Winter's spring

At first glance, it seems like an embarrassment of riches.

Both the BC High basketball and hockey teams won state titles just 24 hours apart. But anyone who was around the Eagles this autumn can tell you that perhaps no school deserved more of a morale boost this winter than the gang on Morrissey Blvd.

When the school year began back in September, it seemed like things couldn’t get much better. Before the football team kicked off its opener against top-ranked Brockton, the field at Viola Stadium was dedicated to former football coach and athletics director Jim Cotter, who retired after the 2004 season after 42 years as coach. Many alumni, former players, friends, and family came out for the event. Cotter and his family went out onto the field before the game for a family photo. The football team even went on to defeat Brockton that night, 27-20.

Just weeks later, Cotter announced that he had been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. More bad news followed in November when Julie Bartlett, the wife of current athletics director Jon Bartlett, was involved in a serious car accident. Both developments were devastating to the close-knit BC High community of faculty, coaches and administrators.

“I think the adult community was profoundly affected,” admitted principal Steve Hughes.

While the school tried to deal with the misfortune, the winter season arrived, and both the hockey and basketball teams were ranked No. 1 in the Globe preseason Top 20. The hockey program had always been traditionally strong, and was looking to defend its Super 8 title.

The basketball program, on the other hand, tended to be competitive, but had very little success in the postseason. The knock on the team through the years, as one Big 3 coach once put it, was “A lot of size, just not a lot of speed.”

The Eagles certainly had plenty of size this season, with the frontline of Andrew Yanulis, Jake O’Brien, and Nick Schmiemann forming a wall on defense and making opponents think twice before driving to the hoop. The trio also proved to be agile on offense, dominating on the blocks and pounding the boards.

Guards Chris Hurley and Tim McKinney formed a potent backcourt, cutting and slashing to the hoop, while also capable of burying the 3. There would be no knocking BC High’s speed this year, particularly with the lightning-quick Hurley creating havoc on defense by forcing turnovers, and occasionally knifing through the opposing defense with his drives to the basket. When the Eagles needed a big play, it was Hurley who seemed to deliver.

Opponents hoping to run the Eagles ragged, or get them into foul trouble, were out of luck, as forward Ryan Sharry and guards Nick McLaughlin and Brian Mahoney were at the ready off the bench. It was Mahoney who started the last three games of the season when McKinney’s season was cut short with a leg injury.

“These are all just good kids who work hard,” said basketball head coach Bill Loughnane.

Whereas the basketball team ran the table and finished 25-0, the hockey team took a more circuitous route to the title. In fact, the Eagles finished fourth in the five-team Catholic Conference.

“I think, because of the way we started, everyone sort of forgot about us,” said hockey head coach Joe McCabe. “We finished up strong though. I think we were 13-1-1 in our last 15 games.”

Finishing up the regular season with wins over Hingham, Duxbury and Waltham in the Cape Cod Classic, the Eagles entered the Super 8 playing their best hockey of the season. It would carry over into the postseason, with BC High going 5-0 to capture its second straight Division 1A title.

Junior Joe Cannata was solid in net and received help in stifling opponents from defensemen Mike Vasilchuk, Mike Wolf, Dan Smolinsky, and Ryan Mullin. The Eagles had a balanced scoring attack as well, with Bryan Kelly, Luke Heller, John Heffernan, Bob Stenbeck, and Jeff Sullivan all registering double digits in points during the regular season.

“We were all fired up,” said Sullivan after the win. “It felt good. We knew we were going to win coming into the game.”

No school had ever won both the Super 8 and the Division 1 boys' basketball titles in the same season. The coaches let their guard down during the postgame celebrations. Upon advancing to the state finals, Loughnane paused for a moment, gathering his family on the parquet of the TD Banknorth Garden and posed for a photo before addressing the media. After winning the state title in Worcester, he gave high-5's to members of the BC High student body as he headed to the locker room.

With the hockey title clinched, McCabe and his staff greeted their team individually, stopping them on the way out of the locker room to give them a hug, thank them for their hard work, and wish them a good spring. The players reciprocated, thanking the coaches for sticking with them.

Both coaches hoped that the success of the winter teams helped to ease some of the pain from the fall.

“It’s great for the school and for the atmosphere there,” said Loughnane. “Sports are such a big part of their education.”

“To have two winter sports bring home two state titles is unbelievable,” added McCabe. “It’s just such a great place. They are very close over there, the student body, the faculty, and administration. It’s a great school. Congratulations to the basketball team. I know the kids have been going to the games.”

The two programs had in fact been supporting each other throughout the season. Having clinched their title last Saturday, the basketball team was out in full force for the hockey game the next day.

“It’s just been crazy having both of us winning,” said Yanulis. “We try to come to as many games as we can, and we’ve seen them at our games.”

While the success of the two programs was certainly newsworthy, for most the highlight of the weekend came Saturday night, after the basketball team returned from Worcester.

A fundraiser was held at BC High’s McNeice Pavillion, planned by Sean Foley and Brendan Sullivan, both of whom graduated with Bartlett from BC High in 1987. More than 1,500 supporters attended the event. The money raised would help to pay for medical bills as Julie continues on a long road to recovery.

“My wife and I were very humbled by the generosity and support of everyone,” said Bartlett.

The event also served to honor the many people who helped in Julie’s recovery, from the MedFlight crew, to the workers at Mass. General and Spaulding Rehabilitation. At the end of the night, Bartlett addressed the crowd, thanking everyone for their support. The reception was silent as he spoke, with Julie, recently released from Spaulding, standing by his side.

“What the two teams have done is amazing,” said Hughes. “But in the end it’s just sports. This is life. It was very emotional, to see the kind of support the community can give.”

The hockey team followed the next day with a 6-1 win over Weymouth to complete the weekend sweep.

“It’s just been a magical ride,” said Bartlett. “To have both teams win, it’s very difficult to do. It was hectic, but in the big picture, it was a blast. The whole school has been electric.”

There was one prominent figure at each of the games as well, as Cotter continued to attend the games, sitting courtside for basketball, and in the stands for hockey, as a steady stream of well-wishers stopped by.

“We know Coach Cotter is always at our games,” said Yanulis. “It’s great to have him there.”

It’s been a wild March, with trainer Steve Medeiros, Bartlett, Hughes and others making treks to Brockton, Lowell (twice), Worcester and the Garden (twice) following both programs. So now what?

"I guess the pressure is on (baseball coach) Norm (Walsh)," said Bartlett with a laugh.