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By THOMAS JOHNSTON

Last winter saw four Recorder area girls basketball teams — Franklin Tech, Frontier, Mahar and Pioneer — reach the Round of 16 of the MIAA state tournament. How many of those teams can make it back there, or go further in the tournament? All four will...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

Predicting Hampshire League South contests was no easy task last winter. The league was loaded with depth and talent, evidenced by six of the seven teams making the state playoffs. There, Mahar and Pioneer proceeded to go on runs to the MIAA Div. 5...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

AMHERST — It was a big Franklin League North showdown to open the final day of the Pioneer Valley Tip-Off at the Mullins Center on Sunday. The Frontier and Easthampton girls basketball teams entered the season with eyes on winning the Franklin League...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

After being the class of the Wright Division for years, the Greenfield hockey team is taking a step up in competition this winter. The Green Wave are making the move up to the Berry Division this season, which featuring the likes of West Springfield,...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

NORTHAMPTON — Mahar’s Stellina Moore couldn’t have had a better start to the PVIAC indoor track season on Thursday at Smith College. Competing in the early meet, the sophomore hit a mark of 5 feet, 2 inches in the girls high jump which placed her...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

There aren’t many who had a bigger impact on the Northfield-Bernardston community than Bill Messer. Messer, born in Bernardston in 1923, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II before attending Springfield College, later getting a job at...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

EASTHAMPTON — It was true late November football in New England at Mountain View School on Thursday. Smith Vocational hosted Franklin Tech for the sixth Turkey Day showdown between the two rivals, and with driving rain coming down throughout the...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

It wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving without an Athol-Mahar showdown on the gridiron. A tradition dating back to 1894, the Bears and Senators will square off for the 88th time on Turkey Day in what is one of the oldest Thanksgiving rivalries in the...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

While Thanksgiving football games are largely diminishing around the state, there’s one new Turkey Day rivalry that’s growing each year. Franklin Tech and Smith Vocational began playing on Thanksgiving in 2018 and since that time, both programs are on...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

A pair of impressive runs to the MIAA Division 5 Final Four a season ago earned a pair of longtime local boys basketball coaches some hardware. Pioneer boys basketball coach Scott Thayer and Mahar boys basketball coach Chad Softic were both awarded...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

AYER — Throughout its MIAA Division 4 postseason run, the Frontier boys soccer team has found moments of brilliance to keep its season alive. That moment never quite materialized on Tuesday in its semifinal contest against second-seeded Lynnfield. The...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

Sometimes a deep state tournament run produces a special, magical moment along the way.Those memorable moments seem to happen every time the Frontier boys soccer team has been on the field throughout the MIAA Division 4 state tournament. From a Will...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

DEVENS — Behind a pair of top 10 individual finishes, the Frontier boys cross country team earned a top 10 team finish at the MIAA Division 3 Championships at Fort Devens on Saturday. It was Evan Hedlund who led the way with a sixth place finish with...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

ORANGE — It was exactly the way Frontier football coach Scott Dredge hoped to close out the season. Though it might not have been the season the Redhawks hoped for, Frontier got healthy down the stretch and earned a 38-12 win against Pathfinder last...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

Three local cross country teams will get to test themselves against the best in the state on Saturday. The Mohawk Trail girls, Frontier boys and Frontier girls cross country teams qualified for the MIAA Division 3 Championships, which is slated for...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

TYNGSBOROUGH — The 14th-seeded Frontier boys soccer team never felt like the underdog during its MIAA Div. 4 quarterfinal contest against sixth-seeded Tyngsborough on Thursday night. The Redhawks came out and looked like the dominant team through 40...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

The Frontier boys soccer team is one win away from making it back to the MIAA Division 4 Final Four. The Redhawks have been knocking on the door of a state championship since the new statewide tournament format went into place in 2021, reaching the...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

AGAWAM — The three-time defending MIAA Div. 4 field hockey state champions weren’t ready to relinquish their crown on Tuesday. Fourth-seeded Frontier took on top-seeded Uxbridge in the Div. 4 semifinals at Agawam High School and the Spartans quickly...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

It was a big day for the Frontier and Mohawk Trail cross country teams at the MIAA Division 3 state qualifying meet at Wrentham Development Center.There were six heats during Saturday’s race – three boys heats and three girls heats — and the top seven...

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

SOUTH DEERFIELD — After knocking on the door of a state semifinal appearance the last few years, the Frontier field hockey team is heading to the MIAA Division 4 Final Four.The Redhawks reached the state quarterfinals in both 2022 and 2023 but on...