Are you ready for some football? And while we’re at it, how about some golf, field hockey, soccer and cross country? The fall season kicks off this week for Manchester Essex Regional High School sports teams, so we are taking this opportunity to preview what’s to come over the next few months.
Details: The MERHS football team closed out the 2024 season with a win over Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School on Thanksgiving Day, and the hope is that will be a catalyst for things to come for the Hornets. In one sense, it marked the start of a new holiday rivalry with a neighboring school, and in the other it could serve as the jumping off point for the team in 2025. ME lost only five seniors to graduation from that squad, meaning most of the roster from a team with a winning record return, including senior captains Walker Valeo (offensive/defensive line), Zach Hurd (quarterback/defensive back) and Charlie Thurlow (wideout, defensive back). Valeo leads an experienced group in the trenches – Tony Brown, Nate Powers and Joe and Chris Glass – that should set the tone up front in 2025.
“We were lucky to only graduate five seniors last year, so most of the guys saw some extensive action in 2024,” says Grimes. “I think that experience will really help us prepare and give us a lot of options on both sides of the ball.”
As a result, the Hornets are aiming high when it comes to goals this fall.
“Three things are up on our wall every year: win the league, win the state title and win Thanksgiving,” explains Grimes. “We love playing in the CAL and we hope to be in the mix for the league title and make the state tournament. If we stay healthy and have a little luck on our side, I hope we can accomplish all of our goals this year.”
Details: The MERHS field hockey team seemed to find ways to impress all season long in 2024, finishing with 15 wins, a CAL Baker title and amassing an unheard of 14 shutout victories throughout the fall. Six seniors graduated from that defensively focused team, but the Hornets return a core of talented, experienced juniors, as well as captains Abby Kent and Laila Mears.
“We have a strong group of returning players: Abby Kent, Laila Mears, Penelope Riggs, Kiernan Day, Sadie Potter and Sarah Cort all have ample varsity experience and help set the tempo of our play,” explains Brown.
The ME field hockey program always seems to not only be in contention for a tournament berth, but also able to make some noise once in the postseason. The 2025 season is no different.
“Long term, we are looking for a deep run into the state tournament this year,” says Brown. “The make up of our division has changed slightly, so I’m looking forward to seeing how that may work in our favor. Short term, we aim to be competitive in the CAL. This team is willing to put in the effort to get stronger every day.”
Details: The Hornets have some familiar faces to rely upon in 2025, including second-team Cape Ann League All Star Harper Brooks, while hoping that some younger players can jump in and produce at key spots on the field.
“This season we’re looking at Ava Dickerson, Harper Brooks and Annie Kent as three of our key players in building an attack,” explains Grifoni. “Defensively we’re excited for Senior Izzy Zagrobski to lead our back line and organize the defense on the field. Grace Scarbrough will also play key roles in supporting the defense and Senior Cia Donohoe will be essential for us on the flanks. And we have Junior Emerald Jakes stepping into the starting goalie position for her first time.”
Grifoni is stressing the importance of team development over the course of the fall season, with the team keeping its collective focus on itself rather than worrying about matchups or what fellow Cape Ann League teams are doing.
“Development and growth are most important,” says Grifoni. “Building a culture of unity and grit will be a defining aspect of our success. We want to evolve in a positive direction over the next two months and embracing that process, rather than the outcome, will define us this year.”
Details: Similar to the girls team, boys soccer coach Rob Bilsbury is looking for his team to be better on the final day of the season than they were on its first. Part of the need of this focus on development was the sheer amount of turnover Hornet roster saw from 2024 to 2025: Fourteen seniors from a squad that won 14 games graduated, meaning a whole lot of players are stepping into starting roles they may not have had last fall.
“We’ve got a nice, talented freshman group coming in, a decent sophomore class,” says Bilsbury. “The juniors are the core of our group. The higher end of our goal is to win the CAL and, I think, just growing as a group and playing together. I think our captains came into this season with that mindset, and it’s been a great start.”
It’s a bonus that those captains also play crucial positions, with goalkeeper Keegan Brooks and center back Charlie Athanas adding the “C” to their jerseys in 2025. The duo will be tone setters for the Hornets, along with transfer Grayson Harden, defensive midfielder Chase Spencer, attack Morgan Nichols and outside back Ernest Taylor.
Details: One year from finishing within a hair’s breadth of the Cape Ann League title, earning 12 wins and finishing in the top five at the State Championship, the question is pretty obvious when it comes to the MERHS golf team: How do you follow up one of the greatest seasons in program history? While that won’t be easy to do, it certainly helps to have a lot of the top talent from 2024 back for this fall, including Jack McCavanagh, Gray West, Jake Zschau, Graham Lewis and Jack Lawler.
Details: The girls cross country team made a statement during its winning regular season in 2024, while the boys team made its statement after the close of the regular season. The boys went 1-4, but finished fifth in the Cape Ann League Cross Country Championships, finishing ahead of CAL rivals Amesbury, Ipswich and Lynnfield, and earning a bit of revenge against teams that beat them during the regular season. Gus Hall, Lyall Cunningham, Matt Ala and Isaiah Nicastro return from that team to anchor the 2025 version of the boys squad.
The girls team looked pretty great during the regular season by going 3-2, but couldn’t replicate that success in the postseason, finishing eighth overall at the same meet. The girls will also have to deal with turnover from that winning team, as seniors Whitney Turner, Sabine Cooper and Hayden Remington have graduated, leaving River Silva and Kalin Bennett to anchor the 2025 squad.
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