Jean DePlacido
It's a safe bet that the Endicott College football team likes it whenever they get a local player to suit up for them.
In this particular instance, they most certainly Love one of their newest players.
Hamilton-Wenham captain Jimmy Love will play for the Gulls next season after earning Cape Ann League all-star honors a year ago. He grabbed 33 passes for the Generals last fall, good for 710 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Also a baseball standout for Hamilton-Wenham, Love looked at other schools such as Bridgewater State and Colby-Sawyer. But he admitted that Endicott was his first choice all along.
"I'm really excited because (Endicott) has an amazing football program and it's a great school, which played a huge part in my decision," Love said of the Beverly college. "I just talked to the wide receiver coach there and I'm going to get right into summer workouts, with no time wasted.
"We're coming off a great breakout year at Hamilton-Wenham, largely because we had a much better team offense, but the most important thing was winning. I'm really excited about having the chance to play in college."
Love had 29 catches for 328 yards as a junior with the Generals and career totals of 61 catches for 1,338 yards. He joins teammates James Brao (Tufts) and Jake Prince (Bowdoin) as members of the 2010 CAL Small championship team going on to play in college.
"Jimmy is a true leader who led by character, respect, and performance," said Generals coach Andrew Morency. "He had a monster playoff game for us against Cardinal Spellman (in the state playoffs).
"He's just a great kid; a hard worker who aims to please. The team came first, and Jimmy wanted to do anything to help us succeed. I couldn't be happier for him — but he will be missed."
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A trio of local girls helped the Bentley University lacrosse team record a successful season in the tough Northeast-10 Conference. The Lady Falcons didn't have any seniors on this year's squad, so they're expecting to improve on their 9-8 record (7-5 in NE-10) next season.
Former Masconomet players Margeaux Guercia and Elizabeth Iorio, both from Boxford, and Marblehead's Katie Corbett all had very good seasons.
Guercia, a sophomore attacker, had 12 goals and two assists while freshman Corbett chipped in with a goal and three assists. Iorio, who is also a freshman, started eight games on defense and is now helping her former coach Bethann Schwartz with the Masco girls defense. The Falcons used her at low defense, a bit different from her high school days when she participated in the faceoffs.
"We were a pretty young team, but for the first time since 2007 we beat Merrimack," said Iorio. "But unfortunately we fell one game short of making the tournament. We had to beat Southern New Hampshire to get in, but had a tough day (18-13 loss).
"The goal next season is to get into the tournament. We'll come back with the same team and six incoming freshmen that will make us stronger. Katie (Corbett) and I used to play against each other; now we are roommates. We were on the Mass Bay AAU team when we were in the eighth grade and went to Florida. It's also nice to have a friend from Masco on the team."
Iorio, who received the team's Coaches Award, is majoring in management and health and industry. She said the hardest adjustment to college was balancing her time between school and lacrosse. It took her about two months to get that dow; now, she said, she's able to concentrate on her studies and find plenty of time for lacrosse.
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The second annual 'Tribal Night at Masconomet' lacrosse doubleheader was a big success earlier this week. The youth teams played at halftimes of the two varsity games (boys and girls), and both Chieftain teams had big wins that night, including a come from behind, 21-20 victory over Bishop Fenwick by the Masco girls.
Former youth players from Boxford, Topsfield, and Middleton along with their families were honored guests. Masco varsity players signed autographs after each game of the doubleheader.
The list of Tribal Youth Lacrosse alums going on to play in college is very impressive. Members include Anderson Cashin (Roger Williams), Phil Russo (Babson), Courtney Cliffe (Columbia), Kara DiBenedetto (Wooster), Rebecca Horgan (Norwich), Eleanor Hardy (Connecticut College) and Kellie Linskey (St. Michael's). In addition, Colin Rossano of the Pingree School will play at Roanoke College, and St. John's Prep's Jimmy O'Connell is going on to Trinity.
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Jean DePlacido is a part-time writer and columnist for The Salem News. Contact her at jmdeplacido@aol.com.
