Post-season play will establish new champs, heroes.

Byline: Fred Sullivan 

Thoughts on the upcoming post-season play which will establish new champions and heroes: Tim Henault appears to have gotten blazing hot at the correct time of the year. He has the ultimate confidence in his ability to put the ball in the hole, as his recent game winner against St. Peter-Marian proved. In a recent game against a very good Groton-Dunstable squad, a few of Tim's shots were taken from another time zone.

The Fitchburg High boy's basketball team is sort of like that boy band out of Boston during the late 1980s, New Kids on the Block. Tournament time and the pressure that entails, will be new to the talented Raider squad. That's why Jeremy Kimber is so important to Coach Paul DiGeronimo. The senior point guard has known lots of pressure on the gridiron, and also on the basketball court, so he should not be intimidated by situations that occur at tourney time. His great clutch 3-pointer against arch rival Leominster 10 days ago shows you that ice water runs through the kid's veins.

Despite St. John's recent three-game dip, the Pioneers will enter the Division I tournament as the favorite. Matt LaBove, John Perron and David White, with their big game experience, tend to make their team the favorite. But do not discount the Red Raiders. They seem to be able to rise to the top in clutch situations, so they have to be considered a solid second pick along with schools like Marlboro and Doherty. The Division I bash could be very fulfilling to old-time Raider fans like Gene Demers and Jim Goodchild.

The opening round games of the girl's Blackstone Valley Showcase tournament and the Westboro Tourney sort of threw a cold cup of reality upon both Fitchburg and St. Bernard's, as well as the Blue Knights of Lunenburg High.

The Red Raiders were overpowered 

by the Cougars of Quaboag Regional, 55-28, as the ladies from the southwest showed one and all that they are ready to take on all comers in the Division III District tournament. That big machine just keeps on rolling along. The leading scorer for the Cougars was Meaghan O'Keefe. Does that name sound familiar? Meaghan is the younger sister of Kelsey and Riley O'Keefe, who brought two state championships back to tiny Warren, Mass., a few years ago. Her 19 points showed that she learned well from her big sisters in all those pickup games played in the family driveway. Plus the Cougars also have Marcy Gaumond, who could be the best overall athlete in Central Massachusetts.

While Quaboag was clobbering FHS in the Blackstone Tourney, Hopedale was showing a good St. Bernard's team that they are nobody to mess with. The Blue Raiders handed the Bernardians their lunch, 62-40, as the Blue and Gold had no way to handle Hopedale's two-headed monster named Leika Cowen and Jessica Peacock. Hopedale has been striving relentlessly for that District title during the last few seasons, only to be thwarted by powerful Quaboag. This could be their year as the 2,000-point scorer, Cowen, and her partner, Peacock, seem to be on a major roll. This does not diminish St. Bernard's recent string of excellent games, but Hopedale and Quaboag could be the two most potent girl's teams in Central Mass. The Westboro Rangers would discount that statement, but I'm not so sure that my statement isn't correct.

What does this have to do with Lunenburg High's girl's basketball squad? Well, the Blue Knights will have to play in the Division III bracket against the likes of Quaboag and Hopedale. Good luck, ladies! Sometimes the best girl's basketball is played in those tiny communities which nurture their girls from a very early age. Quaboag has won state championships in field hockey and basketball in recent years, so their pedigree is well-known, and Hopedale has two superstars. It will be a very difficult task for Barry Call's Blue Knights, but who knows.

Coach Mark Pierce of the Blue and Gold has to feel a little like Marcus Welby, M.D., these days, as he prepares his squad for the Districts, and a possible rematch with a very formidable Tantasqua team, which has been on a serious roll.

Both Mike Mercier and Peter Saba will have to be 100 percent healthy if the Harvard Streeters are to capture the elusive District title. In recent contests, Mike and Peter have been making the effort, but they seem to be favoring their injuries. St. Bernard's needs a Mike Mercier who can get you a triple double on any given Sunday. Both Mike and the big guy, Saba, have been slow to recover from injury. Let's hope the healing process speeds up in the next fortnight.

A little birdie told me recently that two of Central Massachusetts' best young players could be heading westward to bring their basketball skills to a very large prep school complex located upon the Connecticut River. This would be a great loss to the local basketball fan, but both youngsters would certainly improve their athletic and educational skills at this institution which lists Uma Thurman and Laura Linney among its graduates in the late 1980s

During February vacation week, the Clark Tourney annually provides a spectacular festival of basketball for the kids who play in the small communities of Worcester County.

This tourney, which began in 1939 just before the start of World War II, was begun to give the small towns, who were excluded from the old Western Massachusetts, a chance to exhibit their skills. Rule Number One of the Clark was: City teams need not apply! Maybe that rule should be relaxed a bit. Many of the Clark squads don't represent small towns anymore, since many of the teams come from regional high schools, which can represent many small communities, and have rather sizable school populations. Maybe the country cousins should allow their city relatives an opportunity to play in the Clark. Just a thought.

When the Division III girl's seeding is announced early next week, the Monty Tech squad will probably be the second- or third-ranked team in their division, but they could go down to defeat rather early. That is just the fate of the vocational teams in the District tournaments. But do not look down your noses with disdain at this Monty Tech squad. Led by the superstar, Melanie Merchant, the Techsters have established a terrific regular season record of 19-2, which is tremendous in any league.

Unfortunately, Monty Tech has faced few worthy opponents, so they will be in a little over their heads come playoff time. Six weeks ago I predicted a Monty Tech victory in the tourney, and I'm sticking by my guns. Merchant, who is one of the region's best sprinters in the springtime, has the lightning quickness to bring that first round victory. Good luck, Lady Techsters, and prove me wrong by going deep into the tourney.

Got a chance to see Groton-Dunstable 10 days ago against powerful St. Bernard's and last week in the Clark Tournament. The Crusaders are going to cause some major headaches for Division III coaches this March, but I don't think they are quite ready to capture the whole enchilada this season. But watch out in 2008! They will have one of the region's most exciting players in 6-foot-5-inch Ryan Romich, who could play the point guard position, if Coach Keith Woods needs him in a pinch. His slam dunk against the Bernardians had the denizens of the Dawg Pound "oohing and aahing." Ryan can be spectacular, but his overall game is rock solid. He could be that rarity of Central Massachusetts, a Division I prospect.

Get out to the tournament games during the next two weeks. This is the region's true March Madness. See you at WPI.