscape

The “magic hour” had arrived when it was neither day nor night! And I’d been watching a shadowy figure moving in and out of the hardwoods below me for almost half an hour. This gray afternoon, with darkness slowly and gently overtaking me, was soon to...

HS Roundup: Will Reading’s overtime goal lifts Frontier boys soccer past Nantucket, 2-1, and into Round of 16 (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Nantucket boys soccer team had all the momentum going into overtime against Frontier in the MIAA Division 4 Round of 32 Tuesday. After the 14th-seeded Redhawks took the lead five minutes into the game, Frontier had to withstand...

UMass basketball: Minutewomen drop opener at Harvard, 71-58

By RYAN AMES

The UMass women's basketball team fell in its season opener to Harvard, 71-58, on Monday at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge.The Minutewomen led, 15-12, after the first quarter, however the Crimson outscored UMass, 20-6, in the second frame in what...

UMass basketball: Rahsool Diggins pours in career-high 26 points, newcomers also shine as Minutemen rout UNH in season opener 103-74

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — It can be a difficult task for college basketball fans to learn the players on the teams they root for year in and year out. Every season, programs across the country are gutted and rebuilt.UMass men’s hoops fans got quite the introduction...

MIAA tourneys: Kylee Gamache stands tall in Franklin Tech’s Div. 5 prelim loss to Smith Voc (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

NORTHAMPTON — Franklin Tech goalie Kylee Gamache did all she could to keep the Eagles’ season alive on Monday in the MIAA Division 5 Girls Soccer preliminary round. The 37th-seeded Eagles went on the road to face 28th-seeded Smith Vocational, a...

Bulletin Board: Two Franklin County Bulldog, two Frontier youth football teams Super Bowl-bound

The Franklin County Junior Bulldogs are heading to the Super Bowl. Facing Frontier on Sunday in the semifinals, Benjamin Woodard hit Avery Lococo for a touchdown to tie the game in the third quarter before Wesley Darling blocked a punt and Jackson...

Fit to Play with Jim Johnson: Light Meat or Dark Meat?

Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I’m ready to carve the turkey. White meat or dark meat? I go for the white but I always remember my grandfather; he said the neck was the best part. I have yet to eat a neck, but one does wonder why turkeys have two...

MIAA tourneys: Turners Falls girls volleyball rallies out of 2-0 hole to knock off Mohawk Trail in Div. 5 Round of 32

While the Mohawk Trail girls volleyball team beat Turners Falls twice in the regular season, and in the Western Mass. Class D semifinals, all three matches were competitive throughout. It was only fitting the two Northern League foes got a chance to...

UMass basketball: New-look Minutemen eye opener with UNH to kick off final Atlantic 10 season

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — They always say to save the best for last, right?Frank Martin’s crew is certainly hoping so, as the third-year UMass men’s basketball head coach leads the Minutemen into what will be their final season in the Atlantic 10 – a conference in...