12 - March 4, 2011 Salem Patriot Salem Patriot


Salem’s Alex Lira (119) is all tangled up, but with this 9-4 win, he earned third place at the MoC last Saturday


by Marc Ayotte Saturday, February 26, was an action-packed


day of wrestling at the Londonderry High School gymnasium. Taking place was the 2011 Meet of Champions (MoC), which featured the best wrestlers representing some-30 schools scattered throughout New Hampshire. The field was comprised of the top three finishers in each weight class from last week’s divisional state championship. New Hampshire wrestling is comprised of Divisions I, II, and III and 14 different weight classes, ranging from 103 pounds to the heavyweight division tipping the scales at 285 pounds. Salem High was represented in six different weight classes and at the end of the marathon session of wrestling, John Rheaume emerged as the Blue Devil who stood tallest on the championship podium as he captured second place in the 112 weight class. “We have six guys here today; they’re all here to wrestle—I think we’re going to place


six guys,” according to assistant Blue Devil wrestling coach Rob Morin. The six wrestlers he referenced, including Rheaume, were: Alex Lira (119), Devin Dearden (135), Zack Hicks (140), Brett Pittera (152), and Cody Sharpe (171). With an enthusiastic and confident approach, Morin added, “we worked hard all season; this is what it’s all about—time to take home the hardware.” Morin’s prognostication was pretty much smack- on as five of the six Salem wrestlers had finishes, ranging from Rheaume’s second-place medal to Devin Dearden’s sixth-place finish. At the MoC, the best of the best in the state are wrestling, so any finish in the top six is a considerable achievement. Accordingly, that makes the performance of 119-pounder Alex Lira that much more impressive. Lira started out his day with a convincing win by fall in the preliminary round, followed by a solid 14-3 major decision win over Carleton Kleinschrodt of White Mountain. He then ran into Adam Corey of Timberlane, where a loss put him into the consolation bracket. Moving on, Lira made short work of Tristan Leek of Sanborn with a :44 pin before facing Kleinschrodt in a rematch of their earlier preliminary bout. Lira easily handled his opponent again with a 9-4 decision to capture third place. The highlight of the day for Salem wrestling fans came in the form of their 112-pound wrestler. With high hopes for his wrestler coming into the tournament, the stark reality of actually being in the finals was present. “It’s a tall order, but if anyone is up to it, John is,” were the words of Salem Coach Wes Decker in pointing out Rheaume’s stiff finals competitor. To get to the finals, Rheaume racked up victories against Dan Losacano of Concord (1:41 win by fall)


Salem Sends Six Wrestlers to Meet of Champions, John Rheaume Captures Second in 112 Weight Class


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Blue Devil Brett Pittera (152) powers his way to a 9-0 major decision in a MoC consolation semifinals match


and a 14-6 major decision over Cole Fokas of BG. Rheaume, who came into the tournament as the Division I number-two seed, was now pitted up against the Division I number-one seed and defending New England champion, Zach Bridson of Timberlane. According to the MoC NH wrestling Website, Bridson was undefeated in NH since the 2009 MoC. Unfortunately for Blue Devil fans, that record remained intact, as Bridson went on to capture the crown with a 2:47 win by fall. With the second-place finish, Rheaume and teammate Lira will now represent Salem High and the state of New Hampshire by traveling to New Haven, CT, to compete in the New England Championships. With coinciding fourth-place finishes in their


respective weight classes for the Blue Devils were Zach Hicks (140) and Brett Pittera (152). Hicks, in his first match of the day, defeated Sanborn’s Ryan Manasian with a win by fall at 1:56. After a tough


Alex Lira of Salem (top) on his way to a :41 pin over his Sanborn opponent


struggle, he then lost to number-one seed and eventual champion David Owens of Pinkerton, followed by a loss by fall to Londonderry‘s James Chase for his fourth-place finish. In the 152 class, Pittera started his day off with disappointment, as he lost a 9-3 decision to Nashua North’s Joey Page. Falling into the consolation bracket, Pittera rebounded nicely with impressive, back-to-back victories, including a major decision win over Jon Scheidegger of Sanborn. Pittera’s attempt to hop on board the bus headed to New Haven fell short as a result of his next match loss to the Division II number-one seed, Goffstown’s Caleb Cejka, earning him the fourth-place finish. The excellent individual performances by the Blue Devil wrestlers enabled them to score an impressive fifth-place finish in the team standings behind perennial champion Timberlane.


Lady Blue Devils Conclude Senior Night with a Victory by David Jaracz


Senior Night 2011 was a resounding success for the Salem High girls’ basketball team, as seniors Gina Righini, Jennifer Bujnowski, and Kelly Forrest were sent off in fine fashion with a convincing 50-39 victory against the Blackbirds of Keene. The Blue Devils (5-13) will try to continue their momentum as they enter the New Hampshire Division I playoffs as the 14th seed, with the first round beginning Wednesday, March 2. Righini has been the spark plug that has ignited the Salem offense all year, and this game was no exception. Just a few seconds into the game she used her speed to slash to the basket for a quick lay-up and foul to put Salem up 3-0. She then made a nifty pass to an open Emily Hickey, who hit a long-range jump shot as part of an initial 9-3 run by Salem. The Blue Devils had a balanced first quarter attack. Four players hit a field goal each in addition to Righini’s three points, and despite eight first- quarter points from Keene’s Ashley Clough, the first-quarter score ended up knotted at 11-11. Salem’s high-tempo offense took control in the second quarter. Despite many of their players usually giving up a height advantage to other teams, few teams are as quick as Salem, and that quickness usually equals extra scoring opportunities. Salem took 15 shots in the second, compared to only eight by Keene (4-14), and that translated into a 17-to-6 scoring advantage. Bujnowski asserted herself offensively in the second and third quarters, scoring 11 of her 13 points in those two periods. The Blackbirds looked to establish a three-point shooting game in the first half, but only managed three ‘tres’ on six attempts, and it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with the Salem scoring. The Blue Devil defense did a nice job with interior defense as well, limiting Keene to just 2-for-6 shooting in


the second period. After Keene scored the first basket of the second quarter on a driving lay-up to take a 13-11 lead, Salem went on an extended 13-2 run, creating a 28-17 halftime lead, a lead they would not give up again. Keene went on a run of their own to start the third period. After junior guard Stephanie Long hit a three-pointer for Salem, Keene switched to a trap on defense to try to slow Salem down. It initially worked as they managed to close the gap to just a five points with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter. After a time-out, Salem managed to regain their composure and draw away again, with two long-range jumpers from Amanda Bickford sandwiched around two quick field goals in the paint from Bujnowski. This late flurry of scoring reasserted the Salem lead and the third quarter ended with the Blue Devils up 41-30. Despite playing the entire fourth quarter in the bonus, Keene was unable to take advantage of the situation, only managing to get to the free-throw line twice in the period. It was instead Salem who made frequent trips to the line, as Keene had to start fouling late in the game to try to score after missed Salem free throws. While Salem only went 50 percent from the free-throw line (5 of 10), it was enough to sustain the lead. The Salem defense continued its strong performance, and after each side scored just nine points in the quarter, the final score stood at 50-39. Salem now enters the post- season with a game on Wednesday, March 2, on the road at number three-seed Pinkerton Academy, who defeated Salem back in early January by a score of 48-32. If Salem can pull off the upset, they would next play in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 7 p.m., traveling to either number six-seed Alvirne or number 11-seed Nashua South, depending on the outcome of their game.


Jennifer Bujnowski scores two of her 13 points SHS Hockey Senior Night Takes Shameful, Unexpected Turn by David Jaracz


Senior Nights, like the one held for the Blue Devil hockey team last Wednesday, are supposed to invoke many different words and feelings. For Salem seniors Chad Livingston, Nick Barreira, Nick Albert, Josh Cavallaro, and James Willis, there were supposed to be words like pride, when proud parents smile as their pictures are taken with their graduating seniors. Words like accomplishment, when coaches and teammates take a moment to appreciate everything the players have done to build the program, both for the present and for the future. Words like sportsmanship, when players, students, and fans from both sides get together to enjoy an athletic contest between two schools. Unfortunately for


Senior Night 2011, the word that will be most remembered will be this: embarrassment. The embarrassment had nothing to do with the final score, a lopsided 4-0 win for Concord in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score would indicate. The embarrassment arose from the actions of not only the Blue Devil players, but from the Salem fan base in attendance as well, turning the evening into one that Salem High School should be eager to forget. A shame, since Senior Night should instead inspire memories that should last a lifetime. Midway through the first period, a rough, clean collision in the Concord end of the ice saw one of the panes of glass become partially unhinged, and play was halted as Icenter maintenance scrambled


to reinstall it. It looked like the most embarrassing part of the evening would be when the large sheet slipped from the hands of the workers, breaking into dozens of pieces with an audible crash, sending debris onto the ice and into a thankfully unoccupied section of the stands. There was a delay of nearly 10 minutes as the crew replaced the broken sheet and cleaned up the bits of glass. During any other game, this would have been the lowlight of the night. On this evening it was not even close.


What then was the most embarrassing event of


the evening? It wasn’t when senior goalie Chad Livingston, he who kept Salem in so many games this season with his quality goaltending, was pulled 12 minutes into the second period after giving up the fourth and final goal for the Crimson Tide. Two of the goals allowed probably could have been stopped, but it was clear a message was being sent to the Blue Devils that their play was unacceptable after being thoroughly outplayed and out-hustled in the second period. The game’s result wasn’t on Livingston’s shoulders, and the fact that Salem Coach Mark McGinn had to pull him on Senior Night in order to wake up the rest of the team was a shame. Was the most embarrassing part of the game the long list of Salem penalties? Here is the rap sheet: cross check, tripping (major five minutes), unsportsmanlike conduct (bench), elbowing, unsportsmanlike conduct, hit after the whistle (matching), fighting, 10-minute misconduct, game misconduct, interference, and hit from behind. Forty-seven minutes in penalties in a game with three 15-minute penalties. Some of these penalties were your average, run-of-the- mill penalties that occur during a hockey game. Most were not. The major tripping penalty (more on that later) sent a Concord player sprawling face down at center ice. Bench unsportsmanlike penalties stem from a player or a coach flat-out losing composure. The second unsportsmanlike came when Salem junior defenseman Bryan Rembis shoved a Concord player while play was


stopped, as lines changed waiting for a face-off. The penalties just kept coming. The worst (and


there was much competition for that dishonor) came after junior forward Mike Downing received a five-minute major fighting penalty. After matching minor penalties were assessed after a scrum in the corner, Downing wouldn’t let it go, jabbing at his foe and then grabbing him around the neck and taking him down to the ice headfirst. There was no corresponding fighting penalty assessed to Concord, nor should there have been one. Senior James Willis racked up 20 minutes in 14 seconds, first for a 10-minute misconduct, and then a game misconduct when he wouldn’t stop harping at the referee from the penalty box. It was as if Salem was in a contest to see who could rack up the most penalty minutes. The literal final straw came when Rembis was charged with a two- minute, hit-from-behind penalty as time expired, the very definition of cheap shot. But the most embarrassing moment of the


evening wasn’t even caused by the Salem players, at least not directly. With 1:34 left in the second period, Blue Devil Shane Morin extended a knee at center ice that sent Concord’s Ian Bickford sprawling. He laid face down, and after several seconds he remained unmoving. In a night that featured embarrassment after embarrassment for the Salem program, the worst of them all came from the student body. A group of about 30 Salem students, seated directly in front of most of the Senior Night parents and vocal all evening, cheered and stomped and yelled as if they had just seen the greatest bodycheck in the history of the game, instead of an unnecessary penalty that resulted in a player obviously being injured. The boisterous cheering went on for several seconds, even as it was clear Bickford wasn’t getting up, until they were shouted down by a group of angry and confused Concord parents. After the game, Concord coaching legend Dunc Walsh, who as 21-year coach of the Tide has seen a thing or two, used the word “disgusting.”


photos by Marc Ayotte


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