Ultimate Frisbee
Last week, the Holliston High School Ultimate Frisbee team had its most productive week, going 2-1 in their busiest portion of its spring schedule.
Jensen Holder goes and gets disk against Lincoln-Sudbury
Holliston opened the week on Monday visiting Lincoln Sudbury. The game had an auspicious start with Holliston dropping the game's first pull which led to a quick 1-0 LS lead. However, Holliston recovered well and showed strong play, quickly building a 5-3 lead, primarily on the back of senior captain Jensen Holder who was catching everything thrown his way. The LS coach was heard admonishing his team, referring to Holder as "gigantor" and that someone needs to cover him. The LS coach's approach seemed to have an effect as LS improved its play and took a halftime lead of 8-7. The second half was extremely tight with both teams trading points back and forth. Eventually, the more experienced LS team pulled away, winning 15-12. Despite the loss, the Holliston coaches and players were all encouraged by a very strong performance on the road.
Brian Jacobs celebrates score against Wachusett
The Panthers returned to Kamitian Field for a home game on Wednesday against Wachusett. Holliston continued its strong play from the previous game and quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Both the offense and defense were clicking on all cylinders in the first, led defensively by senior Brian Jacobs, who made several outstanding defensive plays. At halftime, Holliston had solidified a 8-3 lead. Mother Nature then decided to get involved and the skies opened making for difficult conditions to start the second half. Wachusett took advantage of the wet conditions and got back into the game scoring three unanswered points to close to 8-6. The panthers regained their composure as the rain subsided and extended their lead back to 12-7.
During the 12th point, freshman Jesse Zanghi made a highlight diving catch to preserve Holliston's possession of the disk. Holliston maintained their momentum through the rest of the game, despite a strong push by Wachusett, and went on to take the victory 15-12.
Curtis Morgan takes disk from Milton Academy
Holliston finished the week with another home game on Friday. The opponent was Milton Academy. Milton had taken a close game on their home field in April and Holliston was looking to return the favor. After a delayed start, due to a late arrival by Milton, the game got underway under perfect conditions. The Panthers started strong again, jumping out to a 4-1 lead after a nice toss from junior Tom Leary to senior Curtis Mogren. After several back-and-forth points, Holliston took the halftime lead at 8-6. Holliston took advantage of several long "hucks" in the second half and kept the pressure on Milton, extending their lead to 12-7.
Jensen Holder comes down hard for winning point against Milton Academy.
However, Milton was not ready to surrender and stormed back to cut the lead to 12-10 on a number of strong plays which cut through the Holliston defense. Just as the significant turnout of fans along the sideline were beginning to get nervous, junior captain Rusty Varrell and his comrades decided to put the clamps on Milton, shutting them down the rest of the way. Varrell made several decisive defensive blocks on long throws by Milton, keeping the momentum for the local team. Holliston went on to close Milton out 15-10.
Carl Berg elevates for the disk.
Holliston Ultimate continues its season with several more upcoming home games, preparing for the state tournament over Memorial Day weekend. Check the Holliston High School athletic calendar for upcoming home dates and come out and join the fans.
Holliston Ultimate faithful brave the elements.