Michael Folan, Antonio Guarino and DJ Tandy scored while Robbie Cibotti earned his 10th shutout as Archbishop Williams (8-3-4) qualified for the tournament for the 16th straight year with a 3-0 boys soccer win over Cardinal Spellman in the Catholic Central League.

Francis Amani and Pat Moore scored for Plymouth North (10-2-3) in a 2-1 Patriot League win over crosstown rival Plymouth South.

Ryan Gasparro and Finn Ingalls found the net for Newburyport (11-3-2) in a 2-1 Cape Ann League win over Georgetown. … Kaiky Araujo struck for two goals, and Simon Ghebremariam netted his first goal as Rockland (10-5) rolled to a 4-0 South Shore League win over Randolph.

A pair of goals from Lucas Bereaud and two points from Jack Fredrickson (goal, assist) paced Swampscott (11-2-1) in a 3-1 Northeastern Conference win over Salem. … Marcus Dutra Africano (two goals), Nyzaiah Pacheco (goal, two assists) and Will Quinlan (goal) got the job done offensively for Westport (14-0) in a 4-0 Mayflower Athletic Conference win over Southeastern.

Girls soccer

Junior Kathleen Murphy buried a pair of goals and added an assist, as Blue Hills (14-0-2) shut out Bristol Aggie 3-0 in the Mayflower Athletic Conference.

Libby Nylen scored twice as Dexter Southfield (7-2-1) defeated New Hampton 4-1 in the NEPSAC. … Emma Fitzpatrick scored her first goal and supplied an assist for St. Mark’s in a 2-1 win over Dana Hall.

Ella Williamson, Zoie Maslanka and Brenna Howley got the goals as Abington (9-4) clinched its spot in the Div. 4 tournament with a 3-1 South Shore League win against Mashpee. … Freshman Hannah Morse scored the winning goal for Norwell (16-1-1) in a 1-0 victory over East Bridgewater.

Sydney Comeau maintained her rapid scoring pace with two more goals for Notre Dame Academy of Hingham (10-4-3), giving enough insurance to withstand a late rally as part of a 3-2 nonleague win over Silver Lake.

Field hockey

Madison Faragi dialed up a hat trick and dished an assist, leading Bishop Fenwick in a 4-1 nonleague win over Malden. … Sawyer Groothius set up two goals with assists and added a score himself, pairing with Sophia Ciciotti’s goal and assist to power Swampscott (9-5-1) over Bedford, 4-0. … Eva Thomson tallied two goals in a well-balanced effort as Medfield topped Nipmuc 6-1. … Sammy Logan and Ava Meehan registered a goal and an assist each as Bishop Feehan (11-3-1) bested Nashoba 4-0.

Grace Haskell scored three goals and dished an assist, and Kaelyn Zuber hit the back of the net twice as Dartmouth (15-0) cruised to a 7-0 Southeast Conference win over Bridgewater-Raynham.

Caroline Pitts recorded a hat trick and Kate Harrison scored twice, boosting Chelmsford in a 5-1 Merrimack Valley Conference win over Tewksbury.

Football

Montavius Zollarcoffer rushed for a pair of 10-yard touchdowns, giving O’Bryant (5-1) the scoring it needed to down English/New Mission, 14-0, in Boston City League play. Lamarre Petit-Homme added 155 all-purpose yards, along with 12 tackles and a forced fumble in the win.

Logan Keyes ran for 201 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, helping Walpole (4-3) coast to a 37-3 Bay State Conference victory over Braintree.

Mike O’Connor and Jayce Devine each ran for two scores as Xaverian (5-2) defeated Malden Catholic 41-0 in the Catholic Conference.

Liam Appleton ran for two touchdowns and caught a TD pass as Cohasset (3-3) blanked Mashpee 42-0 in the South Shore League. … Bolo Sotonwa ran for two touchdowns, propelling Middleboro (5-2) in a 24-14 win over Rockland. … Michael Reilly ran for two scores and threw for a third as Abington (6-1) defeated East Bridgewater, 33-13.

Myles Sanchez broke a 3-3 tie with an 18-yard TD run in the third quarter as Wakefield (5-2) went on to defeat Wilmington 16-3 in the Middlesex Freedom. … Nick Hitchman and Max Lanciani ran for two touchdowns apiece to power Melrose (5-2) to a 42-8 win over Watertown. … Jayden Arno threw four touchdown passes to Ben Logan as Belmont (4-3) outscored Woburn 43-35.

Cooper Tarantino had 10 carries for 70 yards and three touchdowns as Lincoln-Sudbury (6-1) defeated Concord-Carlisle 29-20 in the Dual County League. … Max Dresens racked up 21 carries for 221 yards and a touchdown, while Mekhi Walker added four receptions for an additional 103 yards and a score as Wayland (5-2) staved off a challenge from Bedford, 28-14.

Eli Ikkela and Dominic Cavallo ran for touchdowns as Bishop Stang (2-5) defeated Archbishop Williams 23-0 in the Catholic Central League. … Maxwell Parent accounted for both touchdowns as St. Mary’s (5-2) defeated Cardinal Spellman, 12-0.

Nick Cappuccio caught an 80-yard TD pass from Matthew Noonan with less than two minutes left as Winthrop (4-3) handed Salem its first loss 20-19 in the Northeastern Conference. … Travis Voisine threw for 123 yards and two scores as Danvers (5-2) beat Masconomet, 21-0.

Greg Canning rushed for three scores as Rivers (3-2) defeated Brooks 42-19 in the Independent School League.

In a Commonwealth Athletic Conference contest, Dan Keith rushed for two touchdowns, lifting Nashoba Valley (5-2) to a 35-22 victory over Lynn Tech (3-4). … Devin Nieves ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns to pace Northeast (3-4) in a 28-8 win over Greater Lowell. … Caleb Caceres finished with 11 carries for 141 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns, as Shawsheen (7-0) rolled to a 36-6 romp of Greater Lawrence.

In the South Coast Conference, Jayce Duarte tossed two touchdown passes while Justin Marques hauled one in and rushed for a score, leading Fairhaven (7-0) to a 40-0 win over Seekonk. … Connor McManus booted three field goals as Greater New Bedford (3-4) defeated Apponequet, 23-14. … Isaiah Roderick returned an interception 10 yards for the winning score as Bourne (5-2) defeated Case, 28-24.

Jack Sullivan scampered for three scores, and Sean Miles threw three touchdown passes as Newburyport (7-1) rolled to a 42-0 win over Triton in Cape Ann League play.

In the Evergreen League, Quinn Carver rushed for two scores as Dexter Southfield (4-1) coasted to a 38-0 victory over New Hampton.

Corey Perkins ran for 158 yards and two scores on 23 carries as Bellingham (4-3) bested Millis 35-0 in the Tri-Valley League. … Jake Oglivie threw three touchdown passes as Norton defeated Dover-Sherborn, 28-10.

Willy Robinson finished with 205 all-purpose yards, racking up three rushing touchdowns while returning a kickoff 84 yards for a fourth as Scituate (4-3) outlasted North Quincy, 42-28, in the Patriot League. … Ben Scalzi accounted for three total touchdowns as Hanover (7-0) bested Pembroke, 31-8. … Davin True rushed for four touchdowns as Marshfield (5-2) defeated Plymouth North, 49-21.

Judd Dorival ran for 178 yards and two touchdowns as Billerica (7-0) cruised to a 41-22 Merrimack Valley Conference win over North Andover. … Omar Aboutoui booted a pair of field goals in the final minute as Methuen (5-2) defeated Tewksbury, 27-24.

In the Mayflower Athletic Conference, Nathan Marden ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns on six carries for Old Colony (6-1) during a 38-0 rout of Upper Cape. … Todd Egan threw a touchdown pass and ran for 142 yards and three scores, and DJ DeCoste rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, propelling South Shore Voke (5-2) to a 43-28 win over Wareham. … Ty Holmes ran in two touchdowns and caught one more from James Harris, who also ran for a touchdown as West Bridgewater doubled up Blue Hills, 28-14.

Payton Kellett hauled in six catches for 200 yards and a touchdown, proving a reliable target for Jayden Barber in a monster performance (315 passing yards, 93 rushing yards, four total TDs) as Dennis-Yarmouth (6-1) rolled to a 41-22 nonleague win over Durfee. … Tajardo France racked up 112 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries for Barnstable (6-1) in a 48-8 win over Newton North. … Chase Frisoli and Ryan Bannon each ran for scores as North Attleboro (3-4) defeated Lynnfield, 14-11. … Alex Wilson ran for 67 yards and two scores as Westford Academy (5-2) edged Chelmsford, 21-19.

Volleyball

Victoria Soto Rivera had 12 kills, and Bailey Trust had 18 assists as Beaver Country Day defeated Wheeler 3-1 in the NEPSAC. … Erica Biner grounded 17 kills, and Corinne Holness finished with 14 kills as BB&N (10-2) beat Groton 3-1.

Eliana Villa tallied nine service points and 22 digs, while Danna Cabreja recorded eight kills and a block as Greater Lawrence (4-13) swept Nashoba Tech 3-0 in Commonwealth Athletic Conference action.

Vivian Castano supplied 35 assists, and Mariah Eaton floored 12 kills while Ryann Johnson registered 10 kills as Dennis-Yarmouth (10-7) downed Marshfield 3-0 in a nonleague clash. … Fayth Bascon posted eight kills, and Brooke Farnum notched four kills and two blocks for Swampscott (10-7) in a 3-0 win over Northeast.

Swimming

With a 98-86 Bay State Conference victory, Needham ended Wellesley’s 75-meet win streak that dated back to 2016.

Scores

FIELD HOCKEY

Beverly 3, Marblehead 0

Bishop Feehan 4, Nashoba 0

Bishop Fenwick 4, Malden 1

Braintree 2, NDA (H) 0

Case 1, Dighton-Rehoboth 1

Chelmsford 5, Tewksbury 1

Concord-Carlisle 3, Lincoln-Sudbury 0

Dartmouth 7, Bridgewater-Raynham 0

Durfee 6, New Bedford 1

Gloucester 4, Malden Catholic 0

Maynard 2, Hudson 1

Medfield 6, Nipmuc 1

Milton Academy 1, Rivers 1

Nantucket 1, Falmouth 0

Natick 2, Needham 1

Plymouth North 1, Whitman-Hanson 1

Sutton 3, Medway 2

Swampscott 4, Bedford 0

Wachusett 4, Westwood 1

Waltham 2, Everett 0

Wellesley 7, Wayland 0

FOOTBALL

Abington 33, East Bridgewater 13

Andover 22, Central Catholic 20

Barnstable 48, Newton North 8

Bellingham 35, Millis 0

Belmont 43, Woburn 35

Belmont Hill 34, Thayer Academy 12

Billerica 41, North Andover 22

Bishop Stang 23, Archbishop Williams 0

Boston Latin 28, Weston 21

Bourne 28, Case 24

Cambridge 14, Acton-Boxboro 13

Carver 45, Hull 0

Cohasset 42, Mashpee 0

Danvers 21, Masconomet 0

Dartmouth 35, Bridgewater-Raynham 22

Dedham 43, Medway 7

Dennis-Yarmouth 41, Durfee 22

Dexter Southfield 38, New Hampton 0

Dighton-Rehoboth 35, Nauset 26

Duxbury 35, Whitman-Hanson 7

East Boston 14, Latin Academy 8

Fairhaven 40, Seekonk 0

Foxboro 35, Canton 0

Franklin 21, Attleboro 14

Greater New Bedford 23, Apponequet 14

Haverhill 42, Dracut/Innovation 6

Holbrook/Avon 32, Cape Cod Tech 22

Hudson 40, North Middlesex 21

King Philip 23, Milford 14

Lawrence Academy 31, St. Sebastian’s 28

Lincoln-Sudbury 29, Concord-Carlisle 20

Lynn English 20, Somerville 6

Manchester-Essex 37, Lowell Catholic 6

Marshfield 49, Plymouth North 21

Martha’s Vineyard 26, St. John Paul II 6

Medford 44, Chelsea 6

Melrose 42, Watertown 8

Methuen 27, Tewksbury 24

Middleboro 24, Rockland 14

Nashoba Tech 35, Lynn Tech 22

Needham 33, Weymouth 7

Newburyport 42, Triton 0

North Attleboro 14, Lynnfield 11

North Reading 35, Essex Tech 0

Northeast 28, Greater Lowell 8

Norton 28, Dover-Sherborn 10

Norwell 33, Sandwich 6

O’Bryant 14, English/New Mission 0

Old Colony 38, Upper Cape 0

Old Rochester 32, Somerset Berkley 20

Peabody 28, Gloucester 7

Pentucket/Georgetown 33, Ipswich 0

Randolph 35, Brighton 26

Rivers 42, Brooks 19

St. Mary’s (L) 12, Cardinal Spellman 0

Scituate 42, North Quincy 28

Shawsheen 36, Greater Lawrence 6

South Shore 43, Wareham 28

Stoneham 41, Burlington 32

Taunton 21, Milton 15

Wakefield 16, Wilmington 3

Walpole 37, Braintree 3

Wayland 28, Bedford 14

West Bridgewater 28, Blue Hills 14

Westford Academy 21, Chelmsford 19

Westwood 44, Norwood 28

Winchester 31, Arlington 14

Winthrop 20, Salem 19

Xaverian 41, Malden Catholic 0

BOYS SOCCER

Abington 2, Mashpee 2

Archbishop Williams 3, Cardinal Spellman 0

Brighton 1, TechBoston 1

Charlestown 2, Pioneer Charter 1

Dartmouth 3, Apponequet 0

East Boston 1, North Quincy 1

Hamilton-Wenham 2, North Reading 0

Latin Academy 1, Excel Charter 0

Lexington 2, Reading 2

Lynnfield 3, Amesbury 0

Newburyport 2, Georgetown 1

Newton South 2, Westford Academy 1

Plymouth North 2, Plymouth South 1

Rockland 4, Randolph 0

St. John Paul II 6, Sturgis East 0

St. John’s Prep 1, Masconomet 0

St. Mark’s 3, Dexter Southfield 1

Swampscott 3, Salem 1

Wakefield 6, Stoneham 0

Westport 4, Southeastern 0

Winchester 4, Woburn 2

GIRLS SOCCER

Abington 3, Mashpee 1

Berwick 1, Montrose 0

Blue Hills 3, Bristol Aggie 0

Chelmsford 5, Tewksbury 1

Dexter Southfield 4, New Hampton 1

Excel Charter 2, O’Bryant 0

Foxboro 3, Walpole 1

Gloucester 3, Lowell Catholic 1

Hamilton-Wenham 1, North Reading 1

Ipswich 1, Pentucket 1

Lynnfield 4, Amesbury 1

Norwell 1, East Bridgewater 0

Notre Dame (H) 3, Silver Lake 2

St. John Paul II 8, Sturgis East 2

St. Mark’s 2, Dana Hall 1

Sandwich 5, Middleboro 2

Tabor 2, St. George’s 0

Triton 1, Manchester Essex 0

Wakefield 2, Stoneham 0

Walpole 3, Foxboro 1

Wilmington 4, Watertown 0

Winchester 0, Woburn 0

SWIMMING

Andover 108, Chelmsford 78

Haverhill 99, Central Catholic 85

Methuen/Tewksbury 100, Lowell 67

Needham 98, Wellesley 86

VOLLEYBALL

Acton-Boxboro 3, Cambridge 0

Algonquin 3, Nipmuc 0

Andover 3, Central Catholic 0

Attleboro 3, Taunton 0

Beaver Country Day 3, Wheeler 1

Billerica 3, Lowell 0

Boston English 3, Muniz 0

Bourne 3, Greater New Bedford 0

Bishop Fenwick 3, Hamilton-Wenham 2

Brooks 3, Pingree 0

BB&N 3, Groton 1

Canton 3, Oliver Ames 2

Cathedral 3, Brighton 1

Chelsea 3, East Boston 0

Dartmouth 3, Bridgewater-Raynham 0

Dearborn 3, Pacific Rim 2

Dennis-Yarmouth 3, Marshfield 0

Essex Tech 3, Masconomet 1

Excel 3, Dearborn 0

Greater Lawrence 3, Nashoba Tech 0

Hingham 3, Norwell 0

King Philip 3, Milford 0

Mashpee 3, Abington 0

Nauset 3, Monomoy 0

Newton South 3, Wayland 1

Quincy 3, Brockton 0

Reading 3, Arlington Catholic 0

Sandwich 3, Randolph 0

Shawsheen 3, Wilmington 2

Silver Lake 3, Braintree 0

Snowden 3, O’Bryant 2

Stoneham 3, Somerville 2

Swampscott 3, Northeast 0

Tabor 3, St. George’s 0

Wachusett 4, Westwood 1

Weston 3, Concord-Carlisle 2

Woburn 3, Beverly 0

With Carroll County taking center stage during the Ravens RISE High School Football Showdown, Liberty and Westminster received pregame speeches from Ravens receivers as Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman spent time with the players before Friday night’s showdown.

“I told them to cherish it,” Flowers, who spoke to the Lions, said. “When you grow up, these are the memories that are going to be with you forever. Some of those guys will be your friends for life.”

Bateman shared similar sentiments with the Owls as the entire team quickly huddled around the 2021 first-round pick.

“I told them this time goes fast,” he said. “My whole senior year was incredible. We won a lot of games and made it pretty far. You never forget that.”

Players on both teams won’t forget the back-and-forth action Friday night as they brought a playoff-like intensity to one of the final games of the regular season. Ultimately, the Owls pulled away, 21-17, with late touchdowns from Kyrece Walker and Raquan Warfield and a game-sealing interception from Rakim Warfield.

”We knew they were going to give us a fight from the beginning,” Westminster coach Chris Bassler said. “We showed our toughness and resiliency tonight.”

It was Walker’s resiliency on display throughout the second half as the Owls needed their star quarterback to come through. Carter Kendricks and Nico Marsicano’s pressure caused Walker to fumble the ball and recover it in the end zone for a safety. But shortly after, the senior responded with a 94-yard touchdown run down the Liberty sideline to end the third quarter.

“I never put too much stock in any one play, good or bad,” Walker, who finished with two rushing touchdowns, said. “As our leader, I have to have a short memory and bounce back.”

Despite the loss Liberty, desperate to bounce back from last week’s overtime defeat in South Carroll, might have found the key to a deep playoff run: get the ball to Tristan West.

West dominated the second half in a variety of ways. With Kevin Poole out injured and the Owls focused on preventing the deep ball, West and quarterback Chase Miller gladly took the underneath yardage. West would catch a short pass and take off for huge gains.

On a key drive in the fourth quarter, West was the go-to guy, catching a deep ball to get into Owls territory. After pushing Miller into the end zone Philadelphia Eagles style, West caught the two-point conversion to put the Lions up late.

Finding his team down, it was Walker’s time yet again as he engineered the go-ahead drive to clinch the game for the Owls. When the Lions defensive line stopped runs up the middle for short gains, Walker used his speed to break outside and gain the edge over the tired Lions defenders. It was the Warfield show from then on as Raquan’s go-ahead touchdown put the Owls up.

They got the final stop they needed thanks to Rakim, as his interception sealed the deal and gave the Owls the win.

“We don’t break,” Rakim Warfield said. “We don’t back down no matter how the game goes.”

Now with the Lions in the rear view, the Owls can look ahead to next week’s winner-take-all all game at home for the county title against unbeaten Winters Mill. Bassler knows his squad can compete with anyone as they look to clinch the county title and make a deep playoff run.

“They gave us everything we can handle and we responded,” he said. “I’m proud of our guys.”

()

Patients across the country deserve the best possible care outcome, no matter where they live

Current national strategies intended to improve the quality of patient care have led to the unwarranted variations in effectiveness, efficiency, and safety we see today. While some successes have been reported, we often see mediocre care at best. But it is not for a lack of trying. Hospitals and healthcare systems are dedicating large resources, efforts, and energy towards achieving better quality. Yet, despite best intentions, our healthcare system is failing to achieve the kind of quality we want for our patients, and the type of care patients want for themselves. We need to do better.

The good news is that over the last 25 years we have been quietly developing, learning, and successfully implementing a reproducible model for achieving high quality in surgery. We have learned from over 2,500 hospital implementations and believe now is an appropriate time to share our model with others in the healthcare landscape who are also striving to achieve better quality and outcomes.

The keys to our quality model are multifold; first, setting standards that span the care continuum while simultaneously aligning the multidisciplinary team of providers. The standards are evidence-based and focus on an inclusive programmatic view of care, including program-based staffing, requisite resources, and clinical processes. Together they produce an integration that has led to higher safety, efficiency, and effectiveness. Secondly, the model incorporates data to continuously inform and expectedly course correct to further improve the delivered care – thus supporting a true learning healthcare environment. Finally, to provide a level of assurance to patients, and all stakeholders, we have a streamlined verification process that ensures care and providers are meeting these evidenced standards.

This relatively simple yet comprehensive model has produced a sustained level of better results even if care is multi-sited (e.g., inpatient and outpatient) and complex. We share three examples. For decades, trauma centers have been going through processes to prove that they abide by a specific set of standards and have the resources and processes in place to provide quality care and improve outcomes for patients. These standards and resources allow doctors and care teams to react quickly and confidently in these highly complex, high acuity, and urgent situations. According to clinical data published in the New England Journal of Medicine, patients are 20% less likely to die in a trauma center than a non-trauma center, and patients with highest injury severity score are 30% less likely to die.

Similarly, it is crucial that the diagnosis and treatment for a person with breast cancer is correct and the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) has been publishing a set of standards for almost 20 years for treating patients with breast cancer. Breast cancer care is multisite, multidisciplinary, and multitherapeutic, adding variables that could cause delays, complications, and a lack of best-in-class care at different stages of the process. Data shows that the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer performed 20-50% better in centers that are accredited than centers that are not accredited, showing how these standards can reduce inefficiencies in the overall process for a patient.

And a decade ago, bariatric surgery was not safe. The mortality rate for this elective surgery was 7% until the bariatric surgeons of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) developed programs that have improved the outcomes of these surgeries. Despite treating a high-risk population, bariatric surgery is now one of the safest surgical operations in the U.S.

Why have we not shared this model previously? We probably should have, but hindsight is 20/20. The strategy two decades ago to use formally endorsed quality metrics across healthcare seemed reasonable at the time. However, problems with this strategy have arisen including unwanted variations in quality and escalating costs reported to be in the neighborhood of $5 million. Notably, the current quality system is also leading to provider burnout. This is not what we envisioned. We need a better strategy.

Why share now? Because we believe we have a strategy that could substantially help the quality problem in the U.S system. It has already worked across different diseases (e.g., malignant/benign, emergent/urgent/elective) and a spectrum of settings (e.g., rural/urban, small/medium/large hospitals, teaching/nonteaching). It builds on lessons from implementation in 2,500 hospitals/systems, and moreover, addresses shortcomings seen in our current quality strategies.

At the end of the day, if we can scale proven approaches to achieving high-quality care and outcomes, we can save lives, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. And while some hospitals have already prioritized quality using these programs, perhaps it’s time that more hospitals do so. Many hospitals do not know how they are doing or how many false negatives are leading to missed problems. This is why, in an effort to help hospitals, the ACS has launched a national, multi-year effort called the Power of Quality Campaign. ACS Quality Programs offer a roadmap for an entire care team to achieve high-quality and reduce variability. Implementing programs based on high standards give our hospitals the guidance they need to focus on real improvement.

Quality improvement is an ongoing journey and requires commitment and perseverance because it is hard work. If we together continue to improve standards of care in every hospital in America and build real quality and value, we can ensure all patients will have access to the high-quality care they deserve.

Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, FASCRS, is Director of the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care at the American College of Surgeons