A happy ending for Wheaton's Landers
Chris Landers had two hands on the red button and he was searching desperately for a reason not to push it.
After a solid senior year at Proctor Academy in Andover, N.H., the Manchester teen had committed to play lacrosse at Wheaton College. Coach Pete Toner sold him hard on the idea of being an impact player for the Division 3 program. Not an uncommon pitch, and Landers bought in.
But before the 19-year-old attack man even could make it to Norton for freshman orientation, the salesman left to take a job at Bryant University.
"I panicked," Landers said.
He had buddies at Providence College and he was calling to see if the Friars had a spot for him. But eventually he settled down. He wasn't the only Wheaton recruit in this situation - another 14 incoming freshmen got the same pitch.
"They were all pretty nervous," Landers said. "But it was good that we had each other to say 'let's work through this, let's give this a shot.' "
Instead of planning an exit strategy, they coached themselves. By the time Wheaton hired Mike McCaffrey in October, they had already crafted a lifting and running routine. "When coach came," Landers said, "he was pretty surprised by how well we were working together."
The players were just as surprised by their new coach's resume. He was the head man at Holy Cross until 2004.
"I had no problem with a Division 1 coach coming in and wanting to coach a Division 3 school," Landers said. "That's great for us. I was really happy about it and I knew good things were going to happen."
The transition couldn't have gone more smoothly. Eight of the 15 freshmen were starters. The Lyons turned from a four-win team to an eight-win team that reached the Pilgrim League final for the first time in 12 seasons.
McCaffrey earned coach-of-the-year honors. Landers was the league's top rookie, leading the Lyons in scoring with 39 points (29 goals and 10 assists). "I didn't really see myself as an impact player," Landers said. "I was just filling a spot. I was just doing my job."
He and McCaffrey have another three years together.
"It can only get better," Landers said. "He'll know this freshman class until the day we graduate, because he was new when we were new."
Ipswich superintendent Rick Korb said in a statement, "The generosity of this gift is just overwhelming - we're thrilled. The Institution for Savings has truly become a wonderful partner within our community to help improve the quality of life for residents of all ages. This type of commitment doesn't come along every day, and I am honored, on behalf of all of our students and teachers, to accept such a remarkable gift."
Howard went into his final two games, a doubleheader against Eckerd, needing four hits to break the single-season mark. Howard abused the Tritons' pitching, smacking five hits in the first game and another two in the nightcap to give the Nahant native 95 for the year, four more than previous record holders Bobby Walsh and Carmine Cappucio. The tear hiked his final batting average to .426, besting Jason Cloar's mark of .424 set in 2001. Rewriting all that history made the senior third baseman a perfect choice for the Sunshine State Conference's Player of the Week honor. 