2011: A sports odyssey

The start of the New Year always compels us to look ahead.

There is nothing like the prospect of a fresh start. Opportunity awaits, possibility shines brighter and it?s hard to shake the sense that this year might be better than the last.

Resolutions will be made ? a few might even be fulfilled. We?ll make solemn promises to ourselves. This year we?ll work harder, study longer, be more neighborly. Of course, this is the year we?ll commit to that diet, hit the treadmill and finally drop those 20 extra pounds we?ve been carrying around.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

The truth is, nobody knows what 2012 holds in store. But more than likely, we?ll all be sitting here a year from today, making the same resolutions and looking at the next year with the same sense of potential.

A better use of our time would be spent in reflection of the year that was. And at least in the pages of this sports section, 2011 lived up to all the hype. It was a year that saw a number of local teams win state championships, two teams achieve perfect seasons, a Lincoln-Sudbury athlete selected in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft and, in a moment almost no one saw coming, crowned an unlikely PGA rookie as one of Golf?s four major champions.

So in honor of the past 365 days, here are 10 moments that made the last year in MetroWest sports one worth watching.

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Marlborough?s Bobby Butler breaks into NHL

After being signed by the Ottawa Senators in March of 2010, the former Marlborough and University of New Hampshire star finally made his mark on the NHL last season.

Butler split time between the Senators and their AHL affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y. He scored the first goal of his NHL career against the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 12. From there, he put together a rock solid season, scoring 10 goals paired with 11 assists for 21 overall points in 36 games.

After the season was over, Butler returned to the Binghamton Senators, where he helped the team capture the AHL?s Calder Cup.

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Lincoln-Sudbury?s Smerlas, Natick?s Smith win state championships in wrestling

The Daily News Male Athlete of the Year for the 2010-2011 school year, Zach Smerlas amassed a perfect 50-0 record in his senior wrestling campaign, and met Chelmsford?s Lou Ferrer in the heavyweight division of the All-State Championship meet.

Easily his biggest challenge of the season, Smerlas prevailed, edging Ferrer 3-2 to capture the first all-state championship in Lincoln-Sudbury wrestling history.

Smerlas started attending Brown University this fall, where he is a member of the football team.

Meanwhile, Natick?s James Smith of the 135 lb. division also won an all-state title. Wrestling to a 38-2 record on the season, Smith met Quabbin?s Brandon Beauregard and dominated, winning the match 15-2.

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Franklin hockey team loses in state championship game to Tewksbury

The Panthers boys hockey team hasn?t won a state championship since 1983.

With two goals in the Division 2 South championship game, senior James Marchand gave Franklin a chance to update its trophy case. Franklin defeated Plymouth South 5-2 to set up a meeting with Tewksbury at the TD Garden.

But it wasn?t to be.

Franklin put out a fantastic effort in one of the most exciting games of the year, an overtime thriller in the home of the Boston Bruins. But Tewksbury?s Mark Petti made sure it was his team that would walk out a winner, finding the net 53 seconds into overtime.

Disappointing as the end result was, it was an outstanding season for the Panthers regardless, and one that kept everyone on edge through the final seconds.

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Lincoln-Sudbury boys volleyball team captures second state title in three years

The road to the state championship game was relatively easy for the Warriors boys volleyball team.

Lincoln-Sudbury played a tough opponent in Natick to capture the Central title, and had an equally challenging task in Agawam in the state semifinals.

In each case, L-S cruised to a victory by winning 3-1.

The state championship game was different.

Haverhill pushed the Warriors to their limits, playing L-S to an incredible fifth and deciding match.

In the end, the state title was decided by two points. The Warriors fell behind quickly in the match and had an uphill climb after Haverhill jumped up 5-0. L-S cut the lead to 13-10 before knotting it at 13-13. A Tommy Houpt kill and a Haverhill error became the difference as the Warriors survived, 17-15, to capture their second state title in three years.

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Hopkinton girls lacrosse team wins first state title

In the mix almost every season in recent years, the Hopkinton girls lacrosse team finally broke through in 2011.

After falling to Norwell in the past two Division 2 South Sectional championships, the Hillers met an old foe in Duxbury this season.

Duxbury crushed any Hopkinton dreams of a state title when they it beat the Hillers in the championship game in 2007. In 2011, the Hillers were able to get a measure of revenge, barely edging Duxbury 13-12 in the South Sectional championship.

From there, Hopkinton met Tri-Valley League rival Westwood in the state championship game, where a bravura performance by Tess Chandler (7 goals, 2 assists) let the Hillers realize that long-awaited goal. The Hillers bested Westwood 18-15, and finally captured the elusive first state championship.

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Lincoln-Sudbury baseball wins state championship; Pitcher Adam Ravenelle is drafted in 44th round by New York Yankees

June 8 might have just been the best day in the young career of Lincoln-Sudbury senior Adam Ravenelle.

Early in the day, during the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, the New York Yankees selected the L-S pitcher in the 44th round.

Maybe he was unable to contain his excitement. Or maybe it was just another example of what made Ravenelle such a tremendous player during his high school career ? the ability to tune out the noise around him and focus on the task at hand.

Whatever it was, the result was bad news for Chelmsford in the Division 1 North semifinals. On the same day he was drafted, Ravenelle hit for the cycle and led L-S to an 8-1 rout of its opponent.

From there, L-S charged through the postseason, culminating in an offensive explosion against Minnechaug in the state championship game, where the Warriors pounded out 17 hits (with three apiece coming from Ravenelle, Dan Cellucci and Matt Cahill). Ravenelle pitched three innings on short rest, and Matt McGavick chipped in with four key innings of scoreless relief. L-S went on to win the state title with a 10-2 victory.

Ravenelle will take his baseball career to the next level this spring after accepting a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University.

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Keegan Bradley wins PGA Championship

Keegan Bradley spent one year at Hopkinton High School, graduating in 2004 and moving to town just before his senior year.

In his one season, he impressed golf fans across the area, winning an individual state championship in 2003 and leaving the impression that better things were in store for the 18-year-old.

But did anyone see this coming?

Bradley turned pro in 2008 and made his first PGA Tour cut this year at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He scored his first pro victory in May at the Byron Nelson Championship, defeating Ryan Palmer in sudden death. Clearly, this was a career on the rise, with a bright future on the horizon.

But did anyone see this coming? This soon?

Playing in his first major in August at the PGA Championship, Bradley put himself in contention with a second- round 64.

After falling five strokes behind leader Jason Dufner in the third round, Bradley rallied with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes, while three straight Dufner bogeys left the two tied atop the leader board at the end of regulation.

The two squared off in a three-hole playoff, with Bradley?s birdie and two pars left him besting Dufner by a stroke to capture the championship, becoming only the third player in history to win a major in his first attempt.

At the conclusion of the season Bradley was named the PGA Rookie of the Year.

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Marlborough girls volleyball team wins state championship with perfect season

Before its state championship game against Melrose, Marlborough coach Peter Lepore predicted that nerves wouldn?t be an issue for his team.

Well, not exactly.

After losing just three single games all season and going a perfect 23-0 up to that point, Marlborough appeared a bit nervous out of the gate, dropping the first game to one-loss Melrose 22-25.

But after the uneven performance, the nerves seemed to subside, and the Panthers got back to doing what they did all season long ? winning.

Marlborough swept the next three games 25-23, 25-13 and 25-20 behind Alexa Fearing?s 22 kills to capture the Division 2 state championship and achieve perfection at 24-0.

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Dover-Sherborn girls soccer team wins first state championship

The Raiders girls soccer team came close to their goal of winning the program?s first state championship in 2010, but were upended by Weston in the Division 3 EMass title game.

But with returning players like Maddie Dunn, D-S knew they would have another shot at glory in 2011.

With a balanced combination of youth and star upperclassmen, the Raiders delivered on that potential.

First, D-S slipped past Georgetown with a 1-0 victory on Victoria Ortega?s game winner in double overtime in the Division 3 South final.

D-S put the finishing touches on its dream season when goals by Dunn and Taylor Coutts lifted D-S to a 2-1 victory over Hopedale in the state championship game.

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Nashoba football achieves perfection

Led by coach Ken Tucker, the Nashoba Chieftans accomplished two things this season that no other football team in the Daily News area could.

One was winning a Super Bowl. The other was capping off a perfect season in the process.

After losing to St. John?s (Shrewsbury) in the last year?s Division 2 championship bout, Nashoba came into 2011 with the sting of defeat still present.

That was unfortunate for the rest of Division 2, as Nashoba used a tenacious defense to defeat every single opponent who stood in the way of the its championship ambitions.

After going undefeated in the regular season, running back John Ojukwu put Nashoba on his shoulders and literally carried the team in the Division 2 semifinal against Shepard Hill, rushing for 200 yards and three touchdowns. The effort was good enough to bring the Chieftans back to the Super Bowl with a 35-14 victory.

From there, Nashoba took no chances. Meeting Holy Name for the second time in the season (Nashoba had previously defeated Holy Name 14-0), the Chieftains turned to their defense, led by linebacker Zack Hume, to ensure victory.

The Chieftans shut out Holy Name for the second time with a 27-0 rout, earning their claim to both a Super Bowl trophy and a flawless 12-0 record.

(Craig Gilvarg is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 508-626-3941.)

Source: http://www.milforddailynews.com/features/x987652716/2011-A-sports-odyssey

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