Eleven takeaways from Friday’s high school sports scene, including Xaverian’s Will Wood committing

We always say there’s never a dull day in high school sports.

On Friday we saw Xaverian junior Will Wood commit to play quarterback in the Big Ten, the first new football coach at West Springfield in two-plus decades, and a new all-time boys’ volleyball assists leader at O’Bryant.

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Our reporters covered a Duxbury baseball walk off of No. 15 Plymouth North, which was hoping to present coach Dwayne Follette with his 500th win, and No. 11 Bishop Feehan’s boys’ lacrosse beating a talented Xaverian squad to prove its playoff mettle.

Before we get to the milestones, best finishes, leaderboards, and stars of the day, start with Friday’s scoreboard. Looking for a certain game? Try our sport-specific scoreboards: Baseball | Softball | Boys’ lacrosse | Girls’ lacrosse | Boys’ volleyball | Boys’ tennis | Girls’ tennis

The playoffs are less than two weeks away. Check out league standings here: Baseball | Softball | Boys’ lacrosse | Girls’ lacrosse | Boys’ volleyball | Boys’ tennis | Girls’ tennis | Boys’ rugby

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▪ After moving into a tie as the all-time assists leader in O’Bryant boys’ volleyball history Thursday, matching Son Nguyen’s total of 1,671 from 2023, junior setter Max Dong took sole possession of the record with 31 assists in Friday’s 3-0 sweep of Barnstable. Dong now sits at 1,703 career assists.

▪ Abington senior Lee Spry’s goal gave him exactly 100 for his career during an 8-3 boys’ lacrosse victory over Rockland.

▪ Quincy senior Siena Nichol notched her 100th career goal during a 14-4 girls’ lacrosse loss to Milton.

▪ Bristol Aggie senior Izzy Znoj collected her 100th career hit during an 18-7 softball win over Norfolk Aggie.

▪ The Dracut boys’ lacrosse team locked up their seventh straight Merrimack Valley Conference II title with a 14-3 victory over Tewksbury.

▪ On Thursday, Reading girls’ lacrosse locked up the Middlesex League Liberty Division title with an 18-2 win over Wilmington.

▪ Unranked Seekonk stunned No. 7 Apponequet, 9-5, with Emma Queenan leading the way with five RBIs, highlighted by a three-run homer in the South Coast Conference upset.

▪ As noted earlier, unranked Duxbury battled to a 5-4 walkoff win over No. 15 Plymouth North, with Lucas Falls providing the clutch two-run double in the seventh.

▪ In boys’ volleyball action, unranked BC High enjoyed the return of Ben Cleary from injury and took down No. 11 Milton, 3-1.

▪ West Bridgewater senior Jacob Smith delivered a fly ball when the Wildcats needed, his eighth-inning sacrifice fly providing a 2-1 walkoff win over Dighton-Rehoboth.

▪ Roxbury Prep’s Kobe McDaniel scored the winning run in a 9-8 walkoff win over Boston Collegiate by racing home on a double steal.

▪ The third baseball walkoff of the day belong to Duxbury’s Falls, whose two-run double in the seventh scored Sam Szczesny for the winning run over Plymouth South, 5-4.

At Hingham, the homers came in trios, as Brendan McCarthy, Collin Garrity, and Will Jones all went yard in a 10-2 win over Whitman-Hanson. Milton got homers from sisters Victoria and Sophie Fish, and Rockland enjoyed blasts from Madelyn Rooney and Emily Gillooly.

Greater New Bedford sophomore Khloe Pereira launched a pair of moon shots, and the rest of the day’s round-trippers belonged to: Dighton-Rehoboth’s Camryn Cloonan, Wakefield’s Jackie Sullivan, Attleboro’s Lola Ronayne, Austin Prep’s Bradley McCafferty, Archbishop Williams’s Anna Iantosca, Nauset’s Brynn Kew, Mansfield’s Ashleigh Cromack, Seekonk’s Emma Queenan, Hingham’s Kristy Fickes, Needham’s Maddie Navales, and Woburn’s Mia Helein.

Aliyah Coutu, Greater Lowell — The senior produced 9 points with five goals and four assists in a 14-5 girls’ lacrosse victory over Monty Tech/Sizer.

Zahria Daley, Milton — The Princeton-committed senior struck out eight in the circle and helped her own cause with three runs scored and five RBIs at the plate in a 16-4 softball win over Dedham.

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Ava Damiani, Lynnfield — The junior was unstoppable, producing seven goals and five assists to hold off Swampscott, 17-15, in girls’ lacrosse action.

Tommy Farrell, North Andover — The senior dished six assists to go with four goals, producing 10 points in a 14-8 boys’ lacrosse win over Chelmsford.

Sophie Farrington, Sandwich, — The eighth-grader was brilliant, striking out eight in just three innings and providing two hits, including a double, and four RBIs at the dish in an 18-0 softball rout of Dennis-Yarmouth.

Sara Keck, Wilmington — The sophomore fired a three-hit shutout in a 12-0 softball win over Burlington, adding three hits and four RBIs at the plate.

Audrey Muzikant, Needham — The sophomore tossed a three-hit shutout, fanning eight, and leading the offense with three RBIs to defeat Concord-Carlisle, 12-0.

McKenzie O’Connell, Mashpee — The junior was a force at the plate, rapping out four hits and collecting seven RBIs in a 16-13 softball win over Nantucket.

Brady Protz, Plymouth South — The senior fired a two-hitter, fanning seven and driving in two runs in a 6-1 baseball win over Quincy.

Vitou Seng, Aundre Rivera, and Anthony Pheng, Lowell — All three put up eye-popping numbers in a 3-2 boys’ volleyball triumph over Methuen. Seng, a senior, dished 52 assists and added six kills, Rivera, a junior, posted 20 kills and 32 digs, and Pheng, a senior, added 12 kills and 37 digs.

One of the top quarterbacks in the state has found a home.

Xaverian junior Will Wood, a Natick resident, ranked the No. 2 Class of 2027 QB in Massachusetts by 247Sports and On3, has verbally committed to Penn State, he confirmed on social media Friday.

Wood was also considering BC, UConn, Arkansas, and West Virginia. A two-time state champion, Wood, the Catholic Conference offensive MVP, threw for 2,812 yards, totaled 42 touchdowns and tossed just one interception all season during a Super Bowl run.

A three-star recruit, per 247Sports, he’s ranked as the No. 29 QB in the nation. His committment came a day after Tabor junior Peter Bourque, the No. 1 2027 QB recruit in the state, announced he will play at Virginia Tech on Thursday, with Penn State as one of his finalists.

When Wood was a freshman, he backed up Henry Hasselbeck, who also went to a Power Four program, UCLA, after graduation, before transferring to Appalachain State.

▪ New Bedford senior Belle Almeida has officially committed to play softball at Wentworth.

▪ Chelmsford senior Brooke Cannata is headed to Bridgewater State to play field hockey.

▪ Hopedale senior Phoebe Carroll will play women’s basketball at Bridgewater State next year after making her committment official.

West Springfield is bringing back one of its own as football coach.

Vinnie Guiel, a 2012 graduate, will take the reins from Chad Labonte, who coached the Terriers for 21 years before retiring.

Guiel was the head coach at Smith Vocational for one season, then spent three seasons at the helm of Amherst-Pelham (17-13 record) before taking over at Simsbury High (Conn.) for the 2025 season. Now he returns to Massachusetts, where he coaches wrestling and teaches at Southwick.

“We are excited to welcome Coach Guiel back to West Springfield,” said athletic director Glenn Doulette in a statement. “His passion for student-athletes, commitment to building strong relationships, and experience leading programs throughout Western Massachusetts made him standout as our choice to lead Terrier Football into its next chapter.”

Guiel also has experience as an assistant at Dean Tech, Holyoke, and West Springfield, and served as A-P’s offensive coordinator.

▪ UMass Lowell senior Derek Munroe, a Tewksbury graduate, helped the River Hawks win the America East men’s track title by capturing his third decathlon title with 7,034 points, more than 500 ahead of second place. Munroe won five of the 10 events to break his own school record in the event.

▪ Bates junior Sienna Pietrasiwicz, a Norton graduate, was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region third team. She started all 35 games in the outfield and made just one error all season while hitting .220.

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Ava Damiani, Lynnfield, 7

Caroline Cronin, Arlington Catholic, 6

Mason Gadbois, Danvers, 6

Finn Racki, St. Mary’s, 6

Hayden Valiton, Lynnfield, 6

Alanna Alden, Nashoba Valley Tech, 5

Jack Balfour, Bourne/Mashpee, 5

Emmette Barry, Bishop Feehan, 5

Dexter Izzo, Bishop Feehan, 5

Cece Levrault, Apponequet, 5

Caroline Meins, Barnstable, 5

Isabella Sorbi, Greater Lowell, 5

Emma Bettencourt, Greater Lowell, 4

Aliyah Coutu, Greater Lowell, 4

Cooper Dunham, Danvers, 4

Tommy Farrell, North Andover, 4

Quinn Kelleher, Swampscott, 4

Trevor Lindmark, Haverhill, 4

Amelia Menendez, Apponequet, 4

Victoria Pierro, Swampscott, 4

Alexis Pettinato, Dighton-Rehoboth, 4

Ava Santo, Arlington Catholic, 4

Chase Seidel, North Andover, 4

Tommy Farrell, North Andover, 6

Aliyah Coutu, Greater Lowell, 5

Ava Damiani, Lynnfield, 5

Quinn Kelleher, Swampscott, 5

Jack Balfour, Bourne/Mashpee, 3

Jordan Calichman, Lynnfield, 3

Caroline Cronin, Arlington Catholic, 3

Mason Gadbois, Danvers, 3

Fiona Keaney, Swampscott, 3

Colton Alex, Swampscott, 20

Braden Baril, Apponequet, 19

Max Boyer, Haverhill, 14

Aidan Smith, North Andover, 13

Phoebe Braga, Dighton-Rehoboth, 12

Lila Donahue, Hingham, 12

Brooklyn Kluck, Nashoba Valley Tech, 11

Ana Lacy, Ursuline, 11

Morgan Mueller, Barnstable, 11

Connor Dembowski, Danvers, 10

Lilah Caplan, Swampscott, 9

Keira Drouin, Haverhill, 9

Janet O’Carroll, Cohasset, 9

Olivia Sylvester, Lynnfield, 9

Chloe D’Agostino, Woburn, 10

Yadriel Calderon, Roxbury Prep, 9

John Ghelli, Milton, 9

Kiley Gonet, New Bedford, 9

Zahria Daley, Milton, 8

Ronald Del Rosario Gomez, Nantucket, 8

Sophie Farrington, Sandwich, 8

Pete Kanakis, Apponequet, 8

Josh Matta, Falmouth, 8

Audrey Muzikant, Needham, 8

John Richard, Dennis-Yarmouth, 8

Henry Healey, Hingham, 7

Sara Keck, Wilmington, 7

Lidia Miedema, Peabody, 7

Brady Protz, Plymouth South, 7

McKenzie O’Connell, Mashpee, 7

Landen Evangelho, Greater New Bedford, 5

Madison Snow, Westford, 5

Jackie Sullivan, Wakefield, 5

Emma Queenan, Seekonk, 5

Camryn Cloonan, Dighton-Rehoboth, 4

Katherine Connolly, Nauset, 4

Sophie Farrington, Sandwich, 4

Sara Keck, Wilmington, 4

Julie Murphy, Archbishop Williams, 4

Khloe Pereira, Greater New Bedford, 4

Michelle Goncalves, Mashpee, 4

Rosalie Neville, Upper Cape, 4

McKenzie O’Connell, Mashpee, 4

Dejalise Calderon, Central Catholic, 3

Camryn Cloonan, Dighton-Rehoboth, 3

Dylan Conley, Weston, 3

Zahria Daley, Milton, 3

Brielle Douglas, Greater New Bedford, 3

Jack Weierman, Natick, 3