Belmont Football Wins Thanksgiving Tussle Over Watertown, 24-14, As Team Fulfills Pre-Season Goals

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Photo: Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin with his players after defeating Watertown on Thanksgiving.

There were four goals Belmont High Head Football Coach Yann Kumin sought to accomplish by the end of the 2019 season; three concerning the team and a very personal one.

The objectives on the field were to have the program’s first winning season since 2009, make the Division 3 North sectionals playoffs for consecutive years and beat neighboring rivals Watertown on “Turkey Day.”

And when Belmont senior QB Avery Arno took a knee with the team in the victory formation, Kumin’s team met all the preseason challenges presented to it in the heat of late August. A 6-4 season, a playoff game at Danvers and a 24-14 victory on a cold windswept Victory Field over hosts Watertown.

“This is the perfect ending of a perfect year,” Kumin told his team minutes after the conclusion of the game. “I love you guys. I’m so proud of what this team accomplished because it wasn’t an easy game to play.

But it was the unspoken goal that was the greatest accomplishment for the sixth-year coach; being diagnosed cancer-free after a summer of surgery and chemotherapy at Mass General Hospital. A lot lighter and with a lot less hair than his usual appearance, the end of the season was just the beginning of Kumin’s long recovery.

“I got so many emotions right now that I don’t really know how to feel as this is the hardest year of my life,” said Kumin after the game.

“I’m so lucky to have so many people making it possible for me to fight through it and give me something to come to work for every day and believing in us and believing in what we’re doing. You know, it’s really hard to put into words,” said Kumin as he held the game ball given to him by Belmont AD Jim Davis.

Belmont finished the season winning six of its final seven games, and had a 3-2 winning record against Middlesex Liberty opponents, a first for the program. The victory is the second in as many years for the Marauders which trails Watertown. 45-49-4 with one cancellation, in the 99 years of the rivalry.

Watertown came to the game with a simple defensive scheme: stop Belmont’s offensive juggernaut junior RB Chad Francis, who had scampered for more than 200 yards four times this season.

The Raiders’ commitment to putting eight players “in the box” to clog up the line of scrimmage put a damper on Francis’ ability for most of the game to find holes to run through. Consequently, the Raiders’ decision to focus on Francis allowed Belmont’s receivers to be covered “man-to-man” downfield which ultimately proved to be the difference at the end of the game.

“We just couldn’t really get … our run game going and that’s been our money all season,” said Kumin. “We’ve had a good [passing] game all season long and so we just went over the top. We saw some mismatches and kept going to it when we were in trouble and it worked out.”

It was all Watertown to start, throwing the playbook at Belmont with sweeps, dives into the line, short passes and finally a 35-yard pitch and catch TD from Watertown QB Brennan Cook to WR Will Dolan to give the Raiders’ a 7-0 lead with 3:35 left in the first quarter.

But Belmont’s defense settled down and had three consecutive series in which the Marauders stuffed Watertown’s attack including a stellar goal line stance after the Raiders’ had a first and goal from the 4-yard line.

Belmont finally got on the scoreboard when Arno hit junior WR Preston Jackson-Stephens with a 47-yard touchdown with 2:25 left in the first half to tie the game. The score came after the Raiders had a chance to extend their lead, but a first and goal from the four resulted in a missed field goal.

Belmont was able to uncork its running game early in the third quarter as it marched downfield behind Francis and senior FB Ryan Santoro. With a third and goal from the five, Arno located senior WR Zack Hubbard on a quick slant route – which the two used to win the Arlington game – to give Belmont the lead, 14-7, at the 6:06 mark.

Taking advantage of a three and out and a shanked punt that went 5 yards, Belmont‘s outstanding kicker Hampton Trout knocked through a 30-yard field goal into a stiff crosswind to extended the Marauders’ lead to 17-7 with 1:30 remaining in the third.

Watertown found its footing in the fourth quarter as the Raiders’ scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Cook to RB Karim Monroe with 8:26 left in the game to close the gap to three, 17-14. On its next possession, Watertown found it deep in the Marauders’ end with a first and 10 at the Belmont 29. But a penalty on first down, a flea-flicker pass that nearly worked on second down and a sack on third resulted in Watertown punting the ball to Belmont’s 13-yard line with 2:55 left in the game.

After failing the move the ball on the first two plays, Belmont faced a third down and 10 from the 13 when Kumin would say later was the best play call in his coaching life.

“It’s [called] the scissors with the ‘s’ vertical. This is one of our moneymaker combos but we added a little wrinkle that allowed the seam [the gap between two defenders] to open up,” he said.

And the call worked to perfection as Arno found junior WR Matt McHugh beyond the safety and cornerback for an 87-yard touchdown with 1:50 remaining. It was Arno’s second 87 yard TD pass in consecutive games.

For Kumin, the win was less a statement of what the Marauders had done this season but rather as a foundation for the program’s future.

“This is only the beginning. We’ve always said we completed phase one with last year’s class, and that this was the start of phase two which was to make runs in the Middlesex League and the D3 North bracket to win consistently on Turkey Day,” he said.

“We’re going to enjoy the heck out of it and then we’re going to get back to work and start getting ready for next year because you know we’re just really excited for where this program can go,” said Kumin.

BREAKING: Parking Ban In Belmont Tuesday; Trash Pickup Delayed One Day

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Photo: If your vehicle is on the street Tuesday, it’s getting towed.

Belmont has issued a snow emergency for Tuesday, Dec. 3 due to a storm impacting the town beginning

The Belmont Police has issued a town-wide parking ban effective at midnight, Tuesday, Dec. 3 and will run until further notice. The ban includes all roadways and municipal and Belmont Public School parking lots.

Any vehicle parked in violation of the ban will be towed at the owner’s expense.

The Department of Public Work has announced that trash, recycling, and yard waste pickup have been delayed one day due to the inclement weather

Pep Pie In The Face: How Belmont High Prepped For Turkey Day Match

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Photo: SPLAT!

Who doesn’t like a pie in the face? It’s been a staple of films, surprise parties and as of Wednesday, Belmont High School’s Pep Rally.

Due to some dubious voting, it was determined the senior class leaders would be the recipient of a cream pie. And to the delight of a field house filled with the four classes (about 1,500 kids), the end result was as messy as everyone had hoped.

Wednesday’s rally was held for the school to show its support for the next day’s annual rivalry football game against Watertown with a list of “fun” events: musical chairs, spinning bat relay, cheer team, an educator’s dance squad, the school’s Step Club and the marching band performing from its half time show.

And it all worked as Belmont defeated Watertown 24-14 on Thanksgiving.

First Winter Storm Brings Snow, Rain Through Tuesday; Schools Still Open Monday

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Photo: A snowy return from the Thanksgiving break.

Monday and Tuesday’s morning commutes will be trying for commuters and students as Belmont prepares for the first winter storm of the season which begins late Sunday evening, Dec. 1.

Belmont is under a Winter Storm Warning which will last until 7 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3. Belmont currently lies on the line of 6 to 8 inches and 8 to 12 inches of snow according to the latest map from the National Weather Service Boston.

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, Belmont schools will open on Monday.

In a 4 p.m. Sunday update from the NWS, heavy accumulating snow will come in two parts:

  • First part beginning at 5 p.m. Sunday through just after midnight Monday, Dec. 2, with the heaviest snow north of the Mass Pike;
  • The second part will begin Monday night into Tuesday morning, with greater snowfall in eastern Massachusetts.

A mix of freezing rain and sleet along with light snow will fall during the day Monday.

Despite A Season Away, X-C and Swimming At Home In State Championships

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Photo: Belmont’s Cross Country All-Star Stephen Carvalho

Due to the construction of the new Middle and High School, Belmont’s Cross Country and Swimming teams have lost their homes – the harrier’s Clay Pit Pond course and swimming’s Higginbottom Pool at Belmont High. But each program reached state finals this year with some strong performances.

Carvalho Leaves His Mark On X-C Honor Roll

Belmont’s Stephen Carvalho ended his high school harrier career with an outstanding performance at the Boys’ All-State Division l Cross Country Championships finishing 11th in a field of the state’s top runners.

Carvalho crossed the line of the 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) race in 16 minutes and 33 seconds, one second from a top ten finish and less than 30 seconds off the winning time of 16:06 set by King Philip Regional’s Mike Griffin.

It has been a stellar year for the senior capped by capturing the Middlesex League Championships title on Oct. 28 at Woburn Country Club as he broke away in the final stretch to out kick Lexington’s Adam Bernstein to win in 16:09.24, and being named Middlesex League Runner of the season.

In November, Carvalho paced the Marauders to a 16th place finish at the Division 2 championships in Wrentham. Once again placing 11th in 16:19.9, Carvalho was followed by junior Zach Gillette (17:25.7), sophomore Trevor Smith (17:34.6), junior Henry Yang (17:53.22), junior Alexan Athanasiou (18:07.50) and sophomore Lot Bates in 18:16.34.

The Belmont Girls’ X-C finished the season coming in 12th in the Division 2 finals. Junior Isabel Burger was the first Marauder across the finishing line in 45th place in 20:27.54. Junior Victoria Meringer (20:46.02), senior Joy He (21:05.65), senior Soleil Tseng (21:23.7), junior Matilda Hamer (22:20.4) and sophomore Zoe Dill (22:28.01) rounded out the runners from Belmont.

Running on opponents courses and riding the bus to meets, the Girls team finished with a 3-3 record and 2-3 in the Middlesex League while the Boys were 2-4 overall and 1-4 in the league.

Girls’ Swimming Score In DII Finals

Late evening practices at an undersized pool at the Belmont Country Club and weekends in Wellesley did not detour the efforts of the 4-6 Belmont’s Girls’ Swimming from a strong performance in the season-ending championship meets.

Belmont continued to show its decade long prowess in the 100-yard breaststroke as Katarina Chen led a trio of juniors into the top 15 at the Division 2 State Swimming and Diving Championship held at Boston University on Sunday, Nov. 17.

Chen erased nearly a second off her seeded time to power home in third place in l minute, 11.55 seconds. Alicia Lugovskoy came in fifth in 1:12.17 while Elena Li took more than a second off her season-best to finish 13th in 1:15.76 as Belmont took 34 points from the event.

And another group of third-year performers left their marks at the diving venue. Marina Cataldo took fourth in the one-meter event receiving 424.10 points. Sophie Cormier garnered 315.30 points for 11th while Samantha Burge survived the prelims and semi-final rounds to place 16th with 228.25 points.

Other Marauders in individual events included:

  • Junior Samantha Fogel, 16th in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:05.10.
  • Sophomore Alexandra Zarkadas, 100-yard backstroke.
  • First Year Alique Stepanian, 50 and 100-yard freestyle.

Belmont was represented in each of the relays contested at the meet:

  • In the 200 Yard Medley Relay: Zarkadas, Chen, Fogel and senior Meredith Chasse finished 9th in 1:58.73.
  • 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: Chen, Fogel, senior Chloe Park and Chasse came in 11th in 1:48.09.
  • 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: Zarkadas, First Year Clara Blagwati, Park and Lugovskoy finished 12th in 4:05.71.

Belmont finished the meet in 11th with 93 points. Wellesley took the title with 430 points.

Belmont High Football, At 5-4, Prepares For Watertown Riding High On Pair Of Wins

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Photo: Preston Jackson Stephens at the receiving end of a 87 yard pass from QB Avery Arno for a touchdown.

When Belmont High Head Football Coach Yann Kumin met his team for the first time at the beginning of the season, he told them there were three goals they were going to strive for: winning, playoffs and a happy Thanksgiving Day.

Three months later on Thanksgiving Day week, Kumin and the team are a victory away from accomplishing the final two of their objectives.

After making the football playoffs for consecutive years, Belmont could secure its first winning season in more than a decade by beating its traditional rival Watertown (5-5) on Thanksgiving.

“We have two goals packed into one game,” said Kumin of his 5-4 team as it prepares for the annual grudge match this year at Watertown’s Victory Field at 10:15 a.m. “We have a team that has the ability to be explosive and effective on both sides of the ball. We’ll be prepared for our big game on Turkey Day.”

Belmont’s Head Coach “Q”

Belmont is riding high into Turkey Day after a pair of post-playoff victories against Malden Catholic and Beverly.

It’s what senior wide receiver Justin Rocha didn’t do which turned out to be the pivotal single play in Belmont’s 24-21 victory over Beverly High during a Nov. 16 Saturday matinee.

After Beverly High’s Duncan Moreland (who’ll be playing at Division 1 FCS University of New Hampshire next year) scored his third touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, it was up to Belmont’s offense to take as much time off the clock to stop the momentum the Panthers’ built in the final 12 minutes.

At the end of a critical third down play, a Beverly lineman went after Rocha with a couple of well-chosen arm chops to the head, then proceeded to clap his hands at Rocha. And through it all, the Belmont co-captain refused to retaliate.

All the better since a referee followed the altercation and flagged the Beverly player for a 15-yard personal foul penalty and a first down for the Marauders. And Rocha? He turned to the Belmont sideline with his shoulders and palms up and an “all’s good” look on his face.

A few plays later, a second Panther’s personal foul sealed a gritty victory by the Marauders.

Belmont QB Avery Arno

“I’m really proud of the guys showing they had cooler heads. It was really two big moments and not to react was the smart thing to do,” said Kumin after the game.

It looked early on that Belmont would walk away with the win as it dominated both ends of the field. After senior kicker Hampton Trout made a chip shot field goal to give Belmont the lead, 3-0, Belmont’s defense dominated the line forcing the Panther to go three and out.

Belmont’s senior QB Avery Arno sprung into action driving Belmont down the field before connecting with junior WR Matt McHugh for a 23-yard pass down the middle of the field. The Marauder’s next possession saw Belmont facing a third and long in the shadow of its own goal line when Arno found junior WR Preston Jackson Stephens streaking down the right sideline for a 87 yard TD.

Beverly came back behind Moreland and three interceptions to cut the score to 17-14 only to see Belmont’s all-purpose senior RB Chad Francis to take the majority of carries before running to increase Belmont’s lead to 24-14.

The Beverly win came after the Marauders in a thoroughly workmanlike manner defeated Malden Catholic, 28-7,

The final home game of the season saw Francis run for 206 yards on 28 carries, earning him his fourth mention in Boston’s daily papers this season as either a Star or Player of the Week.

Belmont RB Chad Francis

Tennis, Anyone? Proposed Rink Delayed As Schools Seek Site For Varsity Courts [Video]

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Photo: Belmont HS Juniors Brett Stievater and Phoebe Gray of the tennis teams seeking to bring back tennis courts to the new school campus.

After being delayed by more than six months due to concerns that the oversight process was too compressed, the anticipated solicitation of proposals for a new Belmont skating rink has again been put on hold as a last-minute appeal from supporters of Belmont High tennis has forced the School Committee to include five courts in the proposal.

The release of the request of proposal (RFP) for the new skating rink on school property west of Harris Field is now scheduled for Jan. 15, 2020 with the deadline for bidders to submit responses by Friday, March 20.

Additionally, the critical Town Meeting vote to approve the project and the transfer of the land for a public/private operation has been kicked from the first Town Meeting session in late April to the second night of the second session on June 1.

“There’s been an increasing call for the RFP to contain a programmatic need of tennis courts on the site and it finally came to a head,” said Jeffrey Wheeler, the town’s senior planner who is managing the RFP process.

The delay comes as the result of a last-minute push by a coalition of members of the high school tennis squads and racquet-loving residents who contend tennis was slighted in the design of the Belmont Middle and High School, the new 425,000 sq.-ft., $295 million school building that will house grades 7th to 12th.

While detailed plans for the new building and the land has been approved earlier in the year, the initial protest occurred when an army of supporters squeezed into the Chenery Middle School’s small conference room as if it was the Wimbledon grandstand before a championship final.

But the crowd of students, parents, and friends that came to the Belmont School Committee’s Nov. 12 meeting to express the collective unhappiness of their sport being ignored in the new school’s sports community.

“This is a simple question of equity,” said Katherine Stievater, a resident, parent of two varsity tennis players and boys’ tennis liaison to the Belmont Boosters Club.

“Members of the tennis team were disappointed and shocked when we learned that we’re the only varsity sport at Belmont High School that will not have its playing facilities rebuilt on the new campus,” said Belmont High Junior Brett Stievater who played varsity doubles last season.

The existing high school once had 10 courts near its east wing adjacent to the student parking lot, more than enough – five are required – to hold both the regular season and tournament matches.

But when the new school project was designed, it was discovered early on the building – which has a greater footprint than the existing building and roadways and parking – would put a squeeze on the playing fields surrounding the school. The solution was

Stievater noted that all other varsity teams will practice or play on the new campus

While the teams can use municipal courts to practice, that option will push residents off of playing surfaces that they have been using ,” said Donna Ruvolo, co-chairman of the Friends of Grove Street Park who was representing the municipal courts at the Grove Street Playground, adjacent to PQ Park and the Winn Brook Elementary School.

The campaigner’s support is wide and growing; petitions with several hundred signatures along with the support from the captains of each sports at the high school.

“It has been amazing to see other Belmont students support the tennis team being on campus. All varsity sports deserve to be represented on the new campus,” said Belmont High Girls’ Tennis representative Phoebe Gray.

“I think they know that it could have been them being sent off-campus,” said Gray.

While it appears movement has been made to restore the courts on school property, including those courts will likely force the schools to lose a playing field for other sports which it will be hard to replace, said Wheeler.

Wheeler noted the School Committee is planning to conduct a Community Impact Analysis which will determine the effect moving playing fields off-site will have for the students and other organizations such as Second Soccer. That analysis will. be completed by Jan. 7.

One longer-term hoped-for solution would occur with the construction of a pedestrian tunnel under the commuter rail tracks from Alexander Avenue to the high school campus, allowing for easier access for teams to the Winn Brook playing fields.

Worst Kept Secret Revealed: Donahue, MacIsaac Finalists To Be Next Police Chief

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Photo: Belmont Police Chief search is down to two.

It must have been the worst kept secret around town for the past month.

But today, Thursday, Nov. 21, it can be revealed that Belmont Police’s Lt. Christopher Donahue and Assistant Chief James MacIsaac are the two finalists selected by the Police Chief Screening Committee and will be interviewed by the Belmont Select Board on Monday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m.

Both candidates are currently employees of the Belmont Police Department. The interviews will be televised by the Belmont Media Center.

Copies of Donahue and MacIsaac’s application materials, inclusive of their respective plans for their first year on the job are available at www.belmont-ma.gov

Housing Trust Applaud Increase In Affordable Units At ‘Final’ McLean Parcel

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Photo: Northland Residential President and CEO John Dawley

You know you are doing something “right” when the same group that jeered you earlier is now cheering.

That’s what occurred at the Select Board’s meeting Monday, Nov. 18 after Northland Residential President and CEO John Dawley presented a revised residential development proposal at one of largest parcels remaining in Belmont’s McLean Hospital.

After coming under fire for a proposal critics called a “cut and paste” of its three existing developments at McLean, Northland’s revised blueprint for its fourth development in Zone 3 boosting the number of affordable units as well as provide housing to a broader spectrum of both income and population.

“I’m here tonight to try and be responsive to the voices that spoke at various meetings back in March on a project that appears to be responsive to the concerns that were articulated,” said Dawley Monday night.

The announcement brought praise from the representatives of the Belmont Housing Trust which has been a driving force in expanding economical living units in town.

“I’m really excited about this proposal and this is, indeed, a big win for Belmont,” said Trust Co-Chair Rachel Heller.

In January, Dawley’s firm presented to the town plans to build a “senior directed, independent living residential community” on nearly 13 acres of land set aside for housing when Town Meeting approved a mixed-use development program with McLean two decades ago in July 1999.

Similar to the Northland’s Woodlands development on the site, the project consisted of 34 large 2-to-3 bedroom townhouses with a sales price of upwards of $1.5 million along with 91 “flat” 1-to-2 bedroom apartments located in four-story buildings.

That first proposal was widely panned by affordable housing advocates and in March was quickly shelved by the Belmont Planning Board as it deemed the project was unlikely to pass Town Meeting’s two-thirds muster to alter six zoning bylaws required by the town.

“It was the belief, mistaken as it may have been, that replicating what I did on those parcels would be appropriate for Zone 3,” he said “I left on March 13, wounded but not dead.”

Fast forward nearly eight months and Dawley came before the Select Board after meeting with the town and housing advocates who asked Northland to take its plan “and think of it in a different way.” He spoke to his McLean partners telling them “I think I can make this work.”

The new proposal will be of the same scale and massing as presented in March but the project’s programming has been changed resulting in a broader income and age component, said Dawley:

  • The original 125 units has been increased to 144 total units with 40 townhouses and 104 apartments located in a pair of structures.
  • The garden style units will all be rentals, smaller than originally designed as condominiums. There will be no age restriction on the units A quarter of the apartments, 26, will be under the town’s exclusionary housing allocation.
  • The townhouses – which will be senior directed – will have reduced square-footage to lower the initial price with five or six units set aside as affordable.
  • The project will commit to LEED Certifiable Design Standard while focusing on “electrification.”
  • Traffic in and out of the new residential with a traffic light at Olmsted and Pleasant across from Star Market. There will also be shuttle bus from the area to a transportation hub such as Waverley Square and/or Alewife T station.

While Dawley cautioned the proposal is in its genesis and will undergo changes and “times where I’ll have to say ‘no’ to requests’,” the response from housing campaigners and the Select Board was enthusiastic and positive, as those in attendance gave Dawley a round of applause at the end of his presentation.

“I really appreciate that rather than walk away, they chose to engage with us and work with us,” said the Select Board’s Adam Dash.

“Northland’s proposed development at McLean will expand opportunities for seniors and families to have an affordable place to call home here in Belmont,” said Heller, whose day job is running the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, which encourage the production and preservation of housing that is affordable to low- and moderate-income families.

“Providing more affordable homeownership and rental opportunities is key to meeting the needs of people who live, work, or go to school here as well as ensuring that Belmont is a welcoming and inclusive community,” she added.