Sylvia and Mello go down swinging
Dartmouth's Sean Sylvia (19) and Justin Mello (80) on the football field. (Globe File Photo)
After years of bringing crowds to their feet with countless touchdown connections and electric 3-pointers, a dynamic Dartmouth duo finally crossed the high school sports finish line Saturday on a quiet tennis court on the campus of BC High in Dorchester.
Seniors Justin Mello and Sean Sylvia lost to a pair of sophomores, Sam Mullin and Kevin Cleary, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round of the Division 1 South tournament. BC High swept the Indians, 5-0.
‘‘It’s over now, but we had a good run,’’ said Mello. ‘‘Even this season, we did better than we thought we would do.’’
‘‘We had a lot of fun,’’ echoed Sylvia. ‘‘Now we can go to school and do it again.’’
A tennis court isn’t where their story was supposed to end. Sylvia and Mello were baseball players... Until this spring. The pair decided to play tennis, hoping for a shot in a few junior varsity matches, and maybe a varsity match if they were lucky. Instead, the two jelled as a doubles team, quickly became the Indians' No. 1 doubles team while earning Old Colony League All-Star honors.
Mello, a wide receiver/cornerback with outstanding football instincts, will attend the University of New Hampshire in the fall. He leaves Dartmouth as the Indians’ all-time leader in interceptions, receiving yards, and receptions, including 63 catches this past season, a school single-season record. He was also a top option out of the backfield for the Old Colony League champions. Mello was selected as an OCL All-Star each of the past two seasons, nabbing All-Scholastic honors this past year.
On the court, he was one of the area's top all-around players, leading the Indians in rebounds and averaging just under 12 points per game. Dartmouth basketball coach Steve Gasper once dubbed Mello, ‘‘Mr. Everything’’ after a well-rounded effort lifted the team to a victory over New Bedford. He has been an OCL All-Star for three consecutive years.
If there was a ‘‘Mr. Everything’’ on the gridiron, it would have to the Chesire Academy-bound Sylvia. The quarterback / safety / kicker / wide receiver (in his sophomore year) was an integral part of a perfect regular season, despite missing over a month after aggravating a hamstring injury while kicking a game-winning field goal over Mansfield in the season opener. Sylvia still managed to throw 9 touchdown passes, all after returning from the injury. Sylvia has been an OCL All-Star ever year since he was a sophomore and was named an All-Scholastic in 2007.
With a basketball in his hands, Sylvia was just as deadly. He led his team in scoring while earning yet another OCL All-Star selection, his second in three years.
While the two standout athletes never led the Indians to a state championship, they came excruciatingly close on several occasions. Success and accolades aside, the two have left Dartmouth with great memories.
Including a few from a tennis court.
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Look for updates from:
- Bob Holmes: A Reading resident (Go Rockets!) and Boston College graduate, Holmes is the Boston Globe High School Sports Editor. We remind you now that his weekly picks are often made in jest so everyone just calm down when he picks against Everett for 11 straight weeks.
- Mike Carraggi: An Everett native (Go Tide!), Mike attends Eastern Nazarene college and is entering his second year with the Globe. He'll focus on Division 1 this fall, which means he'll spend a lot of time in his hometown, which Forsberg thinks is cool because the Tide have that Fried Dough cart.
- Emily Wright: A Hyannis native (Go Barnstable Red Raiders!), Emily is a senior at Emerson College and has been with the Globe since the end of July. She'll cover Division 1A and will be the first intern we've trusted to navigate her way to Dennis-Yarmouth or any other school on the Cape.
- Mike Grossi: A Lexington native (Go Minutemen!), Mike attends Northeastern and has been with the Globe for two months. He'll cover Division 2 and 2A and unsuccessfully lobbied to include Lexington in the preseason Top 20.
- Jonathan Raymond: A native of Benicia, Calif. (a suburb of San Francisco), Jonathan attends Northeastern and has been working at the Globe since the end of June. He will be focusing on Division 3 and is likely woefully underprepared for covering a game in a foot of snow.
- David Carty: A native of West Bridgewater (Go Wildcats!), David is a senior at Emerson College and has been working at the Globe for a year. He'll cover Divisions 3A and 4 because, "small school ball is in my blood."
- The bench: You'll also catch updates from our regional contributors, including Globe North's Julian Benbow and South's Monique Walker. Correspondent Brendan Hall will have updates from the Globe West coverage area and will often try to sneak in Central Mass. news.
