Two from Hanover are players of year

New England Football Conference coaches might give Hanover High School players an extra look from now on.

Former Hanover High School quarterback Michael Carven earned the NEFC's Boyd Division Offensive Player of the Year for Nichols College. Former Hanover teammate Mike Sirignano , a defensive lineman, garnered the NEFC's Bogan Division Defensive Player of the Year.

Carven wraps up his career as Nichols's all-time leader in career passing yardage (4,619 ), pass completions (307), and touchdown passes (40). He also holds five other game and season records. He comes from a family of quarterbacks. Three brothers, including Bill, who is the head coach at Nichols, all played the position in high school.

Sirignano, at Bridgewater State College, finished with 67 tackles (48 solo) along with 14.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two blocked extra points, and, in the ECAC North Atlantic Bowl against Coast Guard Nov. 18, he intercepted a pass and ran 45 yards for a touchdown. He is third in the NEFC in sacks, seventh in tackles for loss, tied for fourth in fumble recoveries, and tied for fifth in forced fumbles.

Trinity names basketball captains

The captains for the women's and men's basketball teams at Trinity (Conn.) College are former Norwell High School All-Scholastic Sarah Cox, who returns for her final season, and Michael Hoar of Pembroke .

Last year Cox led a team that had fewer than 10 players -- and none taller than 5 feet 10 -- into the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championship tournament, despite an 8-15 record.

As a junior, she emerged as one of the best players in the NESCAC, leading the league in scoring with an 18.6-points-per-game average and finishing second in the NASCAC in free throw shooting by hitting 81 percent, making 118 of 145 shots. Cox also was the leading rebounder for Trinity with 6.7 per game, 11th best in the league.

She is equally adept inside and outside, offensively and defensively, and Trinity's postseason hopes rely heavily on her shoulders.

"Sarah is an athletic three-guard who makes up for her lack of speed with smart court-sense," said her coach, Wendy Davis. "She is very good at reading screens to get open, but she can also break defenders down and go one-on-one. She is both a leader by example, her work ethic, and by voice. We have eight first-year players, so she needs to be."

Hoar, who had a standout career at Boston College High School, is one of four starters returning for the men's team that finished with an 18-6 record last year.

The 6-foot-6 center/forward started all 24 games, averaging 4.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. He also led the Bantams with 27 block shots.

Tufts's O'Connell on all-star team

Despite a nagging injury, Greg O'Connell of Cohasset earned a spot on the New England Small College Athletic Conference Soccer All-Star team.

For the second time in as many years, the Tufts University senior was named as a second team selection by the league's coaches.

O'Connell, the son of former Boston Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell, missed four games and finished with a modest one goal and one assist, but his presence on the field has gained respect from the rest of the conference, according to Jumbo coach Ralph Ferrigno.

"His leadership on the field, as well as his ability to control the pace of the game and play both midfield and forward positions, has earned him regard as one of the best players in NESCAC," he said.

Tufts (7-6-2) started the year winless in its first five, but then won seven of nine. The Jumbos came close to upsetting second-seeded Amherst in the NESCAC tournament, but were eliminated on penalty kicks.

Sullivan honored with defense award

Sean Sullivan of Braintree picked up the Hockey East award for the Defensive Player of the Week. The senior defenseman had three assists to lead Boston University to a come-from-behind 4-4 tie with the University of New Hampshire on Nov. 10.

He has been an iron man for BU. Last year Sullivan was one of only eight Terriers to play all 40 games. It was the second year in a row he played in every game. Going into this season, he had a streak of 110 consecutive games and has played in the first 11 games this year.

As a freshman, he missed only two games, Nov. 14-15, 2003, against Merrimack when he was recovering from a concussion.

Sullivan is a St. Sebastian's School graduate. As a senior, he led all New England prep defensemen in scoring with 39 points (nine goals, 30 assists) in 31 games. When his collegiate career is complete, he should get a shot at the pros.

The Phoenix Coyotes selected Sullivan in the ninth round of the 2003 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

One generation touches another

A Thanksgiving Day post script: In Abington, it has been 50 years since the last unbeaten, untied team.

Attorney Jack Reilly was the quarterback of the 1956 team, and he later went on to serve as an assistant coach and the athletic director at his alma mater. His son, Ed, serves as Jim Kelliher's offensive coordinator.

"When we went unbeaten in 1956 I didn't think it would take another 50 years for Abington to post another unbeaten season," said Reilly. "I didn't realize how special it was."

So last Sunday before Thanksgiving, members of the 1956 team, including its head coach, Walter Paster, took this year's Green Wave players to dinner at the Abington Ale House.

Sophomore makes captain at Stonehill

Brendan O'Brien is only a sophomore at Stonehill College, but his hockey coach, Scott Harlow, thinks so much of him he named the Braintree native as the team captain, an honor usually given to upperclassmen.

So far, O'Brien has proven to be a good choice. He picked up this year where he left off last season, becoming the Northeast-10 Conference Co-Player of the Week that ended Nov. 14 after scoring a goal and picking up four assists in two games for the Skyhawks.

The talented center was an impact player his freshman year. Nine times during the season, he was the NE-10 Rookie of the Week. He won the award so often he was a cinch as the league's Rookie of the Year.

He's been through some hard times. O'Brien started high school at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood and transferred to Deerfield Academy, but back-to-back injuries (groin and shoulder) hampered his performance there.

Finally, last year he showed what he could do, leading Stonehill to its first winning season in four years.