No matter the sport, a Hingham vs Duxbury matchup always hits a little bit differently It could be anything from tiddlywinks to a cooking competition Dragons games are always the ones circled on the schedule Tuesday was no different as Hingham girls lacrosse hosted Duxbury for their one meeting of the regular season Hingham jumped out to a 4-1 lead after a quarter but could not keep the momentum going losing the lead early in the third quarter and eventually falling 11-9 “The rivalry is real and we are happy to be on the winning side of it this season,” said Duxbury head coach Colby Bartro who got four goals from Maggie Slimbaugh and some great goaltending from junior Noah Edwards to help the seniors on her team pick up their first win over Duxbury “The rivalry is certainly there in all of the sports,” said Hingham head coach Carla Farkes “I think it’s good for the kids to play in games like this As of late the winner of this game usually goes on to win the Patriot League championship They played the better game today and deserved the win.” Hingham senior captain Caroline Connolly scored four goals in the loss that dropped their record to 6-4 at the midpoint of the regular season The difference between the 6-4 mark and being 10-0 is seven goals (a three-goal loss to Westwood and one-goal losses to Penn Yan Academy and Concord-Carlisle) “We’re super young with a lot of freshmen and sophomores who are still learning things about how to play at this level We’re getting experience during the season and sort of learning along the way,” said Farkes “Hopefully we’ll learn from the mistakes we’ve made and be a better team for it These are the experiences that will get us ready for the postseason.” More: Up to the challenge: Jake Bellomy stepping up, stepping in net for Hingham boys lacrosse Connolly scored twice and Maeve Maroney as well as Jenna Varholak both had a goal to lift Hingham to a 4-1 lead after one quarter Duxbury came back to tie the game 5-5 at the half and then took over the game after the break “The first quarter wasn’t indicative of how we generally play Fortunately they realized that and adjusted things to allow us to play better from there on out,” said Bartro We are very lucky to have a great goalie coach (Erica Brothers) working with the girls this season She’s really inspired the goalies and taught them some great skills.” While there will be no second meeting in the regular season a playoff contest is in the realm of possibility Duxbury (8-2) was fifth and Hingham was sixth in the opening Division 2 state tournament power rankings The Powder Point Bridge will be temporarily closed to drivers, pedestrians and cyclists for about two months starting Monday as repairs are being made to the passageway to Duxbury Beach. Crews will be adding sister piles, bracing and shimming to fortify the bridge’s structure, the town’s public works department said in a public notice The bid was awarded to Quincy-based ACK Marine & General Contracting for $451,000 Much of the west parking lot of Powder Point Avenue will be used for the staging of equipment and materials The bridge is expected to reopen on or before March 31 More: 'They're beautiful': 2 snowy owls hold court on Duxbury Beach as photographers gaze in awe Powder Point Bridge spans the meeting point of the Back River and Duxbury Bay connecting Powder Point to the barrier beach of Duxbury Beach The wooden bridge first opened in 1892 and stretches 2,200 feet A fire in 1985 damaged the structure but it was rebuilt the next year The state transportation department told the town in 2001 that the bridge was in “a state of deterioration,” Duxbury Town Manager Rene Read told the select board in October The bridge is on the department’s “Transportation Improvement Plan” as a proposed replacement project The town has invested in several repair projects to the bridge over the years. In 2012, voters approved the town to borrow $2.4 million for bridge repairs Hannah Morse covers growth and development for The Patriot Ledger. Contact her at hmorse@patriotledger.com DUXBURY — The Duxbury High baseball team dove head-first into success this spring There was no hesitation when Sam Szczesny saw the ball loosely scamper away from the catcher's radius The junior made a break for it and kicked up a cloud of dust as he slid on his stomach into home plate to score the winning run as the Dragons completed a three-run comeback late to defeat Braintree Gotta save that highlight It's one of the many stacking up in Duxbury's 8-win a refreshing turnaround since it ended last year with a 4-15 record “This was definitely one of the better ones," Szczesny said of his play “The other day I told (Duxbury sports reporter) Trevor Hass that my favorite game was the walk-off vs but I think this is now my favorite," said senior pitcher Brady Wilson Friday's win over Braintree adds another high-profile win to the Dragons' growing collection. So far, that's a list that already includes convincing results over North Quincy (12-2) Whitman-Hanson (8-2) and Barnstable (11-8; 9-2) The lone blemish was an 8-3 defeat to Plymouth North Duxbury concluded last season on the wrong side of its final seven games I think we’ve proven ourselves to the rest of the league that we’re here to play.” The hot start comes after the return of head coach Brandon Josselyn who largely took last year off from coaching despite a minor stint helping out the staff at Silver Lake the longtime Thayer Academy and Buckingham Browne & Nichols coach The conversations about a big-time rebound started on the first day of practice this spring “I think we all took that to heart," said Wilson a right-hander with a 0.76 ERA in 18 ⅓ innings "We’ve played like we’re winners this year.” The end goal is clinching a Patriot League Keenan Division title Marshfield and Silver Lake will be stiff: “We’re willing to take that test," senior pitcher Cole Heythaler said but it’s going to be tough," said Josselyn "It’s the Patriot League — anybody can beat anybody on a given day.” The win over Braintree came without contributions from junior outfielder Jack Carney — who is "a staple in our lineup," said Josselyn — and three-hole hitter Cole Bonner though Bonner took two at-bats in extra innings It was slated to be his sixth game in the last two weeks Braintree built a 3-0 lead in the third inning but it evaporated in the sixth as Lucas Falls drove in a run on a fielder's choice and Wilson sophomore Michael Landers and sophomore Joseph Hussar drew walks with runners in scoring position to knot things “I’m happy for the kids because they deserve it," said Josselyn who led the team for seven seasons prior to the 2024 hiatus We’re good one-through-nine and the pitching has been good enough to keep teams down.” Josselyn cited the its 1-through-9 production as "one of the reasons we’ve had a lot of success," though Wilson (.381 average; .581 on-base) and Bonner (.364 but we’re so deep — it’s the deepest team I’ve ever coached bar none — that’s a nice luxury to have," Josselyn said "I feel like I can swap guys out and (not) miss a beat Duxbury went 15-8 in 2023 and finished with a one-run loss in the first round of the Division 2 state tournament The team has a combined 27 wins over the three years prior (27-27) we’re going to give it our all," Szczesny said "It’ll be awesome to see how the rest of the season unfolds — hopefully it keeps going in the direction it’s going in — but we’re ready to go.” DUXBURY — Among the many significant and historic homes found in Duxbury, the oldest is the Hunt House originally a simple cottage-style building at 8 Hounds Ditch Lane While it was built in 1641 by Edmund Hawes it was sold shortly afterward to Edmond Hunt whose family owned the house for 228 years Today, the home has been expanded to more than 3,400 square feet, with three bedrooms and three full baths. Still privately owned, it last changed hands in January 2022 for $1.25 million, according to Zillow According to Carolyn Ravenscroft, archivist and historian with The Duxbury Rural & Historical Society in September 1641 Edmund Hawes exchanged 10 acres of land for 2,000 feet of sawn boards — wood cut in a certain way from logs He built a home on the old Green’s Harbor Path It was around this time that several influential Mayflower passengers were moving to Duxbury from Plymouth John Aden built a home not far from the Hunt House Myles Standish and Elder William Bradford also settled in Duxbury known at the time as “Duxborough” or “Duxborrow.” Former Town Historian Dorothy Wentworth did an extensive study on the Hunt property She pointed out at the time that in 1870 Lucy Hunt sold the property outside of the family to John R The home proceeded to go through several more owners including the Briggs family who owned it for 35 years before selling it in 1906 to Alphens H Walker did not reside in the house; rather he had it stripped to a bare interior and used it to store grain and tools The house underwent a full restoration in 1962 The living space was enlarged with two additions that did not deter from the original style or design Among the more modern additions are a great room with large fireplace a cathedral-ceiling kitchen and large basement with cedar closet and workshop "There are many old Colonial homes in Duxbury but the age of the Hunt House and its meticulous preservation "It is a beautiful example of an early Colonial DUXBURY – Henry Perda has been a familiar face at Percy Walker pool since he was 7 Duxbury High swimming coach Doug Backlund remembers kids in Perda's youth swim class jumping off the diving board I can’t wait until he’s on the high school team,'" Backlund said Perda had long dreamed of having his name posted on the Duxbury High swimming record board that still overlooks the pool The 6-foot senior played a part in the 200-meter medley relay squad that set the record (1:40.00) at the Division 2 state championship last winter But just as Perda glances up at his name on the leaderboard another glance downward reminds him of how taxing the journey was to get here At 15, Perda was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, a heart condition in which muscles tighten and restrict blood flow. He was put on a waitlist for a new heart after spending multiple extended stints at Boston Children's Hospital, and the eventual transplant cost him his sophomore season in 2022-23 “It was astonishing,” teammate Noah Williamson said Perda bounced back strong as a junior in 2023-24 by pitching in on the school record as well as making the Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic first team he has set personal bests in the 50 freestyle (0:22.7) and 100 freestyle (0:50.3) "He has someone else’s heart inside of him It’s a testament to Henry’s ability to work through stuff Perda came back from summer break and experienced episodes of shortness of breath and low blood pressure "The people I’d normal race with at practice More: Defending champs and would-be champs: South Shore top 10 high school girls hockey rankings "no one could figure out what was wrong with me," Perda said Then came the restrictive cardiomyopathy diagnosis He was told that the condition was rare; his heart muscles were always tense and unable to relax The best course of action was a heart transplant Perda expected to wait six to eight months for the heart donation but two weeks into his second full-time stay at the hospital a call at 2 in the morning revealed there was a heart available and Perda was asleep for three consecutive days in the aftermath I had tubes coming out of me and it took three people to help me walk – one person carrying oxygen was out of school until the spring due to the extensive recovery period and concerns about catching COVID-19 He returned in time to attend the team's end-of-year banquet and his teammates included him in the order of the team sweatshirts and T-shirts Perda was back in the pool by the summer of 2023 “I had to learn how to swim again," Perda said "It’s not like you pick up where you left off which is located in Kingston and run by Jay Craft Perda started with two sessions per week and increased that number over time Perda was back with the high school team as a junior the ensuing 2023-24 season Perda finished second in the 50 and 100 freestyles at the league championships as Duxbury earned the league crown “It was like he never left the pool," Williamson said I’ll probably be at this level … maybe.’ Nope He was lapping me constantly and it was hard to keep up.” More: Highlighting the best: 2024 South Shore high school girls volleyball All-Scholastics Right before Division 2 states at MIT, Backlund told the 200 medley relay squad of Perda, Williamson, and brothers Theo and Sam Morse that, given the unit's talent, there was potential to break the school record of 1:40.50 set in 2022. who completed his leg of the race in 0:21.7 his personal-best mark by just under two seconds "I never thought I’d get back to that level.” but I had so many people that I can’t name – doctors physical therapy people – telling me I could do it," Perda said my teammates – it’s because of them I got back as Perda walks into practice at the Percy Walker pool It'll remain after he departs for Northeastern University next year “It’s the most rewarding feeling," Perda said it’s because of the three other kids on the relay and all of our teammates supporting us Perda is now in the midst of his senior season and he said he already sees personal improvements from last year He and Williamson return to the 200-medley relay squad and Aidan Hall and Myles Andrew are potential replacements for the Morse brothers; Theo graduated last spring and Sam transferred to a private school in the offseason This will be Perda's final year swimming competitively as Northeastern University does not offer a men's team "I want to focus on other parts of my life," Perda said of his future "Swimming has been a huge part of my life for 10 years and I want to move on and keep the memories I have WORCESTER — In 2021, the Duxbury High girls soccer team won four games Duxbury took it to a whole different level Duxbury finished 20-2-1 and reached the Division 2 final at Worcester State The Dragons 14-game unbeaten streak was halted on Saturday as Duxbury fell to top-seeded Masconomet Regional The key to the Dragons’ dramatic improvement and sometimes there’s not,” said Duxbury coach Rob Jones “This group felt something special in terms of the chemistry that they had.” Leading the Dragons were their three forwards ‒ senior Megan Carney junior Lauren Sutliffe and sophomore Olivia Coperine a two-time state champion on the girls hockey team scored three goals as a junior before breaking out this season “She scored three goals last season and to then became an Eastern Mass All-State and to take her game to 28 goals or whatever it was which hasn’t lost a regular-season game since 2021 was led by Maggie Blosser (two goals) and Amanda Schneider (three goals) on Saturday More: 'She's made unbelievable strides': Duxbury soccer captain returns following health scares Carney blasted a shot off the post that did not go in Blosser led a streaking Schneider for a goal to put Masco up 3-0 in the 39th minute Schneider became the sixth player to tally a hat trick in state championship history Braintree High’s Amy Caldwell owns the all-time record with four goals during a 2006 triumph over Ludlow the Dragons finished 12-6-2 and reached the Div but the way they came together this year with the leadership and the environment they created is what pushed them to places that they deserved to go to,” said Jones The Dragons will graduate nine seniors - Phoebe Robert, Parker Metzler who missed most of the season due to illness Although Duxbury graduates a big senior class the future for the program still looks bright “We’ve still got a load of freshmen and sophomores playing for us Our key is to build on this and take it to next level and strive to get better.” DUXBURY − Powder Point Bridge has reopened to the public in time for your spring walks The easiest accessway to Duxbury Beach was temporarily closed to drivers, pedestrians and cyclists on Jan. 20 for an estimated two months It reopened more than a week ahead of the target end date of March 31 The 2,200-foot span is one of the longest wooden bridges in the country It leads to Duxbury Beach and the Gurnet Saquish peninsula The town Department of Public Works announced Friday that the $451,000 project had been completed and the bridge reopened The bridge is inspected annually and this year bracing and shimming to fortify the bridge’s structure Quincy-based ACK Marine & General Contracting did the work under contract The town's Beach Operations has also announced the new spring crossover hours for vehicles to drive out onto sections of the beach are Monday through Thursday between 8 a.m This access is always tide and weather dependent For more information about beach stickers and beach operations In recent years, work has been done to haul in more than 200,000 tons of sand to rebuild the dunes; the trucks have used the road through Marshfield The snowy forecast would suggest otherwise which are often limited in number and do sell out Duxbury and Kingston but aren’t a resident you’ll soon have the opportunity to get your hands on a coveted beach parking sticker Here's what we know about when 2025 stickers go on sale what you get access to and how much they cost you can have access to all Scituate beaches only Monday through Friday you can park at only Humarock Beach any day of the week There are 150 nonresident all beach stickers and 200 Humarock only stickers available Beach stickers are mandatory in Scituate from Memorial Day Residents or Scituate property owners can also buy their beach stickers starting on Feb which is privately managed) is free for anyone More: No permit? No problem. Beaches relax rules after Labor Day. And free parking, too! Just 200 nonresident stickers to park at Gray’s Beach Park in Kingston will be available for sale online on April 1 starting at 9 a.m MANSFIELD – Megan Carney kept turning out the lights The Duxbury senior flipped the switch three times in leading her team to the state finals for the first time in 16 years Carney’s hat trick and assist paced the No 2 Dragons to a 5-2 victory Tuesday night over Westborough and a trip to face No 1 and undefeated Masconomet on Saturday (10 a.m.) at Worcester State “It’s great to see all of our hard work pay off Carney scored in the second minute to put Duxbury (20-1-1) ahead to stay Just after the Rangers cut their deficit to 2-1 Carney scored at the other end for a two-goal cushion at halftime Carney set up Lauren Sutliffe in the second half and later completed her hat trick as the Alumni Field lights flicked on and off “A big part of our pregame talk was to go out strong so we can get momentum throughout the game,” she said “That’s been important for us throughout the playoffs.”  Regan Sullivan headed in a corner kick for the team’s first goal and Lauren Klein made it 4-2 with 22 minutes remaining But Carney’s third tally salted away the game. She nearly scored No. 4 when Duxbury keeper Grey Metzler came out to nearly half field to send a through ball to Carney, but Westborough defender Molly Courchesne deflected the ball away while the net was open Annabel Manganello also scored for Duxbury fight,” said Westborough coach Scott Moroney “I’m really proud of the way that the girls fought and never gave up That’s what you have to do in a game like this.”  Duxbury is off to a state final for the first time since 2008 Captained by Tristen Chen and Sarah Wooley Duxbury entered the ‘08 postseason as a 12th seed in the South with a modest 11-6-1 record and once with 10 seconds left in regulation The Dragons won the program’s third state title when Caitlin Burke scored the game-tying goal with just over five minutes remaining in regulation before scoring in overtime in a 2-1 win over Wahconah at Wachusett Regional High Westborough last made it to the Final Four in 2021 falling to eventual state champ Whitman-Hanson Duxbury will have its hands full with Masco but that challenge can wait for a few days “We’ve just gotten so close throughout the season,” said Duxbury senior Phoebe Roberts Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com Move over Patriots, the MIAA high school football Super Bowls are invading Gillette Stadium this week Eight Massachusetts high school football Super Bowls will be held in Foxboro over the course of the next three days The actions kicked off on Wednesday with the Division 6 and 7 state championships It continues with three more games on Thursday In a rematch of the 2021 and 2023 Super Bowls Stick here for live updates throughout the Div More: How to watch the MIAA high school football Super Bowls More: MIAA Super Bowl week is here. What to know before heading to Gillette. Jonny Donovan led Scituate to the win as he finished 18 of 24 passing for 249 yards and 4 TDs William Robinson hauled in 8 catches for 122 yards and a TD Lawson Foley had a pair of TD catches and Roman Glowac had 4 catches for 68 yards and a TD Trevor Jones was 15 of 28 passing for 152 yards Scituate gets revenge for last year's Super Bowl loss The Sailors claim their fourth state title a host of Sailors come up with a QB sack to push the Dragons back to the 13 William Robinson breaks up a fourth-down pass to force a turnover on downs 2:31 LEFT IN THE FOURTH QUARTER: Scituate 29 Scituate facing a second-and-10 from the Duxbury 39 following a timeout Duxbury's Trevor Jones moves the chains with a 5-yard pass to Jack Sovik That drive ends as Jack Rees lines up in the wildcat and throws a jump pass to Jake Falls for a 4-yard TD 11:55 LEFT IN THE FOURTH QUARTER: Scituate 29 Duxbury 7On a fourth-and-1 from its own 27 Duxbury's Jack Rees picked up the first down Duxbury will start the fourth quarter with a fourth-and-1 at its own 27 the Sailors pick up a few yards but turn it over on downs Jonny Donovoan rolls out to escape a blitz and completes a third-down pass to Roman Glowac for a 21-yard gain Scituate draining a good amount of clock here A fourth-and-9 from the Duxbury 30 is coming up Duxbury stops the bleeding with a much-needed scoring drive to start the second half The Dragons will receive the opening kickoff Jonny Donovan's four TD passes have the Sailors in great shape Donovan is 14 of 17 passing for 225 yards and 4 TDs William Robinson has 7 catches for 127 yards and a TD Jonny Donovan finds Rowan Glowac for his fourth TD pass of the half Donovan has tied the state Super Bowl record with his fourth TD of the pass of the half 1:58 LEFT IN THE SECOND QUARTER: Scituate 22 A penalty and a sack from Jack Rees appear to derail Scituate's drive but the Sailors pick a couple chunk plays to move into the red zone William Robinson is already over 100 yards receiving on the day Jonny Donovan throws an 8-yard TD pass to Lawson Foley despite a defensive pass interference Donovoan is 12 of 14 passing for 188 yards and three TDs Duxbury will have a second-and-6 from its own 22 to start the second quarter 1:16 LEFT IN THE FIRST QUARTER: Scituate 15 Huge stop for the Dragons.Duxbury will start at its own 8 following a 34-yard punt by Grayson Foley Duxbury drops back to pass and Wyllys Ames gets a QB sack to force a turnover on downs Jonny Donovan throws a 78-yard TD pass to William Robinson on the first play of the drive 4:30 LEFT IN THE FIRST QUARTER: Scituate 8 Duxbury 0Duxbury goes for it on a fourth-and-1 from its own 40 and Jack Rees picks it by an inch after a tense measurement Scituate's Ronan Manning comes up with a couple big tackles for a force a third-and-long Jonny Donovan throws an 8-yard TD pass on a slant route to Lawson Foley William Robinson adds the 2-point conversion Scituate and Duxbury are battling for the Div Scituate won in 2021 while Duxbury took it in 2023 Scituate won the toss and elected to receive but these are perfect conditions for December football Looks like precipitation won't come into play for the Div Temperatures are in the high 30s and shouldn't drop too much once the sun goes down Scituate gets defensiveMind-blowing stat: Scituate allowed Duxbury to score 8 offensive TDs in last year's Super Bowl The Sailors have allowed opposing offenses to score just 10 TDs for the entre 2024 season (6 passing Scituate is allowing opponents to convert just 26.2 percent on third down Recall that Duxbury was 9 of 10 on third down in last year's Super Bowl More: 'They remember': Highest-scoring Super Bowl in 2023 now fuels Scituate football's defense The Sailors are allowing just 76.4 rushing yards per game and 2.7 yards per attempt Opposing QBs have completed 38.1 percent of their passes for just 69.3 yards per game Scituate is 37-11 since the start of the 2021 season This is the Sailors' third Super Bowl appearance in four years winning on Keegan Sullivan's 2-point conversion run in the final minute following Andrew Bossey's 10-yard TD run They slipped to 5-5 in 2022 but rebounded from a 2-3 start last season to finish 9-4 The Sailors projected to be a powerhouse this season as they returned all but a handful of starters They got off to a rousing start by beating defending Div Scituate is led by junior QB Jonny Donovan who has completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 1,894 yards with 27 TDs and 7 INTs finished the 2023 season with identical TD/INT numbers; he had 2,400 passing yards  Senior Willy Robinson leads the ground game with 1,176 yards (7.4-yard average) and 15 TDs  Senior Lawson Foley is Donovan's favorite target with 39 catches for 930 yards (23.9-yard average) and 16 TDs 6 TDs) give Scituate a deep corps of pass-catchers Duxbury football statsSenior running back Jack Rees has 185 carries for 1,475 yards (8.0-yard average) and 21 TDs He's close to eclipsing the rushing total of last year's star Alex Barlow (1,520 yards as a senior in 2023) He had 32 carries for 275 yards and 5 TDs in last year's 62-33 win over Scituate in what was the highest-scoring MIAA Super Bowl ever who was not the projected starter during the 2023 preseason but eventually won the job and has kept it ever since has completed 57 percent of his passes for 825 yards and 11 TDs this year He's also added 615 rushing yards and 8 TDs on the ground His numbers are down from last season (when he had almost 2,000 combined yards and 27 total TDs) but the Dragons graduated their top 3 receivers from the 2023 campaign (Zach Falls Receiver Jack Sovik has 24 catches for 311 yards and 4 TDs Duxbury has outscored opponents 328-199 (plus-129 point differential) The Dragons are averaging 27.3 ppg and allowing 16.6 ppg that Duxbury has allowed 99 points over its last 3 games -- playoff wins over Canton (30-27) and Tewksbury (28-21) and a Thanksgiving loss to Marshfield (51-14) Duxbury is making its fifth straight Super Bowl appearance 3 Super Bowl in 2019 (Springfield Central) Duxbury has won seven MIAA crowns -- in 2005 5:30 p.m. -- Div. 1 - No. 3 Xaverian vs. No. 4 Needham - LIVE UPDATES (starting at 3 p.m.) 8 p.m. -- Div. 2 - No. 1 Catholic Memorial vs. No. 2 King Philip - LIVE UPDATES (starting at 6 p.m.) SEE THE TOWN MEETING PAGE FOR TOWN MEETING STORIES The Duxbury Selectboard is still in need of a fifth member following last month’s election but it’s making progress in filling other town positions including recommending a new member to represent the community on the Harwood school board the Duxbury Selectboard voted unanimously to recommend Emily Dolloff to the Harwood Unified Union School Board One of Duxbury’s two seats on the school board was on the March 4 Town Meeting Day election ballot The position was previously held by Life LeGeros who did not run for election at the end of his term Duxbury’s other seat is held by Cindy Senning who is vice chair of the school board Dolloff was the only applicant for the position The Harwood board meets on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Making appointments to fill the Duxbury seat and two Waterbury seats also vacant after the March election is on the agenda All appointments made after an election are in effect until the next election regardless of the length of the term when the position was on the ballot The Duxbury’s seat on the school board will be on the 2026 Town Meeting Day ballot with two years remaining the board appointed Matt Schroeder to fill one of two vacant Duxbury Selectboard seats that remained open following the March election Three positions on the five-member board were on the Town Meeting Day ballot and only one candidate the positions filled by appointment now will be in effect until March 2026 Letters of interest for the selectboard seat may be sent to board Chair Patrick Zachary at pz@duxburyvermont.com or Town Clerk Maureen Harvey at TownClerk@duxburyvermont.com At its March 24 meeting and Monday’s meeting the selectboard unanimously supported making the following appointments to mostly volunteer positions in town government This is a five-year elected position that did not have a candidate on the March ballot Clarkson would serve until next March and could run for the remainder of the term which would be on the 2026 Town Meeting Day ballot Ian Stewart as Emergency Management Officer Mark Morse as the representative to the Waterbury Ambulance Service Ames Robbs and Alan Quackenbush to the Planning Commission Richard Valentinetti as Health Officer for three years Zeb Towne to the Development Review Board for five years David Wendt was appointed as the town’s representative to the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission with Alan Quackenbush as the alternate Todd Hill to the Central Vermont Solid Waste District Waterbury Roundabout is an online news site launched in May 2020 Our mission is to provide readers with news about local government work and play in and around the Waterbury region.Thank you for reading About Contact 2025 | By Lisa ScagliottiGreen Up Day is Saturday and organizers around the state are preparing for the annual flurry of community trash-cleanup efforts along Vermont’s roadsides and streambanks This year’s winning Green Up poster art contest entry is by U-32 eleventh grader Ella Thomas Below are details on how to participate in Waterbury and Duxbury. Additional information on Green Up in nearby communities in the Mad River Valley is posted in the Waterbury Roundabout’s Community section here. Also, check out the main Green Up Vermont website for much more information including details for all Vermont communities.  Volunteers with trucks who are out working can help transport bags from neighbors to the designated containers at the town garages Please do not bring household trash for disposal.  tires found doing Green Up are free to dispose of at the town garage and at Rodney’s Transfer Station Any individuals may recycle their own tires at Rodney’s for a fee of $6 each.  All volunteers are reminded to take safety precautions: wear gloves and appropriate footwear; do not pick up drug paraphernalia (notify your town coordinator of the location); watch out for ticks Those going out with young children should aim to pick quiet streets parks and other low-traffic locations to work If you find areas with lots of trash or items too large to move please notify your town coordinator.  Volunteers in Waterbury are asked to use an online signup to note where they plan to Green Up The centralized list helps people spread out from one end of town to the other.  Green Up bags are now available at the town offices and at Rodney’s Transfer Station on River Road in Waterbury (near the Ice Center).  Bring filled bags on Green Up Day to the Town Garage Anyone in Waterbury only who needs to drop off bags on Friday Sign up and find more information online at tinyurl.com/WaterburyGreenUp2025 Direct questions to Waterbury Green Up Coordinator Lisa Scagliotti Green Up efforts have been coordinated by the Duxbury Land Trust since 1997.  Duxbury residents typically volunteer to pick up trash along roadsides and streambanks near their homes Bags are now available at the town office in the mailbox outside the front entry North Duxbury volunteers also can find bags at the home of town Coordinator Jessica Engles at 493 Mountainview Road in a tub next to the mailbox with a blue heron on it.  Volunteers are asked to bring filled bags to dumpsters at the Town Garage on May 3 volunteers can also leave their bags along River Road at the access road in front of the railroad gate To volunteer in Duxbury or for more information contact Jessica Engels at 978-846-3430 or jessicaengels58@gmail.com.  Waterbury Roundabout editor Lisa Scagliotti is also the volunteer Green Up coordinator for Waterbury As many as four South Shore towns are looking to ask their voters to raise taxes by millions of dollars to meet budget shortfalls for the next year For the first time in 36 years, Duxbury will hold an override election to support its $98 million budget The vote will take place March 22 for a $5.8 million permanent tax override The last time the town passed a general operating override was in 1989 for $1 million Hanson and Milton are also looking at overrides towns and cities are restricted in how much money they can raise from local property taxes to pay for the budget plus whatever new growth happened over the past year A permanent tax override is one solution to increase revenues beyond the 2.5% and voters must support it by first passing an override budget at town meeting then the override amount during the town election What would an override in Duxbury mean for taxpayers?This year’s override would mean the owner of an average single-family home in Duxbury assessed at $1.24 million would pay an additional $994 a year in property taxes Duxbury Town Manger Rene Read said at the March town meeting that the override is “not about financial mismanagement It’s about providing a solution to keep our services sustainable.” Voters at town meeting supported the budget with an override by a vote of 618 to 224 More: Is your town going to have an override vote? What that means Residents and local governments alike are facing incomes that do not match the pace of rising costs the government is limited in how it can react to budget needs “Municipal governments don’t have discretionary spending the way we do at home We can’t force everyone to wear a sweater so that we can turn down the heat,” he said What would an override in Milton mean for taxpayers?Milton has also set a date for a tax override election on April 29 with the select board tentatively voting Monday on a $9.5 million tax override to balance a $147 million level-service budget The select board will finalize the figure on Friday anticipating a plan from the school committee to close a budget shortfall for the current fiscal year For the average Milton homeowner with a property assessed at a little over $1 million that would mean a $1,063 increase in annual property taxes Milton voters passed each of the nine override votes the town has held It would push a projected budget deficit down the road by four years and you need to be grateful and humble when you ask people to support this,” said Richard Wells Jr. Milton select board chair and state representative What would an override in Hanover mean for taxpayers?While the Hanover select board is expected to set its tax override amount next Monday elected officials in Hanson decided to seek a $3 million override that means an increase of $798 in annual property taxes Rockland is not holding an operational tax override vote but it will ask voters to support an increase in taxes to support two capital projects: a 30-year $26.1 million bond for a new fire station and a one-year ask of $2 million for a new fire truck Town Manager Joe Colangelo noted rising or fixed costs like special education and pension requirements have contributed to the town seeking this budget fix The override ask is likely to be about $3.5 million meaning an increase of about $600 in property taxes for the average homeowner The town will be hosting four public forums on the budget in April it’s a simple math problem but a difficult political problem,” he said Last year, Hanover voters rejected a $6 million override request by a difference of 700 votes DUXBURY — No, there wasn't a massive college basketball upset inside the gym at Duxbury High It certainly looked and felt like there was Trevor Jones' big day drummed up plenty of buzz The senior guard's 3-pointer in transition nestled through the rim early in the second quarter vs in school history to reach 1,000 career points Jones scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Dragons to a 71-55 win A pack of his classmates stormed the court in celebration after the milestone basket mobbing Jones near the Duxbury bench on the opposite end of the floor before he embraced with coaches Richard Henninger and Gordon Cushing I was worried they were going to take him down," said Henninger "It’s good to see Duxbury fans getting enthusiastic about basketball again “It was probably one of the loudest arenas I’ve been in during Duxbury basketball," Jones said Jones entered the game 13 points shy of the milestone After scoring seven points in the first quarter he converted an and-one layup to reach 10 early in the second Then came the history-maker at the 6:51 mark to give Duxbury a 22-21 edge More: Scorers, stealers and more: 55 South Shore high school boys basketball starring Henninger had his arms raised behind the play as Jones received the pass from teammate Lochlan Kirk-Elliot deked an over-aggressive Silver Lake defender with a shot fake and let it fly from deep “I was talking to him the other day about wanting to get the assist," Kirk-Elliot said "I got him the pass and I knew he was going to make it Jones is the first Duxbury player since 2017 to join the 1,000-point club “He worked so hard for the past four years," Henninger said He would’ve been happy not scoring 1,000 points and winning He’s got a lot of heart and really brings it for our team.” Jones doubled as a quarterback/defensive back hybrid for the Duxbury High football team in the fall The Dragons reached the Division 4 Super Bowl in both of Jones' years as the starter under center Jones accounted for 19 touchdowns (11 passing Is he a better football or basketball player “He’s athletic in general," Kirk-Elliot answered with a laugh 22 in the Division 4 power rankings) is now a winner of its last three games Jones scored 23 points in the Dragons' recent outing vs It served as a seamless lead in to Friday's bid for the record book “The plan was to let it come naturally and not force anything,” Henninger said “You could tell today he was a little anxious and nervous about it More: Frankie x2: Behind star duo, Braintree girls basketball back as one of the state's best “It means a lot. There’s a lot of legends up there," Jones said with a glance at the banner of past 1,000-point scorers. "Bill Curley (a former NBA player in the 90s) is up there it just shows how all the hard work has paid off but we’re not done yet "I want to give credit to my teammates the last four years for pushing me to get to this point in basketball." THEY SAID ITKirk-Elliot on having Jones as a teammate: “Trev’s awesome he’s going to take it but he’ll always pass to make the better play if it’s there Henninger on how he'll remember Jones' career after graduation: “The ultimate competitor someone who would do anything he could to win it was déjà vu for Hurley and the Panthers 7 Panthers rallied in regulation down 10 late in the fourth quarter to force extra time against No Hurley hit a circus shot to extend the game and send W-H onto the quarterfinals with a 78-75 victory Trailing by 61-57 with under 10 seconds to play Hurley collected the inbound and dribbled up the floor with urgency She stopped roughly halfway between the 3-point line and half-court and launched herself in the air to take an off-balance shot a Duxbury defender bumped into Hurley as she heaved a desperation shot at the hoop More: 'Shooters shoot': Underclassmen lead NQ girls basketball to first playoff win since 2022 Then the ball hit off the backboard and into the hoop "I think I almost ran on the court," said teammate Maliah Pierre who had fouled out after scoring 28 points including going 12-of-13 from the free throw line Hurley made the free throw to complete the four-point play to tie the game After a tug-of-war-like battle for momentum the Panthers picked up their third win over Duxbury this season "It's never over until the timer goes off," Hurley said I've ever played in a game like this," W-H head coach Michael Costa said Pierre called Hurley's half-court shot earlier in the season "Highlight of the year," but if you ask Hurley after Monday's playoff game More: 'Highlight of the year': W-H girls basketball still buzzing about Hurley's buzzer-beater brings it together to be the top moment," Hurley said Hurley's overtime heroics wouldn't have come without Pierre making a clutch shot of her own at the end of regulation The Panthers were down 10 with just two minutes remaining in the fourth The Panthers rallied to get within three with 16.6 seconds remaining in regulation swishing a 3-point shot right in front of her own bench to send the game to overtime The Panthers trailed three times late in the overtime periods before stealing the win So for it to end that way was great," Pierre said was the winner of the Patriot League MVP this season When she needed to step up for her team late Monday night she showed why she was deserving of the award Pierre was reminded of how much of a whirlwind playing in high stakes games can be for a high schooler She remembered she had two tests to take the next day just mere hours after hitting one of the most important shots of her young high school career MARSHFIELD — The last time Duxbury High football didn’t finish a fall with a Patriot League title in hand Tor Maas and his fellow Marshfield seniors were barely toddlers 4-1 Patriot Keenan) for the Patriot Keenan title Marshfield ends Duxbury’s 16-year run of league championships and handed them their first Patriot League loss since 2007 “(Duxbury are) our cross town rivals and the team we want to beat every year Maas went 11-for-20 passing for 208 yards and four passing touchdowns while also recording five carries for 40 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns of his own “Tor was awesome today,” Rams coach Chris Arouca said and in a game like that where the league title is on the line you need somebody like that and he took care of it.” Maas and the Rams struck early with a 4-yard pitch pass to senior wide receiver Charlie Carroll then found junior wide receiver Cole Summers wide open down field for a 64-yard touchdown pass on the next drive Junior kick Nick Drosopoulos went a perfect 7-for-7 on extra point attempts The Dragons struck right back on the next drive as senior quarterback Trevor Jones found junior tight end Jake Falls wide open down field for 61-yard touchdown pass to halve the lead capping off the resulting six play drive with a two-yard punch in from Carroll A Duxbury fumble on the resulting kickoff was recovered by Marshfield junior linebacker Tim Stiles setting up another quick drive that ended in a 15-yard keeper by Maas More: Thanksgiving high school football scores and highlights While Duxbury made the Jones-to-Falls connection work again this time from 48 yards out on a nearly identical play call to make it 28-14 with 9:47 left in the half it’d be the last time the Dragons found the end zone Maas connected with junior tight end Aiden Summers for a 16-yard touchdown then took another in himself on a two-yard sneak “(Maas) makes me look good as a coach and he makes my job easy,” Arouca said “You’re blessed when you have a quarterback like that a great kid and he’s just so fun to be around every day.” Marshfield benefitted from a safety when a bad snap on a Duxbury punt rolled into the end zone before senior wide receiver Jake Brilliant took home a six yard rushing touchdown to make it 51-14 in the closing seconds of the the third quarter allowing the Rams to run the clock out and take home both the Thanksgiving trophy and a first Patriot Keenan title they were still more than happy to go out like this I wouldn’t want to play for any other team,” Maas said “I can’t be more proud of this group of kids,” Rams senior running back Davin True said worked hard all day every day and just put it all out there today I couldn’t imagine a better group of kids to be out here with.” and if they leave anything behind other than the league title it’s that they did everything the right way,” Arouca said “They worked hard and they put their teammates ahead of them all the time and I already miss them I thanked them a bunch of times for letting me coach them for the last four years.” Still enshrined: Marshfield football's 2014 Super Bowl team remembered as 'most dominant' “Testament to Duxbury for winning the league title for 16 straight years that’s a pretty good record (and) I don’t know if anybody will ever catch that,” Arouca said “It’s a testament to how good they’ve been and hopefully we can get a couple on them.” FOXBORO -- Wyllys Ames missed last year's Division 4 Super Bowl with a knee injury Ames, a 6-3 two-way lineman, was in a knee brace on the sideline as the Scituate High football team absorbed a 29-point beatdown at the hands of Patriot League rival Duxbury at Gillette Stadium The Sailors took those feelings (all of them bad) and let them marinate for a full year On Thursday afternoon they got their long-plotted revenge With junior quarterback Jonny Donovan throwing four first-half touchdown passes the second-seeded Sailors flipped the script against Duxbury beating the Dragons 29-13 in a Super Bowl rematch to complete a 13-0 season "It was a personal battle out there," Ames said To win like that to cap off an undefeated season is amazing." Ames suffered his injury in Week 6 last year and could only look on as Duxbury trampled the Sailors on the ground in the 2023 Super Bowl Ames called it a "brutal moment" but one that now can serve as the backstory to Scituate's 2024 crown It's Scituate's third state title since 2018. The Sailors beat Nipmuc, 35-14, that year and then edged out Duxbury in the first game of their Super Bowl trilogy in 2021, winning 14-13 on Keegan Sullivan's 2-point conversion run in the final minute Last year Duxbury got its (belated) revenge for that one We're psyched for these guys," said coach Herb Devine now up to 129 career wins with the Sailors "It's an unbelievable feeling to go undefeated and beat Duxbury 'Who's going to write the final chapter?' Thank God it was us." "You can't write the story any better than this," agreed senior running back Willy Robinson who had perhaps the game's signature play -- a 78-yard TD catch in the first quarter for a 15-0 lead We were a grade below last year (as juniors) As seniors when you're walking off (this field) with a W Top-seeded Duxbury (10-3) saw its 11-game playoff winning streak halted The Dragons were the two-time defending champion but were denied a three-peat thanks to brilliant performances from the likes of Donovan (18 of 24 passing sophomore running back Grayson Foley (17 carries for 66 yards) and senior tight end Roman Glowac (4 catches "Duxbury's obviously a very successful program and it's good to take that crown off them for a little bit," said Ames More: Fishing accident nearly ended his career. Now he's playing front and center in Super Bowl Donovan tied an MIAA Super Bowl record with four TD passes in a half Lawson Foley again (8 yards) and Glowac (15 yards) The Sailors played it close to the vest in the second half -- Donovan was 4 of 7 passing for 24 yards after the break -- or he could have tied Kyle Beatrice's 2002 record of five total TD passes in a Super Bowl set while playing for Swampscott against North Attleboro Donovan did set a single-season program record with 31 TD passes Second-seeded Scituate overwhelmed Duxbury in the first half enjoying huge advantages in total yards (256-46) and first downs (11-3) as well as on the scoreboard The Dragons got their offense going in the second half as QB Trevor Jones got 14 of his 15 completions after the break He finished 15 of 28 passing for 152 yards Jack Rees rushed 19 times for 65 yards and accounted for both Duxbury TDs with a 3-yard run in the third quarter and a 4-yard jump pass (out of a Wildcat formation) to Jake Falls in the fourth quarter And Duxbury's Jack Sovik quietly had 12 catches for 118 yards The Sailors' defense was as good as advertised Scituate allowed only 84 points the entire season Crazy stat: Duxbury scored eight offensive TDs against Scituate in last year's Super Bowl; the Sailors allowed only 12 offensive TDs over 13 games this season Our defense has been outstanding," Devine said "They make my life easier as a head coach and a play caller when you know that we can take a couple of shots (on offense) today because we're playing well (defensively)." Duxbury drove inside the Sailors' 5-yard line in the closing minute but the Sailors batted away a fourth-down pass and Donovan then kneeled out the clock to ignite a celebration that was 12 months in the planning Asked how this crown compares with the two other recent ones And this one was nice," he said with a smile "I'm not going to get into that debate about which one meant more." This year's Sailors didn't have to be so diplomatic about where 2024 ranks on the program's list of greatest accomplishments 2025 | By Lisa Scagliotti UPDATE: The Duxbury Selectboard met on Monday March 10 for its organizational meeting following Town Meeting Day Interested individuals should contact the town office for more information The board may appoint to fill those seats with members who would serve until March 2026 Dan Cardozo works the check-in booth in Duxbury’s drive-through voting loop late on Town Meeting Day afternoon Source: Duxbury Town Clerk | By Julia Bailey-Wells Duxbury voters cast their ballots in their Town Meeting Day drive-through overwhelmingly passing their budget but coming up short of enough candidates to fill all of the openings this year.  381 of Duxbury’s 1,169 voters took part in Tuesday’s election All of the questions on the Town Meeting Day warning are decided by Australian ballot in Duxbury.  Harvey ran unopposed for town clerk and town treasurer positions and will return to those roles for three more years.  The town has embraced drive-through voting using the lot outside the town office and highway garage with a loop set up around two booths for checking in and casting ballots Town election officials hand out ballots on clipboards to voters who remain in their vehicles After pulling to the side to mark their votes and slide their ballot into the tabulator machine at arm’s length.  Mo Lavanway was the election official working the last window where he checked each voter off the list and handed out stickers and little wrapped chocolates.  Duxbury election workers Cindy Senning and Mo Lavanway work the check-out booth on Tuesday afternoon Voters approved all five articles on the ballot including the proposed town budget of $1,311,655 that passed by a vote of 289 to 76 according to Harvey’s election results report The budget vote reflected strong support despite its 12% increase over last year’s budget It included significant pay increases for the town’s two road crew members added in at their behest late in the budget-drafting process in December.  Other questions affirmed included adding $125,000 to the town’s capital reserve account and approving spending up to $210,000 from the account in the coming year.  None of the elections on the ballot had contests and for several key offices there were no candidates listed at all.  Three positions on the Duxbury Selectboard were up for election this Town Meeting Day ran unopposed for a one-year term and received 291 votes asked voters to select two candidates to fill one-year seats No write-in received enough votes to be elected Also on the ballot was an empty spot for a three-year selectboard seat.  That also was the case for the Duxbury seat on the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board Member Life LeGeros just completed a three-year term and did not run for re-election No one filed to get on the ballot to take the spot and no write-in received enough votes to win it Duxbury has two seats on the Harwood board Its other member is Cindy Senning who has been vice chair; her term ends in 2026.  A position on the town budget committee also was empty on the ballot.  Those elected were: Dan Senning as town moderator and Naomi Alfini to the Cemetery Commission.  The drive-through voting loop is busy as Town Meeting Day nears an end on Tuesday On Monday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m., the Duxbury Selectboard holds its first meeting after the election, when it typically reorganizes to select officers for the next year. But only three members will be in place given that two seats went unfilled in Tuesday’s election. (See the agenda here with details on how to watch or listen via Zoom.) We can do business,” said Vice Chair Jamison Ervin Three members whose terms just expired opted not to run again this year: former Chair Richard Charland Patrick Zachary is the third continuing member Both Ervin and Zachary’s terms end in 2026.  “We’ve been trying to twist some arms,” Ervin said of board member’s recruitment efforts At the town’s informational Citizens Have Your Say Day meeting in early January Charland attested to the time and commitment the role has been Duxbury does not have a town administrator or manager so the bulk of the operational duties fall to selectboard members and the town clerk The board has been advertising for a part-time assistant to the board but the search has not landed a viable applicant yet waiting for the new board to possibly revise the position details before re-advertising Ervin said the town relies on a small circle of residents who step up for various roles but it’s a challenge to keep the positions full She pointed to the lack of competition on the ballot and even candidates for appointed positions like the Planning Commission are in short supply.  It’s becoming more of a job than a volunteer effort,” she said of serving on the selectboard “It’s a baseball team without a bench.”  Those who step up do so out of a sense of service and not for personal gain Duxbury Selectboard members receive an annual stipend of $900; the chair receives $1,900 Pratt said she hopes townspeople will see the situation and get motivated to serve for at least a year a handful of people were listed as write-ins although she and Harvey said that often doesn’t reflect a serious effort a write-in candidate needs just 12 votes to win election.  To anyone who has considered serving on the selectboard Pratt said now would be a good time to come forward “We need to have a board of five to operate in our most efficient way,” she said We would like to have you try it the get a sense of how it works.” Ervin said she hopes that there will be some residents who may become motivated to step up in which case the board can make appointments to fill the openings until Town Meeting Day 2026.  or we’ll limp along with three,” she said.  Anyone interested in applying to be appointed to the selectboard or school board positions should contact Town Clerk Maureen Harvey or the Harwood Superintendent Mike Leichliter DUXBURY – Parker Metzler began running on her own, off to the side, as soccer practice progressed at Duxbury High until notifying the coaching staff that she's spent Determined to leg out 15-minute shifts on game day the senior captain is learning again how to catch her breath All while her parents watch from the sideline and hold theirs “We can’t believe this is happening," Metzler's mother said of her daughter's return to the field Metzler underwent a series of heart exams and autoimmune tests following three instances of collapsing on the field of play during soccer and hockey games from May to September last year Doctors at Boston Children's Hospital first diagnosed asthma as a leading cause. They added a vocal cord disorder to the diagnosis, then theorized it could be costochondritis, a sternum inflammation that inflicts pain similar to that of a heart attack, according to the Mayo Clinic Metzler attended over five treatment centers in the past year she received five rounds of injections to the chest that left her bedridden for two weeks A chiropractor at Beth Israel Hospital then revealed scar tissue shifted Metzler's rib cage a few millimeters a doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital diagnosed Metzler with an autonomic nerve dysfunction though the family is still in search of definite answers upon further testing later this month “All of her involuntary mechanisms were out of whack," said Metzler's father all of her secondary muscles were helping her breath rather than the primary ones which is what doctors were looking for," he added "Now they're telling us that all things are pointing towards a viral infection Metzler first collapsed on the field during an offseason soccer game in March 2023, just weeks after scoring a goal in the third period of the Duxbury High girls hockey team's Division 2 state championship win over Canton at TD Garden in Boston “She went from peak fitness to suddenly not being able to do anything," Dirk Metzler said Metzler collapsed a second time during a Duxbury summer league hockey game that June then a third time in the Duxbury girls soccer team's season-opener against Notre Dame Academy that September She missed the ensuing soccer and hockey seasons last fall and winter Duxbury High girls hockey coach Dan Najarian said Metzler served the team in a liaison-like role while sidelined last season after contributing on the power play and penalty kill in addition to playing spot minutes on the first line I don't think it ever crossed her mind to give up," Najarian said She's an athlete who was going to get back out on the field." Metzler was recently cleared to suit up against Scituate on Sept She was eager to share the pitch with her younger sister and put her stamp on Duxbury's 7-1 start to the season "I couldn’t believe I was actually playing on the field," Metzler said who was unable to run a lap on the track during the early days of practice this fall is still finding her wind but has made "unbelievable strides in the past five weeks," her father said is following Metzler's lead in managing her workload They've bumped the self-imposed minutes restriction up in increments to its current cutoff of 15-minute shifts Jones signals for a substitute just as the clock strikes Metzler scored her first goal of the season on a penalty kick in the Dragons' 5-0 victory over Quincy on Wednesday “We’d take her on the field for five minutes of a half just because she’s our emotional leader," Jones said "Her going in means the rest of our team plays better As a starter during her two underclassman years Metzler was described by Jones as "the energizer of all energizers," insinuating that every move came at a sprint's pace Metzler recalibrated her playing style to accommodate for her conditioning level an admittedly frustrating process at times "I’m still looking forward to being my best self over the next couple of weeks," Metzler said (This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.) in the highest scoring final in state history 2 Sailors hope to avenge last season's loss and prevent a three-peat from Duxbury it will be the program's second title in four years More: Unforgettable games: These high school football stars excelled on Thanksgiving Scituate and Duxbury only had one common opponent - Div Seeing both schools up close and personal this year has given Hanover coach Brian Kelliher some insight into what could determine Thursday's championship matchup He believes that "Whoever can get to their way of playing" faster will be the difference "Scituate wants to be up ahead quick and force you to do what you don't want to do Duxbury wants to be methodical and slow it all down The Dragons pulled out a 14-7 victory with a strong defensive performance a common theme throughout their schedule this year Duxbury has held its opponent to under 20 points The defense is complimented by a smashmouth run game led by Jack Rees who ran for more than 1,300 yards and has 21 touchdowns this season Quarterback Trevor Jones also added 615 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns this year including 111 yards from Jones on 21 carries physical team that can control the ball and control the clock," Kelliher said they were able to control the line of scrimmage and really shorten the game up." The Hawks faced Scituate two weeks later on Oct They're extremely explosive," Kelliher said "They're really tough to match up with when they're on offense because they're so athletic and explosive." this Sailors offense really is: against Hanover Grayson Foley rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries while his brother Lawson caught two passes Robinson also rushed for a 37-yard touchdown in the game The Sailors have scored 40 or more points eight times this season Duxbury plays physical at the line of scrimmage looking to control possession and game clock to grind out a win defensively and with an established run game playing fast and furious with big chunk plays on offense what does all this mean in terms of who will win on Thursday afternoon but with both teams possessing vastly different styles of play whoever can impose their identity the quickest from kickoff may have the edge in earning another state title "It's going to come down to can Duxbury slow down the explosiveness of Scituate's offense Scituate wants to get ahead early and just keep putting the pressure on," Kelliher said The ball flies out as it should and the blocks up front clear more than enough room to run Tucker Henderson just does his job differently than others do Though fans watching from afar may not notice any hindrance in his performance, the Duxbury High football team's starting center snaps the ball with the use of four fingers Henderson severely cut through three fingers on his dominant right hand while gutting a striped bass he caught with friends on a fishing trip in Cohasset He underwent four hours of reconstructive surgery to repair 26 areas in his middle resulting in a lost sophomore season of high school football the ensuing fall “We didn’t know if I was going to play ever again 245) earned the starting center job as Duxbury makes its fifth consecutive Division 4 state championship appearance He snaps the ball to senior quarterback Trevor Jones with compromised middle and index fingers and a 'pins and needles' feeling in his pinky Duxbury vs. Scituate Super Bowl preview: What one coach who faced both teams has to say "The tip of his pinky is bent down to his palm and it’s just stuck in that position The other two fingers are at a 45-degree angle.” “It’s weird to see I’m sure," Henderson said of how he snaps the ball "I grab the top of (the ball) and that’s all there is to it Henderson missed his sophomore season last fall but played left guard during his time on the freshman team in 2022 He shifted to center on varsity this season and even tried snapping the ball with his left hand to protect the nerve damage it took him nine months of occupational therapy to treat "I was scared at the beginning of the season I’ve always done everything I can do protect my fingers but now I had to use them and put them into action.” The on-field results this season are glowing Senior running back Jack Rees rushed for over 1,300 yards and 21 touchdowns 235) anchored a Duxbury offense that paced seven wins by a multi-possession margin first leveled up his passion as a seventh grader by working on a commercial tuna fishing boat in Duxbury He reeled in his most prized catch -- an 86-inch blue finned tuna -- at Stellwagen Bank in Scituate a few trips before suffering the injury in June His fingers didn't repair as well as surgeons liked during the first surgery and he went to Boston Children's Hospital this past April for a second operation More: 'We were the worst youth team ever': How Duxbury football seniors found winning tradition “They thought they would clean everything up and he would go back to full range of motion He’s missing some pretty important structures in there that we didn’t know about the first time," Kate Henderson said Leading up to the start of his junior season Henderson had undergone a total of nine months of occupational therapy at Spaulding Outpatient Center in Plymouth with specialist Rachael Moody Being cleared to play was "the best thing to ever happen to me," Henderson said “I knew he’d get back out there," Kate Henderson said He’s got a lot of mental toughness to him.” The Dragons have finished their season on Route 1 in Foxboro every year since 2019 Duxbury is vying for its third straight Division 4 state championship (and eighth overall in program history) in the streak of five appearances as South Shore neighbor Scituate appears on the opposite side in the finale at Gillette on Thursday at 3 p.m but we put in the work every single year," said senior lineman James Scanlon "It’s definitely not easy getting to the D-4 championship.” the Dragons' upperclassmen will have played on the Gillette Stadium turf every season of their high school careers: “It’s all about tradition here and the tradition is unmatched," said senior running back Jack Rees That tradition came with humble beginnings I definitely didn’t think we’d make the Super Bowl our senior year because we were the worst youth team ever," said senior quarterback Trevor Jones Scanlon said this senior class won "maybe one or two games a year" growing up and went 0-8 in seventh grade More: At 80, this Plymouth native is ready for her 60th year officiating high school sports the Dragons' leading rusher with over 1,300 yards and 21 touchdowns this fall was not on that upstart freshman team four years ago “I didn’t work super hard my eighth grade year and people developed over me," Rees said I put my head down and did what I had to do As a backup to last year's Super Bowl hero Alex Barlow who rushed for 275 yards and five touchdowns in last year's 62-33 championship win over Scituate Rees mainly played H-back and linebacker for Duxbury last season Barlow went off to Bentley University in the offseason and his carries trickled down to Rees I did (expect Rees' breakout senior season),” Jones said “The work was outrageous that he put in in the offseason Just things you don’t usually see in someone who didn’t really play (a lot growing up) but he showed off last year and I knew he was going to step it up big time.” Rees this season has run behind the line of Scanlon (6-2 toughness and leadership to be the running back to lead this team with the offensive line that we have," Landolfi said of Rees He had a good model to look up to (in Barlow) His goal was to follow in Alex’s footsteps and he’s done a really nice job doing that who has advanced this far every season of his four-year tenure though this isn't the Matt Festa air-raid team of yesteryear It's more of a Jones/Rees running attack with frequent looks to junior tight end Jake Falls and senior wideout Jack Sovik “It’s been a good four-year run for these guys," Landolfi said of making another Super Bowl run with the seniors "All the way through from the youth football programs in the community We’re really lucky to do this every year.” At least 80 Duxbury residents gathered for the town's third Citizens Have Your Say Day at Crossett Brook Middle School on Saturday Voters in Duxbury head to the polls on Tuesday between 7 a.m at the town office drive-through loop to decide the town budget and elections and budget questions for the Harwood Union Unified School District and the Central Vermont Career Center School District The key item on the town ballot is a budget of $1.3 million up 12% over the $1.17 million budget voters approved in 2024 by far Duxbury’s most significant budget category are alone projected to increase by 15% in the coming fiscal year Part of that increase is the result of significant pay raises for the town’s road crew At Duxbury’s third annual Citizens Have Your Say Day on Jan Selectboard Vice Chair Jamison Ervin described what she saw as a “juggernaut” of budgeting challenges—including an increasing population a statewide shortage of gravel as well as labor increasing storm events and the increasing costs of generally everything Referring to the road crew salary increases Ervin noted that “the improved wages are not out of the realm of road crew wages across the state.”  Former Duxbury Selectboard member Mari Pratt is the only candidate on the ballot for the board Also on the ballot is a question asking voters to put $125,000 into the Capital Reserve fund and another question on whether to spend $210,000 from the same fund for a new loader Other items include setting the property tax payment due date for October 10 and designating the town treasurer as tax collector.  The first big decision facing the Duxbury Selectboard after Tuesday’s election likely will be to get the board up to full membership.  Three of the board’s five members have come to the end of their current terms—Chair Richard Charland and Jerry McMahan—and all three have declined to run again while Charland’s term ran for three years. Ervin and Patrick Zachary conclude their three-year terms in 2026 and 2027 Only one candidate filed to get their name on the ballot: Former board member and chair Mari Pratt is running for a one-year term “I have decided to step back into what I think is a civil adventure in local government I enjoy working with a team of people!” said Pratt Voters may write in candidates for the other open one-year and three-year positions.  None of the other offices on the ballot are contested When Town Clerk and Treasurer Maureen Harvey announced that she would run again this year and Naomi Alfini for Cemetery Commission.  Two other spots with no candidates on the ballot are a five-year term on the Budget Committee and one of the town’s two seats on the Harwood Union Unified School District School Board School Board member Life LeGeros has come to the end of his term and is not running for re-election The selectboard – or in the school district’s case the school board – would need to appoint volunteers to any offices that do not get filled in Tuesday’s election with write-in candidates Appointments run for one year and would end on Town Meeting Day in March 2026.  The vacancies speak to the high volume of work that must be done by a relatively small pool of people Charland explained that given the volume of administrative work that road projects and grant applications entail the selectboard has been in ongoing discussions about the need for a part-time town administrator “not always successfully” because of the amount of time required Nearby Waitsfield recently hired a town administrator and Middlesex The position has been advertised for several months Given that the selectboard membership will change soon Selectboard members look on as Moderator Dan Senning explains the rules for the meeting John Murphy (right) and Dan Cardozo (left) listen to the presentations Duxbury Animal Control Officer Andy McMahan studies the budget packet. Photo by Gordon Miller represents Duxbury and the Mad River Valley communities Duxbury Road Foreman Brian Gibbs (left) and crew member Eric Austin listen to the discussion. Photo by Gordon Miller Jim Lengel shares comments about health insurance costs increasing with state Rep Phyllis Arsenault-Berry comments during the discussion Justice of the Peace Greg Trulson (seated) answers questions Mame McKee was recognized for her work with the local regional long-term flood recovery group CReW. Photo by Gordon Miller Lars Dickson and Stefan Defeo have their own discussion Around 80-90 Duxbury residents came out on Jan 11 for the town’s third annual Citizens Have Your Say Day where the selectboard summarized last year’s projects and proposed the budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year The meeting aimed to get public input and answer questions along with everyone sampling pie and community groups and committees sharing information at tables in the Crossett Brook Middle School cafeteria The meeting discussion centered on the proposed budget and its 11% increase the significant raises demanded by the town’s road crew and how they would affect the bottom line and the communication breakdown between the selectboard and road crew Foreman Brian Gibbs admitted that to bring attention to the staff wages issue he decided he had to “go to the extreme to get heard.” giving the foreman a 19% salary increase and Austin’s position Over an hour into the January informational meeting Duxbury resident Mark Morse broached the topic of “the elephant in the room,” stating “There is no way I can support an 11% increase overall or a 19% increase for highway workers.” The nearly 90 attendees soon began sharing their opinions for or against the raises The most frequently stated concern was the communication breakdown between the staff and town officials and how the amount of the requested increases took voters by surprise Selectboard chair Richard Charland immediately apologized for what turned out to be “a bit of a cluster,” saying that when the selectboard reviewed Gibbs’ budget “we were shocked as well.” Charland acknowledged the difficulties of finding skilled workers across all the trades and described the selectboard’s decision to propose the increases as one driven primarily by concern for residents’ safety “It’s not an easy town to deal with as far as roads and road maintenance,” he admitted Selectboard members McMahan and Sherman also expressed their regrets that the issue had unfolded as it did.  Fifth selectboard member Zachary was not in attendance for that meeting explaining that his actions were the result of two years of trying to convince the selectboard to address road crew salaries. When that didn’t happen Gibbs said he felt he needed to make a more forceful case for the issue to get attention pointing out to the audience that the issue may have seemed like news to the community because it had not been discussed publicly before.  Community members responded with frustration and gratitude noted longstanding communication difficulties between the selectboard and road crew but “I applaud Brian [Gibbs] for doing what he needed to get attention,” he said but the root cause was the communication breakdown not the road crew.” Wells also expressed support for the staff raises saying “we’re talking pennies,” or approximately 2 cents of the 8-cents increase in the tax rate.  who has served on Duxbury’s budget committee said she hoped the episode would bring attention to the issue so that it could be addressed Ideally the budget committee should be aware of such issues to properly plan adding that she hoped all of the town officials could improve their communication.  The road crew heard much support from attendees who said road maintenance is very important to their daily lives Piper Boudreau attends college in Johnson and works in Stowe “The easiest place for me to get around is at home here and that’s all thanks to these guys and the early mornings and late nights they do I think the most important thing is remembering that our roads are drivable because of these guys,” Boudreau said.  agreed.  “I come from a long experience with dirt roads…I live off a dirt road It’s not hard to get to me because of this man and his crew.” The effort was especially appreciated after last July’s flash flooding that damaged many of Duxbury’s roads those roads were back in working order and I was back to work,” Wood said Life Legeros said the town employees’ request was fair “If you want to go the route of just human dignity and us caring about our community of which these people are a part “Given what it costs to survive around here The meeting included a full page-by-page overview of the draft budget the final version of which is now in the town annual report.  Charland described the efforts to re-open roads after the July flash flooding particularly Ward Hill Road which was difficult to reach given access was on the far side of the Route 100 bridge that was closed to traffic for several weeks Contractors were hired to help with several washouts and culvert replacements Gibbs writes about that work and thanks all of the contractors “Everyone put in endless hours in a race to trying to get all the roads put back to a plowable state before winter,” he said.  Duxbury Historical Society volunteers Mame McKee and Kathy Lengel slice pies for easy serving Carmel Kelly chooses pie with some help from Mame McKee (right) Dwight Day and Jessica Engels enjoy their pie Keith Sherman enjoys some pie before the meeting begins the town had sufficient funds in reserve to cover the flood repair costs without additional borrowing and it has filed a claim with the Federal Emergency Management Administration Charland also acknowledged Duxbury resident Mame McKee who has been working with the local long-term recovery group CReW (short for Community Resilience for the Waterbury Area) based in Waterbury.  Two particularly thorny projects for the town were completed in 2024: significant repairs to the Scrabble Hill Road slide and the long-awaited construction of a new town salt shed. An upcoming project expected to be under construction in 2025 is the solar array to be installed at the former town gravel pit off Route 100 Voters approved the project in 2022 and town officials have decided to contract with Norwich Solar in White River Junction for the work The town is looking to secure state funding to assist with the remaining work to rebuild upper Camel’s Hump Road between Scrabble Hill to the state park entrance “Significant portions of the road are sliding into Ridley Brook,” Charland said The town also is seeking state funding to replace a culvert on River Road More updates from town officials are in the Duxbury 2024 Annual Report that’s available online on the town website and in paper copies at the town office.  DUXBURY -- James Scanlon called it a "weird" game Weird in the sense that one of the pillars of the Duxbury High football team's run to the No. 1 seed in the Division 4 playoffs this fall had been a near-impenetrable defense that came in allowing just 11.1 points per game with a pair of shutouts including one in last week's playoff opener Opponents had completed less than half of their passing attempts against the Dragons were converting just 29 percent of their third downs and had mustered only 411 rushing yards all season 4 quarterfinal zipping all over the field against Duxbury's vaunted D churning out four touchdowns (three from lightning-quick senior Kareem Chaplin II) and 11 plays that went for 10-plus yards the Dragons rediscovered their defensive identity when it mattered most Big plays on that side of the ball helped Duxbury rally late for a 30-27 win that sends the Dragons (9-1) into a semifinal showdown with No None of those defensive plays stood out more than Scanlon's fumble recovery and 17-yard return down to the Canton 19-yard line that set up QB Trevor Jones' game-winning 5-yard TD run with 1:19 left Linebacker Jack Rees (who rushed for 191 yards and 2 TDs on offense) forced the fumble Norton on a third-and-10 scramble up the middle with the Bulldogs nursing a 27-24 lead with less than 4 minutes left Scalon scooped the ball up around the Canton 36 and plowed down the right sideline shrugging off what appeared to be a horse-collar tackle attempt at one point More: MIAA quarterfinals: South Shore high school football scores and highlights "It was a huge defensive play," said Duxbury coach Matt Landolfi "We started putting pressure on (Norton) at the end because he was throwing the ball all over us and he's a really good quarterback We started to go after him and that really turned (the momentum) for us He coughed the ball up and Scanlon was smart enough to pick it up and run who plays all over the defensive line and is the left guard on offense "I always wanted to play fullback and I got my chance Scanlon said the last fumble recovery he remembers came in youth league "but I fumbled." "That's probably his dream right there," Jones said with a laugh Jones' biggest play of the night soon followed as he flowed left and darted in from 5 yards out for the winning score He finished with 10 carries for 58 yards and a pair of TDs His 4-yard scoring run put the Dragons up 17-14 early in the third quarter "I was a little down at halftime," said Jones who kicked a 25-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the second quarter to get Duxbury within 14-10 "but my teammates picked me up in the locker room They made me play better (in the second half) forcing four incomplete passes to get a turnover on downs that sealed the Dragons' 10th straight playoff win It was a bitter pill to swallow for Canton (6-4) "I thought we had them," Bulldogs coach Anthony Fallon said I thought we'd stop them a little bit more on defense The last fumble (hurt us) and penalties (did Chaplin had a 21-yard TD run in the second quarter for a 14-7 lead and then twice put the Bulldogs ahead in the second half with a 65-yard TD catch (that made it 20-17) and an 11-yard run (for a 27-24 advantage) "We expected a lot from them," senior H-back John Rovegno said of Canton Rees got his 191 rushing yards on 26 attempts He had TD runs of 47 yards (to tie the game at 7-7 in the first quarter) and 27 yards (for a late 24-20 lead) including a 31-yard scramble to set up Rees' second TD and Brett Barr made a pair of big plays on special teams blocking a PAT and running for a first down on a fake punt Now the Dragons get to continue their bid for a three-peat whom they beat 19-7 in last year's semifinals "It feels awesome," Scanlon said of advancing 2025 | By Cheryl Casey | CorrespondentThe Duxbury Selectboard voted on Friday to increase the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget for road crew salaries after Road Foreman Brian Gibbs said he would resign if he did not receive a 19% raise was the third consecutive day of meetings for the board in response to the road foreman’s demands which selectboard member Jerry McMahan said arrived via email on Dec “It’s extortion.” In the board’s 3-1 decision McMahan cast the single “no” vote against the increases The request for a 19% raise was included in the budget Gibbs submitted to the town Budget Committee as it worked on a draft for the selectboard to present to voters on Town Meeting Day The selectboard has been working on the draft budget for initial public discussion at the “Citizens’ Have Your Say Day” meeting on Saturday “I have brought this matter up two years in a row and it gets ignored,” Gibbs wrote to the board “The budget that I handed in with our salaries on it seems like a huge jump because we have been so behind on what all our surrounding towns are at Those numbers are just to get us comparable to surrounding towns As many of you I am sure have noticed there are zero people pounding on our door to work here the board rejected Gibbs’ proposed numbers and instead budgeted for the three-person crew to receive raises of 3.2% above the 2.5% cost of living adjustment for 2025 This decision prompted Gibbs to write to the board pointing out significant disparities between the Duxbury road crew salaries and those of road crew members in surrounding towns particularly with regard to the foreman positions The selectboard held an emergency meeting on New Year’s Day to discuss the matter in executive session and continued their discussion in a second executive session on Jan board Chair Richard Charland proposed amending the two of the three salary lines in question proposing $78,520 for the foreman position (a 19% increase) $69,680 for road crew member 1 (a 15% increase) and $55,836 for road crew member 2 who is on leave (the original 3.2% increase the board listed) Several Duxbury residents attending the all-remote meeting pushed back against an apples-to-apples comparison with surrounding municipalities’ budget lines noting the differences in crew sizes and responsibilities Ervin openly expressed her dismay at the situation but the road crew has made their demand,” she said “The reality is this is a road crew’s market.”  Ervin cited the difficulties the town has had in recent months to hire a supplemental employee while crew member Randy Fiske is on leave The position remains vacant after several months of searching.  “Finding someone with a [commercial driver’s license] is all but impossible,” explained Ervin “If they both [Gibbs and road crew member Eric Austin] leave we put our town in jeopardy…and it’s the middle of winter.” “I’m not happy about it but I will vote for the increase because I think we have no choice,” Ervin decided “If we had a pool of people we could draw from that would be very helpful in setting rates The problem we have in all towns is there’s no pool or resource to draw from.” He reminded those present that the proposed budget is not yet finalized for the March 4 vote “Have Your Say Day is the time for the people to come back to the board and let us know how they feel about the budget and anything else that goes on in the Town of Duxbury,” he said The decision is the voters of the town,” Charland emphasized and board member Patrick Zachary all voted in favor of the road crew pay increases; McMahan voted no.  Fifth board member Crystal Sherman was not in attendance A revised version of the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget has not been posted on the Duxbury town website yet. The board included a draft version in its Dec. 30 meeting minutes, but revisions were made at that meeting as well as the Jan 3 revision to the highway department section the draft called for a bottom line of $1.28 million up 10% over the $1.16 million voters approved last year. McMahan on Sunday said road crew wage increases would add an estimated 2 cents to the town tax rate This post will be updated with a link to the budget draft for Saturday’s community meeting when it is available DUXBURY — The first day of the Duxbury High football team's preseason began with a conditioning walk Seems the town was repainting the numbers in the parking spaces in the lot at the athletic complex on Friday so the Dragons had to park their cars (or get dropped off) in one of the buildings across St George Street and then hoof it over to Raymond P Consider it the first of many roadblocks the Dragons will encounter as they take aim at a third straight Division 4 state championship More: Find all South Shore, Brockton-area high school football coverage right here The Dragons have suffered heavy graduation losses losing star running back/linebacker Alex Barlow and their top three receivers They also return just one starter on the offensive line "We all know what it takes to build back our team." "We lost a decent amount of starters," noted returning quarterback Trevor Jones More: VOTE: What are the best South Shore high school football games in 2024? Jones is one of the few familiar faces on offense He wasn't the starter in Week 1 last year but quickly grabbed the job and wound up throwing for 1,387 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for 715 yards and 7 scores "I'm definitely a lot more confident," Jones (5-11 "I'm 100 times better than I was last year (at this time) Duxbury plans to sprinkle in junior Brady Rhinesmith who doesn't have Jones' wheels but does possess a big arm Jones calls Rhinesmith "one of my best buddies" and assures us "They're both going to be in the mix," said fourth-year head coach Matt Landolfi who we think will help us most in that game." He ran for 1,520 yards and 22 TDs last season and authored one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time rushing 32 times for 275 yards and a record-tying 5 TDs Landolfi called him a "once-in-a-decade type of player," and senior Joseph Barberia lauded Barlow (now at Bentley University) as an "absolute dog." 195) will be part of the three-man committee trying to replace Barlow's production on the ground Look for Rees to get the most carries — at 5-11 200 pounds he might be best equipped to replicate Barlow's pulverizing style "It's a huge rebuilding year," Barberia said I think we have a good chance to do it (win three straight state titles)." The no-huddleThe receiving corps is brand new with Zach Falls (36 catches Junior Gavin Hammond will be in the slot with seniors Ted Mullin (6-2) and Jack Sovik on the outside The offensive line is almost all new with only Scanlon (6-1 250) could be a future star at right tackle 240) steps in at center in place of senior John Rovegno Rees will lead the defense from his middle linebacker spot Sovik (safety) and Jones (cornerback) among the other standouts on that side of the ball the Dragons stubbed their toe in the opener Duxbury claimed a 15th-straight Patriot League Keenan Division crown won the Thanksgiving matchup with Marshfield and tore through the Div Senior QB/CB Trevor Jones: A true dual-threat quarterback he had a big Super Bowl (7 of 11 passing for 158 yards and 2 TDs He's a returning starter at cornerback and will get spelled on offense at times by promising junior Brady Rhinesmith Senior OL/DL James Scanlon: The lone returning starter on the O-line he's back at his left guard spot and will be charged with setting the tone in the trenches on both sides of the ball Senior RB/MLB Jack Rees: The fulcrum of the Dragons' defense he also headlines a three-man committee at running back They said itRees on replacing Barlow at running back: "It's definitely some big shoes to fill Scanlon on last year's Week 1 loss to Hanover: "Everyone in the locker room was so mad so we just locked in next week at practice and got to work and won every single game the rest of the year Rovegno on converting from center to H-back: "I leaned out (dropped weight) a little bit this winter and spring getting ready for lacrosse I built some strength up and put on more muscle (The experience of playing center is) everything I need (to succeed at H-back)." Passing games might be all the rage on the high school football scene these days, but the old ways still work. Duxbury High has been a good example of that through three weeks of the 2024 campaign The Dragons churned out 191 yards on the ground and continued to be stingy on D Friday night and came away with a rewarding 14-7 win over Hanover in a rain-soaked battle of unbeaten Patriot League heavyweights The Dragons (3-0) avenged their last loss -- way back in the 2023 season opener when the Hawks came to Duxbury and stunned the defending Division 4 state champs with a 28-18 win Quarterback Trevor Jones said payback for last season's Week 1 setback was item No "That's what we were talking about all week," Jones said he helped limit Hanover's explosive passing game as Hawks QB Tyler Vincent was limited to 14 of 26 passing for just 83 yards with a touchdown (No 7 already on the season for him) with a pair of interceptions rushing 21 times for 111 yards and leading the team in both categories He opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD plunge in the first quarter and then shut the door on the Hawks (2-1) late serving as the point man on an epic drive that killed off the final 7:19 "We just knew we had to get first downs," Duxbury coach Matt Landolfi now 36-3 in three-plus seasons as the Dragons' helm They moved the chains consistently – 10 yards 10 yards – until there were zero seconds left on the clock." Taking over at their own 16 following Vincent's 7-yard TD pass to Kellan Balducci the Dragons marched 65 yards in nine plays Jones carried seven times for 56 yards on the drive His signature moment was a 23-yard pickup on third-and-1 from the Duxbury 36 with about 4 minutes remaining More: Friday night lights: South Shore high school football scores and highlights "I saw that the 'backers were blitzing on the outside I made a couple of moves and got loose and used my athletic ability to get into open field "We couldn't get off the field," said Hanover coach Brian Kelliher Duxbury's defense didn't allow a second-half point in Week 1's 38-20 win over Abington and then pitched a 21-0 shutout vs The Dragons might have put up another zero Friday if not for a bit of individual brilliance from junior slot receiver Brandon Errico Errico kept Hanover's lone scoring drive alive by reversing his field on what appeared to be failed fourth-and-4 sweep from the Dragons' 30 with about nine minutes left came back right and had to settle for a 20-yard gain when he lost his footing in the open field with the end zone in sight Vincent found Balducci to narrow Duxbury's lead to 14-7 "He's a really great player," Landolfi said of Errico I thought overall we did a really good job (of that) but a player like that you're not going to stop for the entire game." Duxbury's Jack Rees had a relatively quiet game at running back (11 carries for 40 yards) but he got what turned out to be the winning score on a 7-yard run Rees set up the drive by picking off a middle screen at the Hanover 41 who subs in for Jones every few possessions threw a 32-yard bullet to Ian McNeill down the seam to set up first-and-goal at the 7 Rhinesmith was 3 of 3 passing for 37 yards McNeill had 70 yards on offense on five touches.