Bedford High School’s two first-year varsity basketball coaches have combined for 29 victories in a season that was replete with transitional challenges.
Anthony Halls led the boys’ team to a record of 15-7, including a celebratory 40-point win in the first round of the post-season state tournament.
Ashley Kepaa’s girls’ varsity executed a historic run of 14 straight wins to begin the season. An equally historic onslaught of injuries cut short the success in the win column, but not in the hearts and minds of the players who continued to exert maximum effort.
The games were the first that took place before fans in two years, the first in which both teams were elevated to MIAA Division 2, the first in which statewide post-season play replaced the traditional sectionals.
For the Buccaneer boys, it was also the first season after the unexpected death last summer of their coach, Ryan Kilian, at age 42. Halls, who was Kilian’s assistant coach and long-time friend, was elevated by BHS Athletic Director Keith Mangan to sustain and strengthen his legacy.
“It has been an emotional season,” Halls acknowledged. “Ryan was always at the forefront of our games.”
“Give credit to all the seniors. These guys have been through a lot,” he continued. “They did a great job fighting through the adversity they’ve had t deal with. I thank them for a great season and for coming to work hard every day and being prepared”
After dispatching Wilmington in the preliminary round of the tournament, the Bucs bused more than two hours to Holyoke High. They fell behind early, then fought back to as close as four points before falling 60-50.
“I don’t want to make any excuses why we lost,” Halls reflected. “They did a little more to win that game than we did. We didn’t play our best game by any stretch but we were still in a position to win coming down to the wire. We missed some opportunities that we normally cash in on.”
“But I’m proud of my guys—15-7 is nothing to sneeze at. The guys made the effort all year, with the seniors leading the way.” The eight seniors are Max Aper, Dylan DiGangi, Reidon Ford, Matt Forman, Matt Kazanjian, Bryan Kesobe-Aweh, Jacori McNeil,
Kepaa’s Buccaneers were decimated early in February. Senior Julia Dearing went down for the season. Senior Katherine Vaughan – the Dual County League’s most valuable player – sustained a shoulder injury. Junior Marina Greaney was felled by an illness; her classmate Sydney Poor was dealing with a debilitating knee situation that kept her on the bench most of the time.
The team – which won the Dual County League with a 9-1 record — played its last six regular-season games with four sophomores who had been effective role players all season, and senior Allie Zorn. They never quit. The quintet played all 32 minutes in one game. Kepaa also practiced with some freshmen for depth. “Allie’s leadership was unbelievable down the stretch,” the coach stated. “I could not imagine what it would have been like without that. She is a very special kid.”
Traveling to Wakefield for the first round of the tournament- the girls were bolstered by the return of Greaney – cleared to play earlier that day — for the first time in three weeks, as well as Vaughan. But neither was anywhere close to midseason form.
Falling behind early by as many as 12, they battled to within two possessions. The final score was 45-35. Oh, and sophomore Bridget Sheahan had to leave that game with – an injury.
“The younger kids really worked so hard,” Kepaa recounted “The week leading up to the game, practice was electric.” Vaughan joined them midweek. “The freshmen really worked so incredibly hard and never backed down from the challenge of taking on a team without significant players.”
When Dearing dislocated her knee, “it was a significant loss to the team,” Kepaa said. “We missed her outside shooting – all the many little things she did, always the right stuff.”
The coaches are turning the page. Halls said the 2022-23 season begins on Nov. 28, and he told his underclassmen that over the next nine months they’ve got to get stronger.
“Some of the games we lost come down to physicality. If they want to have continued success they are going to have to get stronger – and they’re going to have to add something to their game that will allow them to be consistent varsity contributors, so we can compete year in and year out.”
He continued, “They’ll understand what that means when you can go through kids on your way to the basket – those and-ones are going to be basic plays on a more on a more consistent basis.”
Halls thanked students, parents, and townspeople for making the BHS gymnasium “a great place for us to play with the energy they brought to the games this year.” Kepaa commented, “I hope the energy we created this season translates to more fan support so we can keep the excitement around girls’ basketball in Bedford.”
Her returning players, Kepaa said, “have a whole year to get better. I hope that they start to train together, get stronger, and work on the little stuff that will help elevate us as a team,” such as foul shooting. Some will be competing in summer leagues, she said.
“There is promise with the girls we have,” she asserted. “I’m confident moving forward.”
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