Sports: Belmont Football Miss Playoffs on Points After Losing in the Lexington Mud

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Photo: Senior running back Ben Jones heading off the field after his final touchdown against Lexington.

It was a miserable Saturday, both weather- and numbers-wise, for Belmont High Football this past Oct. 23.

On the climate front, the skies opened up with a hard, cold rain for the first half of the team’s match with Middlesex League-leading Lexington High Minutemen on the wet grass and following on a mud field known as Dr. Harold Crumb Stadium.

For the 3-3 Marauders, the game at the time appeared to be an uphill tussle with an undefeated home team that had earlier beat up traditional powerhouse Reading Memorial High and were on its way to a first outright league title since the 1970s.

That Saturday would also become a numbers game as Belmont, and several other teams were hoping the calculations of past wins and losses and points scored (and given up) would give them enough points to sneak into the final two slots in the North 2 playoffs beginning this Saturday.

While Belmont believed eight days earlier after its 28-21 home win against Winchester put them over the top for a place in the tournament, the play of several teams designated in the North Divison 2 playoff league came out to where Belmont would need a win to secure an outright place in the post season or hope for some help from teams battling its nearest rivals 

And they would require assistance after falling 41-27 to the Minutemen in the blustery conditions. The hosts got off on the right foot with Middlesex MVP junior QB Sal Frelick handed off the first snap to junior running back Ben Quint who ran by the Marauder defenders on the right end and sprinted 75 yards for the TD.

Frelick directed the offense that sliced through the Belmont defense as the Boston College commit (he is an outstanding shortstop) ran 37 yards up the middle for a touchdown on the Minutemen’s second time with the ball, upping its advantage to 14-0 after only five minutes.

But as with many of its games, falling behind the opposition did not deter Belmont from staging a comeback. On a third and long, senior QB Cal Christofori (another outstanding baseball player off to a Division 1 program at Yale) looked on way before switching the field and catching sophomore receiver Jared Edwards on a “go” route for a 70-yard touchdown to cut the lead in half. 

After the defense had held Frelick on three plays, the ball was put into the hands of junior fullback Adam Deese and team MVP senior running back Ben Jones (144 yards rushing, more than 200 total yards and 2 TDs) who rammed in the tying TD midway through the second quarter.

But taking advantage of two iffy penalties against Belmont defenders to extend the drive, Frelick found receiver (and basketball center) Spencer Kendall on a fourth down pass for a TD with about a minute left in the quarter to take a 20-14 lead. But the Minutemen were not through, stopping Belmont on three plays and got the ball back on the Belmont side of the field.

It only took three plays for the Minutemen to score as Frelick found Quint alone coming out of the backfield and passed it to the quick back for the second TD in less than a minute upping the home team’s lead to 27-14 at the half.

While the rain ended for the second half, the dark clouds remained on the Belmont side of the field as Lexington’s offense was relentless as it created opening in the line and around the edges of Belmont’s defense, as Quint scored a pair of touchdowns in the quarter, effectively bringing an end to the game.

Belmont would score two TDs in the final minutes including Jones pounding in a three-yard TD. As the final whistle blew, Belmont watched as Lexington celebrated an undefeated regular season and a Middlesex League championship. 

“Those were two competitive teams that wanted win, so it was an outstanding game. You have to give us credit for coming back to score two late in the half but we needed to do more of what we do best, and that controls the tempo of the game,” said Belmont Head Coach Yann Kumin.

When asked about the team’s chances to secure the playoffs, Kumin said it was up to the formula and not him.

But the hopes of the team and program ended at 10 p.m. when the MIAA released the results of the many divisional playoffs. What hurt Belmont was that the wins it had been against teams with fewer losses than they had and in the same division. Also, just one additional win would have nearly automatically given the team a slot in the postseason. Teams that needed to win on Friday and Saturday did not.

And so Medford, a team Belmont demolished in the second game of the season, squeaked in front of the Marauders for the eighth and final playoff position by a handful of tenths of a point. 

Belmont will go from being Marauders to Meanderers as the MIAA sends them to play three teams that also found themselves looking at the playoffs from the outside. First up for the Marauders is a long, Friday night trip, Oct. 28, to Dracut on the New Hampshire border. The game begins at 7 p.m.

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Nearly 400 Cast Ballots on First Day of Early Voting in Belmont

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Photo: Tom Dolan of Clifton Street casts the first early election ballot in Belmont.

Just before 8 a.m., Monday, Oct. 24, Greg Poulos and his daughter, Linnea, entered Belmont Town Hall on a mission: To vote.

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Greg and Linnea Poulos, first in line to vote.

The Poulos’, who live on Oak Avenue, joined 386 of their fellow residents Monday who took advantage of the new state law allowing for early voting for the first time in Massachusetts, according to Belmont’s Town Clerk Ellen Cushman who spoke before the Belmont Board of Selectmen Monday evening.

The Commonwealth now joins more than half of the states in the US who allow voters the chance to cast ballots ahead of election day, said Cushman, who said the Secretary of State’s office predicts about 15 percent of the electorate are expected to take advantage of the changes to voting early. In Belmont, that would be between 2,700 to 3,000 voters.

For residents, the main reason for voting early was expediency.

“I want my vote to count early,” said Greg. “I didn’t want to deal with lines, and I like the convenience of it.”

For Linnea, a student at UMass Amherst, she’ll be in western Massachusetts in 15 days. Usually, she would have picked up an absentee ballot from the Town Clerks office, “but this makes it much easier [to vote].”

“I need to get this over with. I need this to be done,” said Clifton Street’s Tom Dolan, who joined the Poulos’ and School Committee member Andrea Prestwich as the voting early birds.

As eight o’clock arrived, the group was ushered by a gaggle of poll workers through a three-step process that sent them on a tour of various room on the first floor of Town Hall: picking up a ballot, then being verified as a registered voter and finally casting their votes in a specialty constructed ballot box.

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“We always like to throw the party and have people come,” said Cushman, excited to see a steady stream of residents coming to vote.

Cushman said her office has been working to create a comprehensive plan since the law was passed in 2014. Her office has hired approximately 115 poll workers to speed the process. 

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Cushman said Belmont has extended hours on most weekdays and on Saturday. The town has also set aside parking in the Town Hall lot for early voters, and the building will be staffed by poll workers to make the process as conflict-free as possible.

Belmont is one of 34 communities award with a gold medal by the Massachusetts Election Modernization Coalition for going far beyond the minimum requirements in terms of hours and availability.

The first voter to finish the process was Dolan who slipped his ballot in the box – after it was checked for a second time to see that it was empty. 

“Seamless, every easy,” Dolan said of the process. “Probably do this again next time.”

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Belmont Savings Tops $2B in Total Assets with Record Earnings

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Photo: Belmont Savings Bank.

It’s been a busy and fruitful 2016 for Belmont’s most prominent business.

BSB Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Belmont Savings Bank, the state-chartered savings bank headquartered in Belmont, reported last week a jump in net income – the difference between revenues generated by interest-bearing assets and the cost of servicing liabilities – of $3.2 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2016.

When compared to net income of $1.9 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2015, the bank saw the quarter-to-quarter increase in net income of a whopping 70 percent. 

This marks the Bank’s 13th consecutive quarter – more than three years – of earnings growth. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2016, the bank reported net income of $8.7 million compared to net income of $4.8 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2015, or an increase in net income of 79 percent.

As of Sept. 30, 2016, total assets were $2.07 billion, an increase of $260.8 million or 14.4 percent from $1.8 billion at Dec. 31, 2015. The asset growth was primarily funded by growth in deposits and federal home loan bank advances.

The bulk of the bank’s growth came from healthy net loan growth of $251.4 million or 16.4 percent since the beginning of 2016.

“Strong loan growth pushed us past the $2 billion total asset mark this quarter. Good expense control and sound risk management were the foundations for our 13th consecutive quarter of earnings growth,” said Bob Mahoney, the bank’s president and CEO.

The jump in loan activity can be seen throughout all real estate lending groups as residential 1-4 family real estate loans, construction loans, commercial real estate loans, home equity lines of credit and commercial loans increased by $238.2 million, $16 million, $13.2 million, $10.8 million and $8.1 million, respectively.

Sports: Belmont Field Hockey Cools Off Lexington, 4-1, as Birthday Girl Leads the Way

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Photo: AnnMarie Habelow (center) and Julia Chase (right).

Playing its most complete game of the season, Belmont High Field Hockey swept aside a red-hot Lexington High squad, 4-1, in a critical game for the Middlesex League Liberty championship played under the lights Thursday, Oct. 20, at Harris Field.

Goals by newly-promoted forward sophomore Bridget Gardiner (11 minutes into the game) and junior Alexa Sabatino (midway through the first half) were coupled by a pair in the second half – senior co-captain AnnMarie Habelow at the 21-minute mark and freshman Katie Guden with 8 minutes left – as Belmont controlled the play for long stretches.

A lone goal by Minuteman’s Cecilia Brennan with 7 minutes remaining in the game spoiled goalie’s Christina McLeod shutout. 

“We’re gelling as a team and you saw it tonight as this game was the best of the year,” said Belmont Head Coach Jessica Smith. 

“We dominated that entire game. Everyone stepped up against Lexington,” said Habelow, who celebrated her 50th regular season victory over her four varsity seasons. 

“Towards the end of the season, the last five games are our best played because we’re all use to each other,” she said. 

Ranked 12th in the Boston Globe’s Field Hockey poll, Belmont now stands at 12-2-0, handing Lexington (11-4-0, ranked 20th) its fourth overall loss and second defeat to the Marauders this season. Belmont next plays second place Winchester (10-2-2, ranked 5th) – which beat Belmont three weeks ago, 3-1 – in a game that decides whether the Marauders retains an outright title or shares one with Winchester.

The game is at Winchester on Monday, Oct. 24 at 3:30 p.m.

Before the game, Smith made a tactical switch placing freshman forward Guden in the midfield and putting sophomore Gardiner at inside forward. The move allowed Gardiner – who plays ice hockey for Belmont High – to use her physical presence in front of the goal to great effectiveness (her goal came from challenging for the ball and directing it in) while Guden thrived partnering with Habelow and Lilly Devitt developing the offense through the middle.
 
“That move was phenominal,” said Habelow of the switch. “She’s a natural.” 
 
Smith said she was most impressed with the team passing throughout the match.
“They are looking to each other that it’s just beautiful to see,” she said. Belmont’s passing was able to release fowards Sabatino, Jordan Leffiere and sophomore Morgan Chase, who used her deft dribbling to weave through the defense to take four in-close shots, only to be robbed twice of certain goals by Lexington’s goalie Abbie Ortyl who was outstanding Wednesday.  

While the victory was highlighted by the outstanding show of skill and work rate by the 11 players, Habelow dominated the action. One day short of her 18th birthday, the two-time Boston Globe All-Scholastic and senior captain – who is committed to play at NCAA Division 1 Top 10 Louisville – demonstrated a level of maturity and polish that, with her innate leadership, saw her control the game’s tempo and direction.

When Lexington – which defeated at the time league-leader Winchester, 2-1, on Monday, Oct. 17 – attempted to use its athleticism to swamp Belmont on the counterbreak, Habelow tracked back to bolster an already steady backline of Molly Goldberg, Meri Powers and defensive stalwart, UNH-commit Julia Chase which Smith called “a wall all night” who put the clamps on Lexington’s senior Emily DeVine. 

“The thing about AnnMarie is now she’s really fighting to recover back and that’s helping us so much because she’s getting it back. And that helps our whole transition,” said Smith.

On offense, Habelow – who sees double and triple player defenses employed against her – can methodicially move the ball with her stick skills or simply blast the long ball to teammates. An she is more than capable to powerhit a ball from nearly 20 meters into the back of the net.

“I know what it feels like when I put in that extra effort. It’s not a good feeling not playing well so it’s always fun to try as hard as I possibly can,” said Habelow. 

With the Winchester rematch on Monday, Smith said the team is more motivated as the season comes to a close “so I’m hoping from here they keep playing like they did tonight for the rest of the season.”

Here’s Your Chance to Help Belmont High Sports: Support the ‘B’ Drive

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Photo: Something everyone can use. 

The Belmont Boosters Club will be holding its annual Fall Fundraising “B” Drive on Sunday, Oct. 23 from noon to 2 p.m. 

This is a door-to-door campaign during which BHS student-athletes canvass the town on specific routes, soliciting donations for the Belmont Boosters Club, a 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to provide funding for items that are outside of the school’s athletic budget.

In the past five years alone, the Boosters has donated approximately $150,000 across a broad range of Belmont High School athletic programs, in addition to providing all of the varsity “letter jackets” earned by high school athletes and awarded during the seasonal athletic-award ceremonies held throughout the school year.

The Fall Fundraising Drive is an integral component of the Boosters’ overall fundraising efforts and is critical to its ability to support BHS athletic programs in a meaningful way.

Please donate.

Belmont Students Head to the Charles on Sunday For a Long Row

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Photo: Arlington-Belmont Crew at the Head of the Charles.
The 2016 Head of the Charles, rowing’s annual “Woodstock” and one the largest congregation of athletes outside of the Olympics with 11,000 participants, will be well represented by Belmont High School students on the event’s second day, Sunday, Oct. 23. 

As members of the Arlington-Belmont Crew Club – made up of high schoolers from both towns – the hometown athletes will be rowing in three youth competitions:
  • 10:05 a.m.: Women’s Youth Eights (bow #41)
  • 11:33 a.m.: Men’s Youth Fours (bow #36)
  • 12:43 p.m.: Men’s Youth Eights (bow #14 – which is ABRC’s highest seed.)
The Belmont High School students rowing and coxing on Sunday include:
  • Emma Gharibian, Melissa Bazakas-Chamberlain, Alena Jaegar, Sophia Haska, Casey Reed and Alexia Assimakopoulos in the Women’s Youth Eights.
  • Nick Krom, Lucas Abeln and Nick Hanify in the Men’s Youth Fours.
  • Charlie Yeh, Adam Cronin, Joe Wenzel and Ian McCabe in the Men’s Youth Eights.
Arlington-Belmont Crew is a club team open to students who attend Belmont and Arlington high school. No prior rowing experience is necessary. 
To learn more, speak to a member of the team or read about the team at its website.

Letter to the Editor: Vote No On The Charter Schools Ballot Question

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Photo: credit Portside

To the editor:

In the spring of 2015, Belmont residents voted for an override to better fund our schools and town infrastructure. Faced with rising budgets and kids with varied needs, we voted to increase our taxes. Other communities across the state have done the same. Massachusetts public schools remain the best in the country because of our dedicated teachers, administrators, kids, parents and taxpayers.

Now schools across Massachusetts face a new challenge: Ballot Question 2. This is a state-wide ballot initiative funded substantially by out-of-state billionaires. The initiative proposes to approve 12 new charter schools per year forever, with no limit on location within the state. Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are privately run with no local oversight. As a result, charter schools aren’t truly “public”: they don’t enroll as many differently-abled students or English language learners, yet the majority of their funding comes from diverting money from local school districts that are already struggling to make ends meet.

So far, the amount of money diverted from Belmont to charter schools has been relatively low ($31,284 projected for the fiscal year 2017), but with the ballot question placing no limits on location, we have no control over how much might be diverted from our schools in the future.

Please join me in voting No on 2 this November.

Mary Lewis
Randolph Street

Penultimate Market Day of Season Today, Thursday

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Photo: Market Day in Belmont

It’s your next to last chance to shop at Belmont’s freshest market as the penultimate Farmers Market Day of the 2016 season takes places this afternoon, Thursday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

And his mid-fall market includes pumpkins that can be used for pie filling, seeds or Jack-o-lanterns, gourds, potatoes and loads of apples.

Occasional vendors Chrissy’s Crumble, Turtle Creek Winery, Underwood Greenhouses, Valicenti Organico, and Warren Farm and Sugarhouse will be at the market today.

Schedule of Events
2 p.m.: Tasting by The Vintage Tea and Cake Company
4 p.m.: Storytime with the staff of the Belmont Public Library
4:30 p.m.: Music by The Hoot Owls

The market is located in the rear parking lot behind Belmont Center on Claflin Street.

With RE/MAX, BHS Students Making Great Strides Fighting Breast Cancer

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Photo: The RE/MAX team showing their support on the street.

The Belmontian Community Service Club at Belmont High School is getting a big assist in its annual appeal to help fight breast cancer from the newest real estate office in the Center. 

“Because we are fortunate that RE/MAX Leading Edge (formerly Hammond Residential Real Estate) is sponsoring the entire cost of the t-shirts, every penny will go to the American Cancer Society’s breast cancer efforts through the Belmont High School Making Strides Against Breast Cancer team,” said Alice Melnikoff, community service coordinator at Belmont High School.

The shirts are being sold for $10 each at Belmont High School and at RE/MAX Leading Edge, located in Belmont Center at 84 Leonard St.

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