Saying that former Londonderry High boys’ lacrosse standouts made a difference for coach Jim Delanoy’s Rivier University lax contingent during the spring 2014 season might just be the understatement of 2014.
There were five former Lancer laxmen on that team, which went 8-8 overall and 5-5 in the North Atlantic Conference.
Sophomore midfielder Kyle Graham and sophomore goalie Clark Plummer were two of the Raider squad’s four captains and huge contributors as well, and their former LHS lax teammates Sean Given, Tom Johnson, and Trevor Plummer also did strong work for Delanoy’s side.
Graham was one of the primary weapons on the Raider squad’s offense, leading the crew in goals (31), assists (27) and points (58) as well as tying for the team lead in shots on net (106).
Starting goalie Plummer started and played in 15 of the team’s games, tallying a save percentage of 63.5. His brother Trevor – a sophomore midfielder – started all 16 of the team’s games and collected 15 ground balls.
And freshmen Given and Johnson both stepped right onto the Rivier squad and made a difference, tallying a combined 50 goals for the Raiders.
Versatile Given (attack/middie) was good for 28 goals (second to Graham on the team), 14 assists (fourth), 42 points (second to Graham), and 106 shots (tied for first with Graham). Given played in and started 15 contests.
Freshman middie Johnson didn’t get any starts but he played in all 16 games, potting 22 goals and assisting on 16 others for 38 points, and he scooped up 25 ground balls as well.
While it didn’t have former Lady Lancers in abundance, the Rivier women’s lax squad did have one former Londonderry High player in sophomore midfielder Paxton LaRocque, who played in 17 of the 9-9 Lady Raiders’ games with 13 starts, scoring 20 goals and assisting on nine others while gobbling up 38 ground balls as well.
In other sports, a pair of Massachusetts state schools benefitted from having former LHS stalwarts on their rosters during the spring season.
Ex-Lancer baseball star Ryan Moloney did a whole bunch of pitching for a U-Mass/Amherst hardball squad that had its struggles. The Amherst crew posted a 15-31 overall record and an 11-15 mark in its conference.
Hurler Moloney pitched in 11 games with eight starts, and despite not claiming a victory, the skilled righty had quite a few high points during the campaign.
The sports management major went eight innings in a game against Army, struck out five Harvard batters after getting the starting nod in the Beanpot Tournament’s title game, struck out a handful of men against Richmond, and also had solid efforts against Army and Maryland.
The former LHS star was a four-year letter-winner during his time in Lancer garb, and he was named a First-Team all-stater as a senior in 2013. During that campaign, Moloney notched a 7-2 record with a 1.49 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 65 2/3 innings.
And ex-Londonderry High multi-sport athlete Danielle Crutcher had a solid campaign for the 2014 U-Mass/Lowell women’s softball team, playing in 25 games with 17 starts for the 13-36 team with multi-hit games against Rhode Island and Holy Cross.
The skilled infielder faced 111 chances in the field with 101 putouts, six assists, and a fielding percentage of .964.