The seventh-seeded boys knocked off the top-seeded Bedford, 4-1, to win the Division 3 North section. They will now face Medway, the winner of the South section.

The Warriors struck first when senior captain Evan Barber sniped a shot over the goalie’s left shoulder. Wayland kept the pressure on and added two more goals, to lead 3-0 at the end of the first period. The second period was not as great as the first, but sophomore goalie Ben Boschetto only let one squeak by, and Wayland led 3-1 going into the third.

Freshman Lucas Bastarache sealed the deal with a late third period goal, and Wayland won, 4-1.
I hope the run keeps going; I know I’m not alone when I say that I enjoy watching the boys play, and it’s a blast to cheer them on. Good luck the rest of the way, boys!

Boys basketball fell to Danvers on Tuesday in overtime. It was a heartbreaking loss, but instead of focusing on it, I’ll just say that the boys had a terrific season. There’s another kind of basketball I’d like to talk about.

And that’s March Madness. March Madness is always one of my favorite parts of the year. Nothing comes close to the madness these next three-plus weeks have in store. This coming week is my favorite of them all; the upsets, the cinderella stories, and all of the story lines begin to unfold.

Now what would March Madness be without filling out your own brackets? It only adds to the fun. I just want to start by saying to those who don’t know that the spots that have two teams listed are just play-in games. It does not mean that two teams are playing one.

Here are some tips for filling out your bracket:

1. Fill one out as soon as you can, for whatever reasons. You could pick by mascots, by colors, by location, anything at all. It really all boils down to luck anyway, so don’t worry.
2. Let the initial bracket sit for about 8-12 hours, while you occasionally think about your picks, and make mental notes of changes you should make. Then make those changes.
3. Start to gather “expert” analysis. I put expert in quotes because different people consider some to be experts while others do not. Besides, who is really an expert when it comes to this? They don’t call it madness for nothing. Make changes accordingly.
4. Finally, there are always those games that you could go either way on; you change your pick hourly and nothing can make you certain. Here are some tie breakers you could give a try:

• Pay attention to numbers all day: test scores, the date, when you check the clock, etc. Whatever number you see more often should be your pick
• Rock papers scissors with a friend
• Pick the cooler mascot
• Close your eyes and choose
• Throw darts at your bracket
• Throw two balls to your dog with the teams written on them; whichever one he brings back, choose that one. If you don’t have a dog, use a friend.

Hopefully these tips will help, but just remember, nobody’s perfect, and as long as your champ is still in the field, you have a shot. However, I think the best part of March Madness is putting the brackets aside and just enjoying quality college basketball.

It’s the last week before the start of spring sports, but the school is focused on the hockey team’s run. HOCKEY! Knock’em dead boys.