Listen to full episodes of the Sports Exchange HERE
There are few teams on the South Shore with quite the winning pedigree that the Cohasset Skippers have developed.
The Skippers have reached the Final Four in each of the last three years, never falling short of the state semis since the introduction of the statewide playoff format.
Reaching further back, in the 19 seasons head coach Pete Afanasiw has been at the helm, the Skippers have had just two losing seasons: his first year, and the five game COVID season in spring of 2021.
In that run, they’ve reached three Super Bowls, winning twice.
Entering Friday night’s Round 1 matchup against West Bridgewater, there was a lot on the line.
At 3-5 on the season, Cohasset needed a win not just to keep their Final Four streak alive, but to keep alive a chance at another .500 or better season.
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Hours before the game, they’d learn that they’d be attempting to do so without standout starting quarterback Michael Wildfire.
With the junior sidelined due to illness, senior captain Will McLoughlin made his first career start at quarterback.
He’d wind up rushing for just shy of 200 yards and two scores, as Cohasset raced to a 21-7 victory.
It looked like it may be a long day when West Bridgewater fullback Tommy Polidori took the first play from scrimmage 71 yards for a touchdown. When Cohasset followed up by throwing an interception on their first possession, things seemed bleak.
The Skipper defense gathered itself though, shutting out the Wildcats for the final 47 minutes of the game, even scoring a touchdown of their own on an Ollie Henry scoop-n-score.
Meanwhile, the ground game starred for the Cohasset offense.
On Sunday night, Cohasset’s senior captains Will McLoughlin, Shane Mulcahy, and Charlie Grudinskas, and junior Ollie Henry joined the Sports Exchange to take us through their big Round 1 win.
They took us through quickly preparing for a shorthanded night on offense, and discussed their strong defensive performance.
With a trip out to second seeded Clinton coming up on Friday night, the Skippers talked about quickly turning focus forward.
Check out the interview below:
The Sports Exchange airs every Sunday night at 5 PM on 95.9 WATD.
Each week, you can hear the voices of local high school athletes, as well as opinions and insight on Boston sports.
Listen to this week’s full episode, including our Round 1 recap, and thoughts from the Patriots win over Chicago:
