Sports: Jr. Marauders Take Over Harris Field to Show Off Football Skills

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Photo: Half-time talk with the Junior Marauders.

It was an intense half-time talk from the coaches to the players at Belmont’s Harris Field.

“This is your house! This is your home field and your home crowd. All these people came to see you. This is what you work for. This is what football is all about. Now you have to want it!” 

Look up at the coaches were the faces of a determined team, players willing to go the extra mile … even though none of them are old enough to shave. 

The team on the field last week were 42 seventh and eighth graders comprising the 2015 Chenery Middle School Junior Marauder Football team, for the second year providing essentially an opportunity for middle schoolers to learn the fundimentals of the game while having fun.

“We like to tell the kids they are part of the program that leads to the High School even though some of the players just want to play in Middle School,” said Jamie MacIsaacs, the team’s head coach.

That connection with the growing football culture in Belmont was emphasized as the High School team stopped by to watch the action as Belmont took on Bedford in a game where both sides were on the upslope of the skills learning curve.

But the emphasise of the program is to learn the game and have fun doing so, said MacIsaacs. 

And the team is starting to win games, winning in Winchester after losing the year before. And while the Junior Marauders weren’t able to engineer a victory against the visitors, they did appear to have a good time on their future home field.

Sports: Field Hockey Tweaks D, Rights Ship as Watertown Looms

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Photo: Senior forward Katherine McCarthy scoring against Reading.

Belmont High’s Field Hockey Head Coach Jessica Snith still shakes her head and goes silent when she’s asked about “that” game. The one where Winchester scored four goals in the final 12 minutes to defeat the unbeaten Marauders, 5-4.

“Oh, I hate talking about it,” Smith said.

But two solid victories since has Belmont riding high again (8-1-0) and giving Smith a renewed sense of confidence as she and the team prepares for the regular season game of the year as Watertown, six-time consecutive state Div. 2 champion and winner of 148 straight games (as the Raiders prepare for a strong Lexington squad on Tuesday, Oct. 6) will travel the two-and-a-half miles down Common Street in both towns to Harris Field for the 6 p.m. match on Thursday, Oct. 8. 

On a blustery and cool Saturday afternoon, Oct. 3, the Marauders defeated a team they could not figure out last season, Reading, scoring four goals in the first half to ease past the Rockets, 5-0. 

The win puts Belmont in the Div. 1 North sectional playoffs, the earliest the Marauders have ever secured a ticket to the post season. 

“Now every game is to get up a higher seed so we can avoid the big schools (Andover and Acton-Boxborough) until late in the playoffs,” said Smith.

“Right now, this team is playing so well that we can challenge anyone (in the post season),” Smith said. 

Senior forward Katherine McCarthy scored the opener on an acrobatic shot from in close 11 minutes into the match. Morgan Chase tipped in a shot at the doorstep and Kerri Lynch got back into the scoring grove for the team’s third. Junior midfielder AnnMarie Habelow finished the scoring, her first from about 10 meters in front of the goal, the worst location a team could leave such a deadly scorer. 

On Thursday, the girls defeated Burlington, 7-1, on Thursday, Oct. 1. In that game, Bridget Gardner scored as McCarthy and Habelow each scored a pair. 

Smith said despite the Winchester loss – she has circled the date the Sachems will be visiting Belmont for the return match – the team has been growing in their teamwork such as multiple passes and stopping the other team from breaking out from their zone.

Smith has also tweeked the defense by changing a position player to add stickhandling and speed in the back line.

“We just want to make the change well before Watertown so it doesn’t feel like we’re doing something desperate,” said Smith, who said the Raiders “will be a tough squad [to meet] but so are we.” 

Next up for the girls is a trip to Wakefield on Tuesday, Oct. 6 before Thursday night’s big match.

Sports: Football Losses at Home, But Gains in Stature

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Photo: Belmont running back Mekhai Johnson

Belmont High School Football Head Coach Yann Kuman stood before his team moments after the Marauders found themselves on the short end of an 18-15 score against the Woburn High Tanners under the Friday night lights, Oct. 2.

“There’re no words to express how proud I am of this team right now,” said Kuman, after the team’s hard-fought encounter with the experienced Middlesex League squad.

“I say to you what I said to the guys in the huddle, you found your spot tonight. [Woburn] ran you out of the ballpark last year. You guys have more fight and more courage and more pride in what you are as football players and as men then any team I have been privileged to coach,” he said to the team.

In a near-complete turnaround in pose and technique from the previous week’s disappointing performance at Arlington, Belmont stayed with the Tanners for the entire game and had the ball with less than three minutes in the game before giving up the ball near mid-field.

“We’re just one better call, one better block, one better tackle away from a different outcome. There are a lot of these little individual moments that if it goes the other way, we are winning,” said Kumin.

The big takeaway from the game was the improvement from Belmont’s defensive front seven. Led by linemen Justin Aroyan and Lowell Haska, the defense plugged up the middle of the field, making life miserable for Woburn’s running back Brandon Moscat.

The defense forced the Tanners on a three-and-out on its first series before giving up a Hail Mary 25-yard TD pass on fourth down and 10 yards from Tanner QB Tim Concannon midway through the second quarter to give the Tanners a 6-0 lead.

The score came after Belmont held the ball for nearly 10 minutes on its first possession behind the running of Ben Jones and Marauder star senior Mekhai Johnson, who carried the ball 19 times for 165 yards. The 15 play, 59-yard drive stalled at Woburn’s 30-yard line but demonstrated a confidence in the offensive line and the running game.

“I thought the offensive line really came out to play today and did a great job,” said Kumin.

After the Woburn score, Belmont took the ball and behind Johnson’s running and critical passes from Belmont QB Cal Christofori to receivers Trey Butler (6 yards) and Joe Shaughnessy (11 yards), the Marauders drove the ball 54 yards to score on a Johnson one-yard run around the left side, taking a 7-6 lead into the half.

With Jones out of the game since the second quarter, Johnson was the man as he carried the ball six consecutive times to start the third quarter before Belmont was forced to punt.

Woburn appeared ready to give the ball right back as it faced a second down and 17 from its 13-yard line. But a facemask penalty and its ability to make a series of third-down plays allowed the Tanners to march down the field to take the lead, 12-7, on a Moscat one-yard run a minute into the fourth quarter.

Woburn was back on the march a minute later after a Belmont three-and-out that included a 29 yard Moscat run to the Belmont 19. A few plays later, Concannon snuck the ball over the goal line to give the Tanners an 18-7 lead with 5:47 left in the game.

But on the first play from scrimmage, Johnson uncorked an eye-popping scamper around left end and sprinted 74 yards for the TD, his third 70-plus yard touchdown run for the season, cutting the lead to 18-15.

Woburn’s attempt to seal the win by running the ball and taking time off the clock was turned on its head as Aroyan stripped the ball from Moscat and Belmont recovered the ball at their 36 yard line with 2:30 seconds remaining in the game.

On a third and two from the 44-yard line, Christofori’s pass to Rob Aiello was knocked out of the receiver’s hands by a vicious, but legal hit at the Woburn 45 yard line. After waiting for five minutes before resuming play, Belmont’s fourth down play didn’t make it past the 46-yard line. Woburn was able to take the time down to a few seconds before giving it back to the Marauders, effectively ending the game.

For Kumin, the game showed the best of his team as it continues to improve in the tough Middlesex League.

“That was a great football game,” a physically exhausted Kumin said.

“I thought our defense found itself a bit. Obviously, [Woburn] is a team that can do some things and I thought we shut them down pretty well. They squeaked out of here with a three-point victory. We were one play away on that last drive from making it really interesting.”

Next up for Belmont is Reading High at Harris Field on Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.

Sold in Belmont: Affordable in a Potpourri of Styles, Locations

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Photo: 81 Statler Rd.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 77 Leicester Rd. Old-style center-entrance Colonial (1932). Sold: $987,500. Listed at $1,050,000. Living area: 2,510 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 98 days.

• 25-27 Gilbert Rd. 5+5 Two family (1925). Sold: $710,000. Listed at $699,000. Living area: 2,308 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 42 days.

• 42 Walnut St. Townhouse condo (1993). Sold: $667,000. Listed at $630,000. Living area: 1,800 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 43 days.

• 96 Beech St. Early Cape with commercial space (1922). Sold: $625,000. Listed at $599,900. Living area: 1,691 sq.-ft. 11 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 38 days.

• 49-51 Slade St. Two family (1925). Sold: $755,000. Listed at $749,000. Living area: 2,150 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 69 days.

• 285 Common St. Brick Cape-ish (1945). Sold: $810,000. Listed at $820,000. Living area: 2,383 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 98 days.

• 271 Common St. Brick Cape (1948). Sold: $810,000. Listed at $820,000. Living area: 1,684 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 42 days.

• 16 Bay State Rd. Brick/frame Colonial (1928). Sold: $1,005,000. Listed at $999,000. Living area: 2,165 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 57 days.

• 81 Statler Rd. Cape (1939). Sold: $545,000. Listed at $525,000. Living area: 984 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 63 days.

From one of the smallest single-family homes in Belmont (most new condo/townhouses are double the size of the Cape on Statler) to a pair of classic two units close to Trapelo Road, a mishmash of add-on extensions along the Beech and a lot of Capes, the traditional frame for first-time homebuyers. There is affordable housing in the “Town of Homes.” 

Sports: Girls’ (3-0), Boys’ X-Country Take Home Opener over Woburn

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Photo: Senior Leah Brams (left) on her way to first against Woburn. 

It took nearly a month before Belmont High’s Harriers got to take a spin around the Clay Pit Pond course, but it was well worth it as a senior-led Girls’ Cross Country squad and a team-focused Boys’ team took victories over Middlesex League rivals Woburn on a warm, humid Wednesday, Sept. 31.

Leading the girls’ was its outstanding four-year starter senior Leah Brams who remains undefeated on her home course, winning in what for her is a pedestrian 20 minute and one-second romp around the 3.1-mile route. 

Following close behind in second was junior Sara Naumann in 20.35. Scoring valuable points for the varsity were freshman Audrey Christo in 5th (21:28), steady senior point magnet Sophia Klimasmith (21:37) in 6th and another fleet freshman, Eleanor Amer, in 7th (22:08).

Belmont finished with 21 points vs. 36 for Woburn. 

The Boys’ were not looking to set records but race for the points, which they did quite effectively as the Marauders finished 2nd through 5th to seal a 22 to 33 victory.

Senior Mike Ferrante (17 minutes and 47 seconds), sophomore Cal Perkins (17:52), sophomore Zach Tseng (18:15) and junior Manion Wilder (18:23). Finishing up the Marauders’ scoring was senior Ian Bowe in eighth (19:01). 

The next meet for the teams is against always strong Lexington on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 3:30 p.m. 

Sports: Field Hockey’s Second-Half Collapse Drops Marauders from Unbeaten

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Photo: Belmont High School Field Hockey.

This one hurts.

After dominating 18th-ranked Winchester for nearly three-quarters of the match, a monumental collapse by Belmont High allowed the host Sachems to score four unanswered goals in the final 12 minutes of the game to shock Belmont, 5-4, handing the 19th-ranked Marauders’ its first loss of the season on Monday, Sept. 28.

“I’m currently still trying to get over the loss,” said an emotional Belmont Head Coach Jessica Smith.

“Although we talked about not being complacent, our level of play dropped and Winchester took advantage of our lulls. Defensively we made a ton of errors,” said Smith, whose team now stands a half game behind Winchester for the lead of the 

Demonstrating why it’s one of the highest scoring high school teams in Eastern Massachusetts, Belmont (6-1-0) raced to a 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game against one-loss (7-1-0) Winchester, its only defeat by five-time consecutive state champions Watertown.

Leading off the scoring was senior forward Katherine McCarthy from freshman standout, Morgan Chase, before junior AnnMarie Habelow showed why she is one of the best players in the state by scoring unassisted and then delivering the ball to McCarthy, who slammed home her brace.

Winchester finally got on the scoreboard at the 17-minute mark, but Chase returned the lead back to three two minutes later with an unassisted tally.

In the second half, Winchester pressed Belmont within the attacking circle and began winning penalty corner, which proved to be critical in the Sachems’ comeback. Sophomore goalie Christina MacLeod had 10 saves on a busy night. 

Winchester senior Melissa Zavez led the charge back scoring with 12 minutes remaining from junior Julie Bockoff. Fellow senior Carla DiBiase brought the home team within a goal with 10 minutes remaining unassisted. Finally, senior Megan Drew tied the game up at the 55-minute mark and scored the winner with just three minutes remaining in the game. Three of the Sachems’ four second-half goals came from penalty corners. 

“We gave up too many defensive corners and we were losing our players after the initial shot, said Smith.

“I’m just hoping that we learned a huge lesson from this loss. If we’re going to lose, it’s essential that we learn something from it. I’d rather [that] lesson happen now than in the tournament,” said Smith.

The team will host Burlington on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. and will greet Reading on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 4:30 p.m., the second part of a Saturday matinee with Belmont High Girls’ Soccer. 

 

Sports: 18th Ranked Field Hockey Beats Lexington, Big Game Monday at Winchester

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Photo: Serena Nally leading the Belmont offense against Lexington.

Facing its toughest challenge of the season, Belmont High School Field Hockey took advantage of its scoring chances and the defense chalked up another shutout to beat visiting Lexington High, 2-0, on Friday afternoon, Sept. 25 at Harris Field.

“I was sweating for all 60 minutes,” said Belmont Head Coach Jessie Smith as her squad remained undefeated at 6-0 with five shutouts and seeing the Marauders enter the Boston Globe Top 20 Field Hockey poll at 19th.

“We haven’t been in a tight game this year,” said Smith.

“We weren’t playing that well; we were nervous. We saw the name “Lexington” and in the past they’ve been a powerhouse. Today, they had some solid players, but I think we could have stepped up a little bit more. But we got the job done.”

The win over Lexington (4-2) keeps Belmont atop the Middlesex League Liberty Division as the season hits its midpoint at the end of the week.

There is no let up of the pressure on Belmont as it visits 6-1 Winchester High (ranked 18th in the Globe poll) on Monday afternoon, Sept. 28.

Two Marauders continued impressive scoring streaks as freshman Morgan Chase (four goals in the last four games) and senior Kerri Lynch (11 goals for the season, scoring in each game) tallied to improve the Marauders’ scoring totals to 31 for and 2 against.

Chase said her goals were coming from “staying wide and staying open for the ball when it goes through the middle.”

“[Chase] is the player who can get the rebounds off the pads to knock it in and that’s why she’s a great right wing,” she added.

In the most competitive game of the season, Belmont found itself relying a great deal on the back three – Sophia Stratford, Molly Goldberg and Lilly Devitt – and sweeper Molly Thayer who set up in front of goalie Christina McLeod. The defense was able to run with and push out most Lexington ventures inside the Belmont shooting circle (inside 15 meters from the goal) with Thayer intercepting many attempted passes in the zone.

Coming back to help out the defense were junior leaders Julia Chase and AnnMarie Hebalow who was under the weather for several days before the match. The pair won nearly all their one-on-one encounters including a classic battle at the 20-meter mark where Hebalow fought a Lexington forward for 10 seconds before taking possession.

After surviving three corners and one deep run towards its goal, Belmont’s offense began to take hold to the game, as midfielder and senior captain Serena Nally took control of the center of the field, setting the offense attack and keeping pressure on the Lexington midfielders, creating turnovers on the transition.

“She was our MVP today,” said Smith of Nally, noting how she “stepped up all over the field, she was where ever the ball was defensively, but she really took charge today. We were down a little bit offensively today, and she took that position right up and delivered the ball.”

Belmont’s forwards – Lynch, Chase, and Katherine McCarthy (four shots) – never allowed Lexington’s defenders and midfielders a chance to catch their breath as they pushed down the wings and through the center to keep the Minutemen on the back heel. 

It was a drive from the wing by defender Devitt which set up Chase in close to slotted the ball by the Lexington goalie at the 18 minute mark in the first to give Belmont the only goal it needed. 

And the sniper Lynch took advantage of a Nally push and netted the ball with 12 minutes remaining in the match. 

 

Sports: Girls’ Soccer Falls to Steel of League to Drop to .500

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Photo: Belmont’s Emma Sass (10) and Kristen Gay (24) attempt to head the ball during the team’s match with Arlington. 

It was a learning experience for the young Belmont High School Girls’ Soccer team as they met the steel of the schedule, falling to the Middlesex League’s dominant teams this week.

The Marauders lost to host and defending Middlesex/Liberty champs Wilmington, 5-1, on Thursday, Sept. 17 before greeting Arlington High for a noon matinee at Harris Field on a hot Saturday, Sept. 19.

But home cooking did help Belmont (2-2) as they fell to Arlington, 3-1.  

While Belmont played well in spurts, it could not control the midfield against a physical SpyPonder crew who were able to string short combination passes through the heart of the field to put Belmont’s young back line (two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior) on the back foot.

Due to the pressure, the Marauder midfielders were required to help out which left Belmont’s forwards on their own to bring the ball upfield. 

“Our midfielders have to be more aggressive to the ball,” said Belmont Head Coach Paul Graham who remains a game away from his 300th victory. 

“For two games in a row, we lost the midfield and we can’t our attack right because we are on our heels when we need to go forward. When we did that, we had some great plays because we are pushing it where we should be going,” said Graham. 

Arlington scored in the first 10 minutes on a flukish shot by forward Mackenzie Roy that floated over Belmont goalie Georgia Parson into the net. 

Arlington was comfortable to keep the ball in the middle of the field while Belmont’s best offensive target was sophomore left wing Carrie Allard who was out sprinting the SpyPonder defenders. But Arlington alway appeared to have players coming back to help out at any semblance of a Marauder attack. 

Graham praised the play of sophomore defender Natalie Marcus-Bauer who he said was able to dictate the play in front of her, forcing the Arlington forwards to take shots and passes they didn’t want to. 

“She’s a leader back there,” Graham said. 

While Belmont started the second half with a couple of deep runs toward’s Arlington’s goal, it would be short lived as Arlington’s physical play – challenging each pass or run with a legal shove or bump – appeared to put the Marauders’ off its rhythm.

“That seemed to bother us,” said Graham.

With 10 minutes remaining, Arlington’s Anna Kohlberg scored an open net goal coming off the wing to tap in a pass from the corner. notched two goals for the Spy Ponders, and Anna Kohlberg had a goal and two assists. Roy would collect her brace five minutes later as a result of three rapid passes that allowed the forward to turn and shot from 15 meters. 

Belmont would end the shut out when a penalty was called in the box with a minute left and Julia Rifkin buried a penalty kick inside the right post beyond the goalie’s hands.

Belmont is at Woburn on Monday, Sept. 21. 

 

Sports: Belmont Defeats Medford in Final Minute, 31-28, to Go To 1-1

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Photo: Joe Shaughnessy celebrating the winning touchdown in the 31-28 victory over Medford.

Belmont senior wide receiver Joe Shaughnessy pulled in an 19-yard over-the-shoulder pass from junior QB Cal Christofori with 45 seconds left in the game to give the visiting Marauders an emotional 31-28 victory over Medford under the Friday night lights at Hormel Stadium, Sept. 18. 

“I knew I was going to catch it. I knew I had it,” said Shaughnessy of the pass the receiver caught over a defender just in bounds. “I just had to go up and catch it; Cal made a great throw. There was no way we were going to lose this.” 

The game, which had eight lead changes, came down to Belmont’s final drive as Christofori hit Shaughnessy twice before the game-winning pitch. 

“It was a minute left, and we had Shaughnessy who’s 6’4″ on the go pattern, so I just went for it. There was nothing to lose here, so I just threw it up for a big play,” said Christofori. 

“Every win is important. It wasn’t the way we wanted it since we thought we could push this team. We aren’t necessarily pleased with the result or how we got there, but a win is a win,” said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin. It is the first regular-season victory for Belmont (1-1) in two years and the second over Medford in as many years.

The last-minute dramatics was made possible by a break-out performance by senior running back Mekhai Johnson who rushed for 238 yards and scored three touchdowns (80, 63 and 1 yards) to earn one of the “Stars of the Week” by the Boston Herald. 

“We wanted to get [Johnson] going last week but for a lot of reasons we couldn’t do it,” said Kumin. 

“We felt that we could run the ball against this team, and we talked a lot this week about running downhill and hard and he did that for us. We’re about as proud of him as you can be,” he said.

Sick with a sinus infection that required him to visit the hospital Wednesday, Johnson said he was still “throwing up dinosaurs” during the game. But it didn’t hamper his day running that matches 

“I’m humbled, that’s all I can say,” said Johnson. 

While the TD pass and Johnson’s running were significant, the game’s biggest moment came when Kumin decided to punt with 4:44 left in the game and relied on the Marauder defense to halt the Mustang offense that was unstoppable in the second half.

But the defense held Medford to zero yards on three plays and got the ball back with 1:50 remaining in the game, setting up the final drive. 

The game started with the Marauders in a hole as Medford took the opening kickoff for a touchdown to go up 8-0. But Johnson cut the lead to two with his 80-yard romp in the first offensive series. 

Belmont took the lead through a 25-yard field goal by Aidan Cadogan midway through the second quarter. But Medford would score on a pass from QB Ben Antonie to Myles Olivier to take a 14-9 lead at half time.

The Marauders stuck to the ground in the third quarter, using Johnson and backfield partner Ben Jones to go 67-yards in seven and a half minutes to score from the one via Johnson to lead 16-14. 

Medford quickly countered through the air to go up 22-16 with 54 second left, but it was Johnson again who took control, romping 63 yards with 0.1 seconds left in the quarter to regain the lead at 23-22. 

The Mustangs would take their final lead, 28-23, as the Antoine to Olivier combo connected. Then came the heroics. 

”For us, it’s a big deal,” Kumin told the Belmontonian about the win.

“It’s a big victory for us since it’s a gratification of what we preach; don’t think about the end of the game or what the scoreboard says, just do your job each and every single play and come down on that last drive and execute … it’s football at its best,” said Kumin. 

Belmont will travel to Arlington to meet the SpyPonders on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. 

Old School Head Coach: Graham Closing In on 300th Win

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Photo: Paul Graham, head coach of the Belmont High Girls’ Soccer team.

Two years ago, a representative of the Eastern Mass Soccer Coaches Association asked Paul Graham, the long-time head coach of Belmont High’s Girls’ Soccer program, just how many wins his teams had compiled in his nearly a quarter of a century at the helm of the Marauders.

Just one problem: Graham never thought to compile his wins record.

“People kept asking me how many wins I have, and I had no clue,” he said, just that it was a significant number since his teams had made the playoffs every year but one since he took over the position in 1993.

“I did know it was a lot,” Graham told the Belmontonian last week on Harris Field during a team practice.

After going through countless high school yearbooks, memorabilia and plaques, Graham discovered he was creeping towards a milestone: 300 victories.

While it’s taken a bit longer to reach that peak – Graham thought he would have crossed the line last year – Graham stands a single victory from the mark.

(Belmont host Arlington at noon, Saturday, Sept. 19) 

And while Graham can’t recall the very first win, in doing the research, Graham was flooded with memories of his three decades in charge. 

“I’d see a photo and say, ‘I remember his game and I remember this player.’ It was awesome,” he said.

“It was great to reminisce about kids like Linsey Nohl sand Sarah Hilgenberg from days way, way back,” rolling off names and families such as the O’Briens and Muzziolis that he coached for nearly a decade. 

“That’s what it’s all about.”

IMG_1764

Paul Graham’s first year coaching at Belmont High School in 1993.

A proud “townie,” Graham was born, raised and educated in Belmont (Belmont High, ’64) before heading to Norwich University (class of 1970 and in the school’s Hall of Fame as a goaltender and iii) and then teaching high school for five years in Milton, Vt.

He returned home after marrying his wife of 45 years, Patricia, and raised two boys – Timothy and Micheal – and two girls – Courtney and Katelyn – as Graham begin a career in the food services business. He is currently New England General Manager at Woburn-based Preferred Meal Systems New England, one of the largest suppliers of school meals in the region. 

Graham kept his interest in sports, as a coach starting in 1976 in Belmont’s youth programs – helping bring soccer to town – as a referee and on the Recreation Commission.

Graham was assisting the boys’ program when the girls’ team position became available.

“After coaching boys for 23 years, I was getting burned out,” he said.

With his daughter Courtney on the team, Graham decided to take on the challenge of managing a talented, but subpar program with a total of seven victories in the previous three years.

“I was sick seeing that they weren’t more successful,” he said.

Graham recalled telling Belmont High School Principal Foster Wright that while he could not “promise wins, but I can promise you they will play as a team. The rest will come.”

That change came quickly. Thet first year, the team – with Nohl (who played at William & Mary) and Hilgenberg (an All-American at Wellesley College) – won 12 games and made the tournament, the first of a run of 19 consecutive seasons in the playoffs, three Middlesex League titles, twice named Eastern Mass. Coach of the Year and is in the Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.

Over that time, Graham and his girls have won eight Div. 2 North Sectionals, and subsequently lost each of their semifinal matches, never reaching a state finals.

“I’m 0 for 8, and that’s not good,” Graham said with a smile.

“Someday, it’ll come,” he said.

But if it doesn’t, the cap for Graham for nearly a quarter century of coaching is less the wins then the success his players have on the field and after they graduate.

“Yeah, it’s a great accomplishment, 300 wins, but like I told you, I’m here for the kids,” said Graham.

“I’ve had a ton of honors and thankful for that. But I can’t stress enough if I can help a child reach a goal than I’ve done my job. Wins are great, everything is easy when  you‘re winning, but I want to have some part of kids’ success while they’re attending Belmont High,” he said.