A new era of Massachusetts high school playoffs is upon us. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is set to debut its new statewide power rating system, which was designed in an effort to fairly seed teams in the postseason. The power rating system relies on a formula that uses three variables — win/loss, margin of victory and strength of schedule — and produces ratings unique to each team. ...

HARWICH – Ryder Young didn’t hold back when he was asked what it was like to compete against Chatham and Harwich police and fire department members during the inaugural Kickball Night that was hosted by Harwich Youth Services on Friday night at Whitehouse Field. “I want to destroy them,” declared Young, a 10-year-old from Harwich, who said the highlight of his night was kicking against his dad, James, a lieute...

BREWSTER – There’s something mystical about the sound of a baseball whooshing across home plate and the thud it creates once it reaches a catcher’s mitt. There’s also something magical about the sound of a bat striking a ball and a dugout full of ballplayers rooting their teammates on. Cape Cod remains a perfect destination for baseball in the fall — even if it requires players to sacrifice themselves to cool ...

WAYLAND – The thought of securing a spot in the Division 2 sectional tournament and then performing well enough to be one of the three teams from the sectional district to advance to the state championship wasn’t on Nauset boys golf coach Brian Hicks’ radar when the Warriors first met for practice in August. “If you had told me at the start of the year that we were going to be 14-4 and make it out of the secti...

EASTON – The good times keep on rolling for the Nauset boys golf team. And now the Warriors are moving on to the state final. ​Just days after senior Cooper Guiliano led Nauset to a team title at the Cape Cod High School Golf Championship on Friday at Willowbend, freshman Jack Martin anchored another strong performance for the Warriors by tying for first place at Monday’s Division 2 South sectional championshi...

HARWICH – Before the Monomoy field hockey team began its season, Kathryn Andreoli, the Sharks’ new coach, stressed the importance of conditioning.  ​“She pushes us a lot,” junior Helen DiGiovanni, a Harwich resident, said of Andreoli. “We run so much. We do running on the weekends when we have no practice just to make sure we’re conditioned. It helps a lot.” ​All of that conditioning was on full display Sat...

​NORTH EASTHAM – The first sign that things were going to be different for this year’s Nauset volleyball program came during tryouts. Sixty-six kids attended, which, according to varsity coach Kaleigh Powell, was more than any other fall program at the school. ​It was only a handful of years ago that the Warriors were able to only field a varsity team; now the program has varsity, junior varsity and a freshman...

HARWICH – For the first time in the Pals For Life Foundation’s 26-year history, the PFL hosted its annual golf tournament without its founder, the late Richard Costello, the former owner of the Chatham Squire who died in May. Costello’s memory and spirit were in attendance, however, during the 25th annual tournament, which was held Oct. 6 under pristine, sunny conditions at Captains Golf Course in Brewster. ...

HARWICH – The Monomoy girls soccer players feel like they are hitting their stride at the perfect time — right as the team is eyeing a playoff push. The team showed its depth Thursday afternoon when it earned a 5-1 victory over Cape and Islands League Lighthouse Division rival Sturgis East in Harwich. Four different Sharks scored goals to help the team improve to 7-4 on the season. “We’ve had pretty good de...

NORTH EASTHAM – It wasn’t the end result the Nauset football team had hoped for, but the Warriors returned to the gridiron, and that’s what mattered most to the team’s players and coaches. One week after Nauset had to cancel its game against Mashpee scheduled for Oct. 1 due to too many injuries, the team returned to the field Friday against visiting Sandwich. The Blue Knights spoiled the Warriors’ return to pl...

HARWICH – Thanksgiving came early for the Monomoy and St. John Paul II football teams. The rivals met in an early preview of their Thanksgiving morning clash Friday night at Monomoy Regional High School, and they provided their respective fan bases with an exciting back-and-forth affair complete with plenty of highlights that will long be remembered. Although it was the host Sharks that got on the scoreboar...

NORTH EASTHAM — One of the best – and worst – aspects of high school sports is that each team faces a revolving door at the end of every season. It’s almost always a bittersweet process as teams watch some memorable and impactful seniors graduate and leave the team while newcomers join and take their place. The Nauset Regional High School boys and girls cross-country teams are both going through changes, thoug...