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ESPNHS lacrosse editor Mike Loveday checks in today on the Lacrosse blog with the commitments of two Needham High lacrosse players.

First, James Carusso, a senior face off/midfielder for the Rockets, committed Merrimack College.

Also, during the weekend, Mike Panepinto, a sophomore midfielder, committed to UMass-Amherst.

Carusso also plays with the 128 Lacrosse Club, while Panepinto is a member of Laxachusetts' offseason teams. Panepinto's older brother, Needham junior attack Nico, has committed to play lacrosse at Fairfield.

ESPN RISE lacrosse editor Mike Loveday is reporting that BC High defenseman Keegan Hayes has given a verbal commitment to UMass for the fall of 2012.

Hayes is a 2012 defenseman and plays club lacrosse for Laxachusetts.

WORCESTER, Mass. -- When Meghan Rico is in the circle, she remains in control. It’s not so much as King Philip head coach Jim Leonard says that perfection is “almost expected,” but nothing seems to faze her.

During Saturday’s Division 1 state championship softball game at Worcester State’s Rockwood Field, Rico found herself in a serious pickle in the sixth inning against Western Mass. champion Amherst. There were runners on first and third with one out.

No fear.

Rico reared back a little bit harder and came back with two of her 19 strikeouts to end the inning and preserve the scoreless tie. In an uncharacteristic moment, the George Washington commit gave a fist pump while sprinting off the field.

It was a big out.

And, as it would turn out, it was the difference after the Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth on Meg Carnase’s double.

Rico returned to strike out the side in the seventh to provide KP with its second straight state title and finish the season undefeated at 26-0.

“We needed that right there,” Rico said of getting out of the sixth-inning jam. “If they score right there, it was going to be really hard to come back to score against them. I knew we had to score first, we had to be the ones to score and we did that.”

Runs came at a premium as the state’s top pitchers squared off in the circle with Rico opposing the Hurricanes’ Emma Mendoker.

Mendoker, the East Carolina commit, kept the Warriors hitless through 5 2/3 innings, only to take the hard-luck loss in the end. The Gatorade Massachusetts Softball Player of the Year finished with 10 strikeouts while surrendering only two hits.

“I think the main thing for Emma is that she has such an arsenal of both movement and speed that if keeps them off balance,” Hurricanes head coach Kacey Schmitt said.

Rico snapped Mendoker’s no-hit bid with a single to right-center to start the two-out rally. Courtesy runner Hailey Mullen came around to score the game’s only run on Carnase’s bases-loaded double after Amherst centerfielder Athena Donta slipped while trying to make a play on the fly ball.

It looked as though Carnase’s hit had cleared the bases, but the inning ended as an appeal made to the umpires was upheld finding that Jenn Robillard hadn’t touched third base while scoring what would’ve been KP’s third run. Instead, it was the third out.

“There were two strikes against me, so I was just trying to protect the plate,” Carnase said. “It was close, so I just swung at it and fell in.”



Amherst (23-2) jumped on Rico immediately with lead-off hitter Quianna Diaz-Patterson (2-for-3, 3 SBs) and third baseman Simone Frank banging out hits to start the game. The Hurricanes stranded both runners on base as Rico reeled off three strikeouts.

It was the beginning of a chain of 10 straight strikeouts by Rico, which helped her equal her single-game career high of 19.

“When there’s runners on base, it’s almost like she takes it personally,” Leonard said of Rico. “It was huge for us to strand those base runners in the first and again in the sixth innings, to keep those runners standing at third.”

Diaz-Patterson, the UMass commit, was again the fulcrum to the Hurricanes’ sixth-inning rally. Frank reached on a fielder’s choice via the bunt, but again the Amherst runners advanced no further.

Rico got Zoe Dillon-Davidson swinging and Mendoker looking to end the inning.

“We knew how their hitters hit,” Warriors catcher Olivia Godin said. “We went to the Amherst-Milford [state semifinal] game, so we knew that some batter we couldn’t pitch inside and we just had to go all away, off the plate. Mendoker’s great, so we had to go off plate to her.”



All they needed was just one run.

“It was a lot of pressure to get that perfect season,” Rico said. “We wanted it so bad that I had no doubt in my mind that we weren’t going to have a perfect season, but just to finish it like this is amazing.”

ESPN's Roger Brown checks in today on his recruiting blog with Buckingham, Browne & Nichols offensive lineman Eric Olson, who came to the Cambridge prep school as a basketball player but will likely leave next spring as one of New England's premier offensive tackles.

Olson, a 6-foot-6, 270-pound junior who transferred from Lincoln-Sudbury following his sophomore year, has scholarship offers from Boston College, UConn, Duke, UMass, Virginia and Wake Forest. He told Brown he also hears regularly from Michigan, Northwestern and Stanford.

He told Brown he is trying to set up visits with Michigan and Northwestern for this weekend. A decision is likely to come before the start of his senior season for the Knights this fall.

BB&N head coach John Papas also told Brown that Stanford "is supposed to visit the school in April."

"He's an incredible athlete for an offensive lineman," Papas told Brown. "He came to us as a basketball player. He was skinny and extremely raw, but I think he's become one of the best linemen on the East Coast."

For more recruiting updates on New England's top high school football talent, be sure to check out Brown's blog.

The New York Post is reporting that Fordham University landed two verbal commitments yesterday from brothers Jared and Jake Fay of Brimmer & May School.

Jared, a 6-foot-3 senior shooting guard, will join teammate Ryan Canty in head coach David Pecora's five-man recruiting class of 2011, and will join three other players with ties to New England prep schools: sophomore Chris Gaston (New Hampton) and freshmen Marvin Dominique (Winchendon) and Lamount Samuell (Notre Dame Prep).

Jake also held an offer from UMass at the time of his commitment, and Scouts Inc. currently evaluates the sophomore as follows:

Strengths:
Fay is a shot maker with good size and bounce for the backcourt. Even at a young age Fay has the same outward confidence and swagger that every great shooter owns. He shoots it with range and needs only a split second to get it off thanks to his size and quick trigger. He also shoots the ball well off the dribble and has developed an attacking game off the catching making quick rip through and step back moves to get to his pull-up. Fay plays the game with no hesitation and is an instinctive offensive player.

Weaknesses:
Fay is still physically undeveloped and needs to get much stronger in his upper body. He can't play through contact on either end of the floor right now and although his long arms are an asset defensively, he is limited laterally. Defensively, he must give a more diligent effort in order to better compensate for his lack of quickness and strength. Offensively, he isn't much of a decision maker in the backcourt as he doesn't handle or pass and is essentially a one-dimensional catch and score player.

Bottom Line:
Fay is developing into a pretty big time shooter and with a frame that is now stretched out to six-five, good length, and athleticism he has all the makings of a high level prospect.

ESPN's Roger Brown checks in today on his recruiting blog with Catholic Memorial quarterback A.J. Doyle, who took unofficial visits to North Carolina and Maryland last weekend and is scheduled to attend practice at Boston College tomorrow.

UMass was the first to issue a verbal offer to the 6-foot-3, 226-pound Lakeville native, who is an ESPNU150 Watch List candidate. Western Michigan was the second to offer, last Thursday, and his first FBS offer. He's also drawing interest from Michigan, Missouri, Penn State, Iowa, Syracuse and UConn.

"The No. 1 thing schools say they like about me is my size and arm strength," Doyle told Brown. "They say I have a good frame. I've also been told I have good composure in the pocket. I'm not flustered when people are flying around me. I think I have good accuracy. I'll make throws some quarterbacks are afraid to make, and at no time am I going to shy away from a hit."

Doyle said he has no favorites at this time, telling Brown, "Any school that asks me, I'll be happy to throw for them."

For more recruiting updates on New England's top high school football talent, be sure to check out Brown's blog.

ESPN's Roger Brown checks in today on his recruiting blog with Dexter linebacker Abner Logan Jr., who landed his first of what should be several Division 1 scholarship offers.

Florida International extended an offer to the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Newton native over the weekend. Meanwhile, he has been drawing interest from UConn, NC State, Florida, Syracuse, Penn State and Rutgers, as well as FCS schools like Maine and UMass, and could see that interest develop into offers with exposure at camps and combines the next few months.

"My coach [Casey Day] sent film to a lot of schools," Logan told Brown. "Other than Florida International, I feel like Connecticut and UMass have the most interest in me. I attended a UConn junior day and I'll be going to a Nike camp at Penn State. I'm going to a one-day camp at Florida, a UMass camp and the camp at N.C. State. I always go to the BC camp.

"It will be easy for me to take an unofficial visit to Florida International when I go to the Florida camp."

For more recruiting updates on New England's top high school football talent, be sure to check out Brown's blog.

ESPN's Roger Brown checks in today on his recruiting blog with two of Catholic Memorial's highly-touted football stars for the Class of 2012, quarterback A.J. Doyle and athlete Armani Reeves.

Reeves was down on the Rutgers campus last weekend for a 7-on-7 tournament, and while Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano was out of town, Reeves may be getting some news soon.

"They told me they really like me," Reeves told Brown. "I think Coach Schiano was at a Nike convention. They told me they might have some good news for me when he returns."

Reeves, who was an inaugural ESPNBoston All-State selection this past fall, currently holds offers from 11 Division 1 schools, among them Boston College, UConn, North Carolina, Missouri, Virginia, Penn State, Wake Forest, Michigan, Stanford, Northwestern, and Maryland.

Brown writes that Reeves likely won't pick a school until after his senior season ends.

"The schools that have offered all intrigue me," Reeves told Brown. "They're all good schools academically and really good programs."

Meanwhile, Doyle picked up his first offer last week from UMass, and it likely will not be his last Division 1 offer, as BC, UConn and Syracuse have all shown interest in the 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior's services.

For more updates on New England's top football talent, be sure to check out Brown's recruiting blog.

ESPN's Roger Brown checks in today on his blog with two potential Division 1 FBS recruits, Salem (N.H.)'s Jerickson Fedrick and Dexter's Abner Logan Jr.

The 5-foot-11, 196-pound Fedrick says he's hearing the most from UConn, Boston College and UNH after a stellar junior season, in which he ran for 1,568 yards and 30 touchdowns despite splitting carries with Gatorade Player of the Year Max Jacques. Fedrick also said he's heard from Maine and Nebraska, though the schools aren't "all over me, but they're showing interest."

Fedrick told Brown both BC and UNH have asked him to take an unofficial visit, and that he also plans to attend junior days at BC, UConn and UNH.

"I'll probably play running back [in college], but I'll take any opportunity I can get," he told Brown.

Meanwhile, Dexter running back Abner Logan Jr. continues to rise on the recruiting radar following his transfer last season from New Hampton (N.H.) Prep. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound Logan is a specimen, and has heard from Syracuse, Penn State, NC State, BC, Florida and Tennessee. UMass is the only school currently verbally offering Logan, and he's projected as an outside linebacker by every interested school but 'Cuse, which also likes him at running back.

"They all pretty much say the same thing: 'This kid can run. He can hit, but we want to see him in person,'" Dexter head coach Casey Day told Brown. "He's big and athletic, but they're not so sure about the level of competition. They all want to see him in camp.

"Once he does the summer circuit thing, I'd guess he'll have a pocket full of offers. Once he plays against some better competition he's gonna raise some eyebrows."

For more recruiting updates on New England's top high school football talent, be sure to check out Brown's blog.

The first day of the football National Letter of Intent signing period has arrived, and we've got you covered all day (though we'll probably be buried under snow ourselves). Here is a list of Massachusetts athletes committed to Division 1 programs headed into today's big day.

Any commitments can be sent to Scott Barboza at sbarboza@espnboston.com or Brendan Hall at bhall@espnboston.com.

(NOTE: The Ivy League does not recognize National Letters of Intent)

DIVISION 1 FBS
Taariq Allen, Rivers – Nebraska
Manny Asprilla, Everett – Boston College
Dalton Gifford, Bridgton Academy (Maine)/Barnstable – UConn
Marcus Grant, Lawrence Academy – Iowa
Harry Keselman, Oliver Ames - Temple
Anthony Knight, Lawrence Academy – Nevada
Albert Louis-Jean, Brockton – Boston College (enrolled in January)
Brian Miller, Andover – Boston College
Paul Nwokeji, Thayer Academy – UConn
Rodman Noel, Milford Academy (N.Y.)/Everett – NC State
Mike Orloff, Lawrence Academy – UCLA
Liam Porter, Natick – Boston College
Max Ricci, Lawrence Academy – Boston College
Richard Rodgers, St. John’s (Shrewsbury) – Cal
Andrew Siden, Natick – Tulane

DIVISION 1 FCS
Jeff Anderson, Longmeadow - Brown
Ryan Barrett, Holliston – Bryant
Connor Candito, Bridgton Academy (Maine)/St. John's (Shrewsbury) - Sacred Heart
Jamie Casselbury, Philips Andover - UMass
Connor Caveney, Cushing Academy - Sacred Heart
Matt Costello, Everett – Princeton
Jeff Covitz, Reading - Bryant
Ryan Delisle, St. John’s Prep – Harvard
Anthony Fabiano, Wakefield – Harvard
Ryan Flannery, North Attleborough - Columbia
Justin Flores, Tilton School/Woburn - Maine
Dan Giovacchini, Lawrence Academy – Brown
Will Guinee, Malden Catholic - Dartmouth
Greg Hilliard, Suffield Academy (Conn.)/Brockton – UMass
Clay Horne, Lawrence Academy – Villanova
Brandon Howard, Worcester Academy/King Philip - UMass
Randall Jette, Martha’s Vineyard – UMass
Isaiah Jones, Mahar - Maine
Andrew Kestenbaum, Dartmouth – Rhode Island
Ben Koopman, Marblehead – Holy Cross
John Lavin, Falmouth – Bryant
Dan Light, St. John’s (Shrewsbury) – Fordham
Harrison Lyons, Avon Old Farms (Conn.)/Norwell - Bryant
Alec May, King Philip - Georgetown
Brian McDonald, Hebron Academy (Maine)/Westwood - Sacred Heart
Andrew Mizzoni, Gloucester – Holy Cross
Obum Obukwelu, BC High – Harvard
Ben Patrick, Rivers – UMass (preferred walk-on)
Jason Richard, Milford Academy (N.Y.)/Weston - Sacred Heart
Peter Savarese, BB&N - Dartmouth
Zach Smerlas, Lincoln-Sudbury – Brown
Keshaudas Spence, Taft (Conn.)/Catholic Memorial - Sacred Heart
Charlie Storey, Milton Academy - Dartmouth
Brian Strachan, St. Sebastian’s – Brown
Cam Sullivan, Westfield - Bryant
Jeff Synan, Plymouth North - Bryant
Ben Ticknor, Milton Academy - Dartmouth
John Wallace, Somerville – UMass
Ryan Welch, Lawrence Academy – UNH
Conor Wyand, Nashoba - Brown

DIVISION 2 RECRUITMENTS REPORTED
Nick Broughton, Marblehead - Merrimack
Matt Delaney, Barnstable - Assumption
Chris Mooney, Stoneham - Assumption
Mike Muir, Xaverian - Bentley
Bobby Richman, North Attleborough - Bentley
Chris Unis, Gloucester - Merrimack

DIVISION 3 RECRUITMENTS REPORTED
Eric Bertino, BB&N - Middlebury
Ned Deane, Andover - Amherst
Mike Devin, Bridgewater-Raynham, Bowdoin
James DiBlaisi, BB&N - Trinity
Josh Friedland, Marblehead - Bates
Jake Giovanucci, Dexter - Bowdoin
Mike Gustafson, Belmont Hill - Washington & Lee
Brett Harasimowicz, Duxbury - Middlebury
Mike Hogan, St. John's (Shrewsbury) - Wesleyan
Matt Perlow, Marblehead - Bowdoin
Mike Tomaino, Gloucester - Bates

Correspondent Roger Brown is reporting on his recruiting blog today that Catholic Memorial junior athlete Camren Williams currently holds four verbal scholarship offers.

The current list for Williams -- Penn State, UConn, Wake Forest and UMass -- is identical to that of the offers list for teammate Armani Reeves. And for both, it appears the list could get longer very soon.

"Virginia, Stanford and Northwestern are all asking for my transcript, so it seems like they’re about to offer," Williams told Brown. "They’re all great academic schools."

Williams, whose older brother Brennan is an offensive tackle at North Carolina, also told Brown that he receives hand-written letters from Boston College offensive line coach Sean Devine regularly. Williams missed the first five games of the season with a torn lateral meniscus, but made a solid debut in last Friday's 27-24 win over Malden Catholic. He registered 12 tackles, two forced fumbles, two sacks, two catches for 30 yards and a 62-yard touchdown pass.

For more on Williams' recruitment, check out Brown's blog.

We've seen the interest for several area high school players pick up steam. The latest is Everett High wide receiver/defensive back Manny Asprilla, who picked up an offer from Boston College last week to add to his list that includes Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Asprilla, who will take an unofficial visit to the Chestnut Hill campus Friday and is planning on an official visit for an Eagles home game in the fall, has been turning heads the last month or so. First, it was his showing at a 7-on-7 tournament at St. Anselm College last month, wowing a few coaches alongside fellow Everett wideout Matt Costello, with an offer from UNH coming late in the month. Then, he found himself with an offer from UMass following an appearance at the school's one-day camp on July 30.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Asprilla told correspondent Roger Brown that he's getting looked at for both secondary and offensive skill positions. He is used mostly as a running back and wideout in head coach John DiBiaso's offense. But more importantly, Asprilla isn't concerned about the level of competition as he is the school itself.

"The level of football doesn’t really matter to me as much as the school itself," Asprilla told Brown. "I don’t want to go to a place where I play just one position. I want to play special teams too."

Brown has more on Asprilla in his recruiting blog today.

It’s not often these days you see college athletes making the jump from Division 3 to the top ranks. But with a generous financial aid package from Framingham State, not enough money for the prep school route, and Division 1 coaches encouraging him to bring his grades up, Brockton’s Carlito Weaver decided to gut it out the less-desirable way.

Weaver – a former Big 3 Conference All-Star, Boston Herald All-Scholastic and Shriners Football Classic captain at safety for Brockton High – had the talent to play with the big boys, and excelled both on and off the field this past year for the Rams. In addition to being named the New England Football Conference Rookie of the Year, he made Dean’s List both semesters.

Now, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Weaver is taking his exploits to Division 1 FCS power UMass, where he will be re-united with former Brockton teammate Darren Thellen.

“I applied to UMass Amherst, and upon acceptance I looked into it,” said Weaver, who was a key component to the Boxers’ Division 1 Super Bowl runner-up squad in 2008. “Darren Thellen said I could definitely play on the team up there … I got a tour of the locker room, the football facilities, and I just fell in love with the campus.

"It wasn’t mostly football for me, it was academic. I got accepted into the Isenberg School of Management. It was the best of both worlds.”

Weaver made his decision late last month. Per transfer rules, he will sit out this upcoming season. He’ll most likely compete for starting time as a defensive back in 2011.