Category Archive for "Needham"

Spotlighting former Needham standout athlete Eric Johnson

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

One could certainly call Eric Johnson accomplished. Born and raised in Needham, Johnson attended both Needham High School and Belmont Hill, where he played football as a wide receiver, as well as basketball. Johnson’s efforts on the gridiron and in...

Senior salute: Middlebury’s Danny Jacobs

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

Needham native Danny Jacobs was living the dream: a senior lacrosse player at Middlebury College in Vermont preparing to cap off his athletic and academic career this spring.

Nicknamed “Diesel” by teammates, the 5’10,” 175-Ib attack-man out of Nobles was set...

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

The MIAA has pushed back the potential start of the 2020 spring athletic season to May 4, at the earliest, the organization announced on March 30. Originally scheduled to resume on April 27, the decision to push back the start of the season an...

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By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor It has been a special season for the Needham High School girls varsity basketball team in 2019-2020. An 18-2 regular season allotted the Rockets the No. 2 seed in Division I South. Entering the season, many believed Needham would be a state championship contender. So did the Rockets,...

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By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor The Needham High School varsity girls hockey team took to the ice at Babson Skating Center last Wednesday evening as the Rockets (12-5-2, 9-4-1) looked to bounce back from a 3-2 defeat to Braintree on February 8. Just 38 seconds in, sophomore winger Maddie Ledbury fired home a...

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By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor The Needham High School varsity boys basketball team hosted reigning Division II state champ TechBoston Academy on Saturday night in a battle between two of the top programs in the state. From the start, Needham was in control. Behind a trio of double-figure scoring performances by senior captain...

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By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor The Needham and Walpole High School girls varsity basketball teams met for the third and final time this 2019-2020 season on Tuesday night with both teams looking to secure a victory and take the season series. Needham defeated Walpole, 44-28, back on December 18. The Rebels (9-4, 5-3)...

Spirited gymnastics team falls in tough meet

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By Maddie Gerber Hometown Weekly Intern On Friday night, a patched-up Needham team, missing many integral gymnasts including captains Jackie Alford and Amanda Cohen, fell to Weymouth by a score of 123.3-128.2, giving the Rockets the second loss of their 1-2 season. “The beginning of this season has been a little rocky from the...

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By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor Braintree has served as Needham’s kryptonite in girls basketball over the last two seasons. In 2018-2019, the Needham girls dropped both regular season contests to Braintree as the Wamps took the Herget Division title. In the postseason, Needham and Braintree met in the Division I South finals, with...

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By Maddie Gerber Hometown Weekly Intern Last Tuesday night, the Rockets managed to overcome a tough first half against Weymouth to eventually best the Wildcats, 60-31, adding another win to their already-impressive 5-1 record. Although the girls had just come off an easy victory over King Philip’s last Saturday, they struggled in the first...

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By James Kinneen Hometown Weekly Reporter On Saturday afternoon, the varsity girls’ basketball game between Needham and King Philip High School was delayed by almost an hour due to an intense JV game between the two teams, which culminated in a double overtime King Philip victory. Hopefully the varsity fans that wanted to see...

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By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor A 14-6 regular season earned the Needham High School boys varsity basketball team the No. 7 seed in Division I South last winter. The Rockets drew a tough first-round matchup, having to face Catholic Conference power and No. 10 Xaverian in the first round. Needham fell, 62-47. In...

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By James Kinneen Hometown Weekly Reporter As any fan of Super 8 hockey will tell you, when a public school comes up against a Catholic Conference powerhouse, the results are rarely good for the public school kids. Whether it’s their ability to recruit players from many towns, private school finances, or having twice as many...

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By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor A 15-5 regular season helped the Needham High School girls varsity basketball team to the No. 2 seed in Division I South in 2018-2019. The Rockets took down No. 13 Brockton (40-26) in the opening round before a 57-41 victory against No. 12 Bishop Feehan in the quarterfinals....

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By Maddie Gerber Hometown Weekly Intern The Needham-Wellesley football rivalry is notorious for being the oldest in the country, and a much-anticipated tradition for both communities. However, the 132nd game ended with both teams throwing fists rather than throwing passes in a massive, bench-clearing brawl. As a result, the referees called the game...

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By James Kinneen Hometown Weekly Reporter Maybe the pregame bonfire Needham High School held to motivate their athletes had the Rockets a little too fired up before they played Wellesley for the Gorman Cup, leading to the heated exchanges that resulted in the game being called early. While the game didn’t go the way...

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By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor After capturing the South title the previous weekend with a 5-2 victory against Brockton, the Needham High School varsity boys soccer team took out North champ Lincoln-Sudbury, 2-1, in overtime of the state semifinals in thrilling fashion to earn a trip to Worcester for Saturday’s state final contest...

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By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor Expectations are always high for the Needham High boys varsity soccer team. Entering the fall, there were significant question marks surrounding Jimmy Odierna’s club, especially considering the departure of a large 2019 senior class that made up the majority of the Rockets starting lineup last season. Despite...

Girls volleyball takes first-ever state title

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By Maddie Gerber Hometown Weekly Intern On their road to the state championship this season, the Needham girls volleyball team has amassed quite a following. Throngs of those followers packed into the busy Worcester State University gymnasium last Saturday night expecting a great game. They were not disappointed, as the girls clinched their...

Category Archives: Needham

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