21 Oct 2023

Quincy/North Quincy girls run to third at Dick Atkinson Invitational

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NORTHFIELD — The Northfield Mountain setting in Western Mass. is a brutally tough course on a good day with its notorious three-quarter mile grind that has brought several elite harriers to their knees over the years.

Throw in abysmal weather like the harriers faced in Saturday’s Dick Atkinson Invitational and it was downright harrowing.

The Quincy/North Quincy girls wound up thriving in the downpour and slick conditions to finish a strong third place with 124 points. Bromfield ran away with the team title with just 46 points and Hamilton-Wenham took second. Q/NQ head coach Geoff Hennessy wanted the girls to get used to a hilly course because the Div. 1 class meets are slated for the hilly Gardner Golf Course layout in November.

“Now we know they can handle anything,” said Hennessy after the soggy race. “It was impossible to get any traction. It was very difficult. We thought the kids needed to get on a hilly course before Gardner. We did well.”

Salma Boukhtam was just out of the top 10 with her 11th-place over the 5K course and her time of 22:18.32 wasn’t indicative of how well she ran. Last Saturday, Boukhtam clocked a 19:17 for 24th place at the Twilight Invitational in Barnstable.

“I know what she’s capable of on a dry course,” said Hennessy.

Eastern Mass. had several strong performances in the tough conditions. Norfolk County Agricultural’s Madelyn Germain was a solid third in 20:30.60 and Hamilton-Wenham’s Grace Richard (21:53.70) and Charlotte Madden (21:57.23) were seventh and eighth respectively. Julia Parsons of Amesbury was 12th in 22:18.45 and Aluna Coogan-Coyne of Q/NQ was 13th in 22:22.20. Megan Moran of Westfield was the winner in 19:54.07.

Ben McWaters of Bromfield captured the boys varsity race in 17:32.94, while a slew of Eastern Mass. runners finished in the top 15. Hamilton-Wenham’s James Regan was second in 17:44.28 and teammates Ben Rich (fourth, 17:52.86), Clark Glidden (eighth, 18:19.53) and Cole Regan (13th, 18:38.67) cracked the top 15. Ben McCarthy of Millis was sixth in 18:18.17, Zach Lyon of Triton was 14th in 18:39.77 and Q/NQ’s Ryan Aitsaid took 15th in 18:50.99.

Hamilton-Wenham was second to Bromfield (39 points) with 47 points.

21 Oct 2023

Boston College rolls over Georgia Tech for second ACC win

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Boston College opened the second half of the season with a 38-23 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.

BC improved to 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the ACC, with its third straight win and sets up a regional revenge match against UConn on Oct. 28.

“It was a big win and to have momentum to get a three-game win streak going and 2-2 in the ACC,” said BC coach Jeff Hafley. “I was really proud of … how they approached the bye week, they didn’t treat it as a vacation, they worked and kept getting better.”

BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos completed 17 passes for 255 yards and rushed for 128 on 13 carries with two touchdowns. Tailback Kye Robichaux rushed for 165 yards on 21 carries and two scores. BC rolled up 563 yards of total offense and outscored Georgia Tech 21-0 in the fourth quarter.

The three scorers in the game, Castellanos (Waycross), Robichaux (Columbus) and cornerback Amari Jackson (McDonough), who had a pick six, are all Georgia natives playing in front of family and friends.

“This was my first time playing at home in college and my whole family came out because they don’t get to see me play very often,” said Robichaux. “It was a great atmosphere.”

BC began its second possession on its own 12 and reached the Tech 12 on a 45-yard toss from Castellanos to Robichaux. The drive stalled inside the 10 and BC went up 3-0 on a 24-yard field goal by Liam Connor with 8:52 to play.

Georgia Tech countered with a ground based 69-yard drive on 10 plays and went up 7-3 with 3:49 to play. Tailback Jamal King went around right tackle and scored on a 16-yard for his fourth of the season.

BC went up 10-7 on a pick six with 1:42 to play in the first. The Eagles front seven brought pressure on King, who threw a sideline pass to split end Dominick Blaylock. Jackson, a sophomore cornerback, caught the ball with one hand and returned it 30 yards to the house with his first pick of the season.

“Ant time you can get a takeaway and score that early in the game, that was a big play,” said Hafley. “It was cool for Amari, a kid from Georgia, and I’m proud of him and happy for him.”

The Yellow Jackets tied the game 10-10 on a sustained drive that began on the Tech 10 and fizzled out on the BC 29. Place kicker Aidan Birr split the goal posts from 46 yards with 6:03 to play in the half.

BC closed out the half with a 13-play, 75-yard, scoring march that featured two drive extending plays and gave the Eagles a 17-10 lead at the break. Castellanos completed a 30-yard toss to tight end Jeremiah Franklin on second and 22 and followed with an 11-yard run on fourth and one to the Tech 12. Castellanos scored on a keeper with 52 seconds remaining for his eighth rushing TD of the season.

BC opened the third with a sustained drive that was snuffed out Tech cornerback Ahmari Harvey intercepted Castellanos in the Tech end zone. Georgia Tech tied the game 17-17 just four snaps later when King went 71 yards on a keeper with 12:06 to play. The run was the longest play by King in his college career.

Tech went up 23-17 on an 89-yard drive with 2:08 to play. The big play was a 37-yard slide screen to tailback Trey Cooley. Tight end Avery Boyd scored on a 17-yard pass from King for his second of the season. Birr’s PAT kick failed.

Castellanos opened the fourth quarter with a 27-yard pass to tight end George Takacs to the Georgia Tech 2. Robichaux scored over right guard and Connor made the PAT to put BC up 24-23 with 14:27 to play.

BC went up 31-23 when Castellanos ran 43 yards on a fourth and one with 8:44 to play. BC cornerback Elijah Jones picked off King on the Eagles’ 40. Robichaux followed with runs of 57 and three yards to put BC up 38-23. Jones recorded his second pick with under six minutes to play.

21 Oct 2023

Venezuelans become No. 1 nationality arrested at U.S. border

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Venezuelans became the largest nationality arrested for illegally crossing the U.S. border, replacing Mexicans for the first time on record, according to figures released Saturday that show September was the second-highest month for arrests of all nationalities.

Venezuelans were arrested 54,833 times by the Border Patrol after entering from Mexico in September, more than double from 22,090 arrests in August and well above the previous monthly high of 33,749 arrests in September 2022.

Arrests of all nationalities entering from Mexico totaled 218,763 in September, up 21% from 181,084 in August and approaching an all-time high of 222,018 in December 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Arrests for the government’s budget year that ended Sept. 30 topped 2 million for the second year in a row, down 7% from an all-time high of more than 2.2 million arrests in the same period a year earlier.

Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the last decade, pushing more than 7 million people to leave. They initially settled in nearby countries in Latin America but began coming to the United States in the last three years, settling in New York, Chicago and other major cities.

The Biden administration recently announced temporary legal status for nearly 500,000 Venezuelans who were already in the United States on July 31, while vowing to deport those who come illegally after that date and fail to get asylum. It recently began deportation flights to Venezuela as part of a diplomatic thaw with the government of Nicolás Maduro, a longtime adversary.

The U.S. “surged resources and personnel” to the border in September, said Troy Miller, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.

“We are continually engaging with domestic and foreign partners to address historic hemispheric migration, including large migrant groups traveling on freight trains, and to enforce consequences including by preparing for direct repatriations to Venezuela,” Miller said.

For decades, Mexicans accounted for the vast majority of illegal crossings but flows shifted over the last decade to Central Americans and, more recently, to people from South America, Africa and Asia.

Mexicans were arrested 39,733 times crossing the border in September, well behind Venezuelans. Guatemalans, Hondurans and Colombians rounded out the top five.

Republicans seized on the latest numbers as its leading presidential candidates have tried to frame the border as a major issue in next year’s elections.

“This fiscal year may have ended, but the historic crisis at our Southwest border sparked by (Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro) Mayorkas’ policies rages on,” said Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The Biden administration proposed about $14 billion for the border in a $106 billion spending package announced Friday and has insisted that any long-term solution requires help from Congress.

21 Oct 2023

Gophers’ self destruction led to Hawkeyes important first-half touchdown

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Gophers continually fell apart at the end of the first half against the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.

Minnesota was flagged four times as Iowa was able to go 46 yards to take a 10-3 lead at the break.

“As undisciplined as we’ve ever been,” P.J. Fleck said at halftime on KFAN.

The Gophers average only three penalties per game this season, which is one of the lowest rates in the country. A lack of flags have been a standard under Fleck.

On third and four with three minutes left in the half, the Gophers had wrapped up Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill for a no gain, but defensive end Danny Striggow was flagged for a face masking penalty.

Later on in the series, the Gophers had a pass interference penalty on cornerback Justin Walley on a second down. Iowa got a first down.

On the next play, defensive end Jah Joyner was flagged for offside at the 6-yard line. Iowa got a first down at the 3.

Then on third down at the 1, Tyler Nubin was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for poking the ball away once Hill’s sneak attempt was stopped. Iowa got another first down and Hill scored.

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