CHATHAM ─ On a Friday night on Cape Cod, John Herring is where most people would expect to find him: teaching jiu jitsu moves to a growing group of enthusiasts at the Chatham Community Center. Borne of Herring's club at Monomoy Regional High School, the Friday night extension class is now in its fifth month and Herring can't imagine spending his Friday nights any other way. Herring, a longtime jiu jitsu enth...

HARWICH ─ They knew the competition would be challenging, but when the Monomoy cheerleading squad headed to the regional competition in Franklin last weekend, they ignored the odds and gave it everything they had, impressing their fans and their coach. “It was extremely tough,” said coach Robbin Kelly. “I can't tell you how proud I am of their performance.” While most fans see the team on the sidelines an...

EASTHAM ─ A tie-breaking shootout brought to a close the exciting 2017 season of the Nauset boys varsity soccer team, but before the heartbreak there was victory as the Warriors shut out Foxborough 5-0 in one of more than a dozen similar shutouts in a season that carried on the magic of the team's state championship winning 2016. The Thursday night game was literally a battle of Warriors, with both teams bea...

HARWICH ─ It wasn't the way the Monomoy girls varsity soccer team wanted to cap their stellar 2017 season, but after giving it their all against their powerful Hull opponents, the Sharks came away with a 5-1 loss in the Div. 4 South quarterfinals “They were good,” said Monomoy coach Jenn Peterson. “They were a good team. I don't think we played particularly well. We couldn't match their intensity and I think...

HARWICH ─ The Monomoy football team has done it again. With their resounding 28-0 shutout of Mayflower Small champion Old Colony on Nov. 3, the 2017 squad has become the winningest in Monomoy history by earning a new record of 6-3 overall, surpassing their 2016 predecessors (5-5). “It was great to be able to bounce back and show what kind of team we really are,” said Monomoy head coach Brandon Perry, refe...

HARWICH ─ After a big win the previous week that saw Cape Tech quarterback Anthony Armenti throw three touchdown passes, the Crusaders struggled mightily against Randolph in spite of determined defensive efforts, falling 28-6 in non-playoff action on Nov. 4. Though the Blue Devils were held to just one first-half score thanks to the Crusaders' solid defense, the visiting Randolph team broke through the maroo...

In this little corner of Massachusetts it can be tough for local high school athletic teams to find opponents not only on the same level, but sometimes at all. That said, it's time for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to take a hard look at its criteria for assigning teams to divisions and leagues because if they don't, someone is going to get badly hurt. Right now the primary means of de...

HARWICH ─ When Monomoy golfer Jake Poitras first invited teammate and fellow senior Matt Veary to hit the links with him, Veary wasn't having it. “He started playing a couple months before I did and was like, 'Come to the driving range with me,'” Veary recollected. “I said, 'Nah. Golf's not fun. Why would I want to do that?' Then I did and I loved it. I had no intentions of continuing to play, but then I fel...

NANTUCKET ─ When the Monomoy football team headed across the waters to face Nantucket in the Sharks' first-ever post-season game, they knew it would be a tough one, and it was. But even as the Whalers ran up the score en route to another lopsided victory (61-12) Monomoy did its best to stay in the game, earning a pair of late-game touchdowns before leaving with heads held high. The Div. 7 quarterfinals marked ...

HARWICH ─ Not only were the two seniors on Monomoy's field hockey team celebrated on Monday night, but when the Sharks triumphed against Sturgis West 9-0, the duo and their teammates all celebrated together the team's being crowned Cape and Islands League champs for the second straight season. “It's incredible, especially for the second year in a row,” said senior captain Emma Mawn. “Our team's been through ...

HARWICH ─ Tensions ran high in the second of two nearly back-to-back games between the Monomoy and Cape Tech boys varsity soccer teams, with the Monday afternoon game ending in a 1-1 tie. As the Sharks worked to shake off the fatigue from a demanding end-of-season schedule, the Crusaders seized control early, but found putting the ball in the net a challenge. After a scoreless first half that saw the inte...

HARWICH ─ It was a good day to be Tim Scruggs, but a rough day to be a Crusader as the Cape Tech football team fell in football action to the Old Colony Cougars with a final score of 29-8. Scruggs scored his team's only touchdown after hauling in a stellar pass from quarterback Anthony Armenti to put the Crusaders on the scoreboard and cut into the visiting team's lead of 14-8 in the third quarter. Betwee...