Happy 50th,
Aspinock!
PUTNAM — The Aspinock Historical Society 50th Anniversary Celebration will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 24 in the Selectmen’s Chambers.  The program is “History of School Street Area in Putnam.” Refreshments will be served. The Research Center will be open before and after the presentation. All welcome.

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Members of the boys’ prep basketball team began trickling onto the Putnam Science Academy campus two weekends ago. This week, college coaches began pouring onto campus, coming to the small gym in downtown Putnam to watch Tom Espinosa’s players and look for the next pieces for their respective teams. And about six weeks from now, the curtain will go up on the 2022-23 season, and once again Putnam Science Academy — the three-time national prep champion — will be everyone’s biggest game of the season.
It’s been that way for maybe seven or eight years now, since the Mustangs became The Mustangs. Espinosa, the basketball coach and the school’s dean of Athletics, is coming off a season in which his team went 38-0 and won that third national crown, garnering him his first National Prep Coach of the Year award. He also won his 400th career game, a wild number for a small school in Putnam, Conn. And he was named one of the 100 Most Impactful People in men’s college basketball, a list that included names you have heard of – Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, Bill Self, John Calipari, to name a few.
As Espinosa readies for the upcoming year, his 21st at PSA and 15th as coach, he acknowledged to taking some time this summer to reflect on the accomplishments of last season. And it led him to think too about the journey the school itself has been on, since long before they were The Mustangs.
“I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly with this place,” said Espinosa, who was there when it opened in 2002 and eventually built up to 200 students. And he was there when the doors were going to close in May 2015 only to be rescued and reopened in the fall by a new owner.
Espinosa had the opportunity to go to another school when PSA supposed to close in 2015. After a long and emotional back-and-forth — which included literally being unable to pack his office because of the heaviness of the moment — he ultimately decided to stay with the incoming ownership.
“I’ve seen the school build up basically from scratch, twice,” Espinosa said. “And the thing that has always been true is that there is so much good in this place that people don’t know about.”
Since he decided to stay, PSA has won three national championships, in 2018, 2020, and 2022. And the smaller numbers mean more to him than the big ones. Things like winning all 38 games in a season, capturing title No. 3, or being ranked No. 1 in the country carry more weight for him than winning 400 games or being on a Top 100 list.
There are some big numbers that are meaningful to him, though.
The boys’ basketball program has helped place roughly 200 players onto college basketball teams at all levels. The girls’ basketball program has sent more than 30 players into the college ranks in just five years. And the boys’ soccer team has helped 20-plus find a college home in that same span.
“Putnam Science has its ups and downs, like any place,” Espinosa said. “But the bottom line is we’re giving kids an opportunity to be successful. And I am proud of that.”
So is Head of School Sarah Healey, who said the respect the students and staff have for Espinosa, the longest-tenured person at the school, is well-deserved.
“It takes a team to give these kids the opportunity,” she said. “The leadership that Tom brings allows the students to make mistakes and grow while always being held accountable. The student’s education comes first, and he understands and respects that when dealing with his student-athletes.”
All too often, outsiders roll their eyes at the success PSA has enjoyed (namely that of the prep basketball team) and assume the kids are athletes first and students second, which Dean of Academics Joanne Fuller disputes.
“We’re still a little scrappy,” she said, “but we are building a diverse, active, intellectual community. Most importantly our students feel nurtured and seen by the many adults in their lives from the moment they set foot on campus.” Espinosa, who highlighted the accountability charts all PSA teams use to track their players’ on-and off-court merits each week, acknowledged that being called a basketball school means you are having success, but added “basketball doesn’t have to take away from everything else that a school is supposed to be and do, and we don’t do that here. When you think about Duke University, the first thing you think about is their basketball team. But Duke is one the best schools in the country. “They’re not apologizing either. So just because we’re successful at basketball, it doesn’t take away from those other things.”
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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caption:

Honor
Captains Carter Saracina (19), Austin Amlaw (25) and Evan Roy (13) head out for the game-opening coin flip with captain Braiden Saucier’s No. 10 jersey in hand prior to the game Sept. 16. Photo by Marc Allard.


It was an emotional night. The Woodstock Academy football team was playing its first game minus one of its senior captains, quarterback Braiden Saucier, who suffered a medical emergency in week No. 1 of the season.
The Centaurs delivered the best medication possible to their teammate and friend and his father, the team’s head coach, Sean Saucier - a dominant victory on the field.
Woodstock rolled past the Weaver Beavers, 47-0, Sept. 16.
“The team is good,’ said acting head coach Connor Elliott about the team’s mental state prior to the Centaurs’ game with the Beavers. “The energy was great all week at practice. We’re missing two leaders, a leader on the coaching staff and someone the kids look up to in coach Saucier and our leader at quarterback in Braiden. We send our best wishes to them and their family.”
To honor their teammate, captains Carter Saracina, Austin Amlaw and Evan Roy carried out Braiden Saucier’s No. 10 jersey with them when they went out onto the field for the coin flip.
The team had a new quarterback at the hel, junior Teddy Richardson got the nod. And the Woodstock defense gave him a gift - some breathing room early against the Beavers (0-2).
After Woodstock went four-and-out on its first possession, Weaver got the ball on the Centaurs 41.
Two plays later, the Beavers had gained a yard. The two teams then swapped a pair of 5-yard penalties. But on a third-down play, the ball was jarred loose by Woodstock defensive lineman Marcus McGregor.
Linebacker Seamus McDermott saw the football on the ground and an open field ahead. He scooped it up and took it 55 yards for the first score of the game.
On the next play from scrimmage, McGregor pounced on a Weaver fumble at the Beavers 10.
Richardson took the ball into the end zone on the first play from scrimmage only to see his touchdown nullified by a holding call.
Woodstock gave the ball back when it missed a 35-yard field goal attempt.
But it wouldn’t have to wait long as Saracina stepped in front of a pass from Weaver quarterback Kahlil Barno and returned it 20 yards for a pick-6.
Richardson guided the Centaurs on a brief eight-play drive that began just inside midfield, moved downfield quickly on a 21-yard pass play to Saracina and ended in a 5-yard scamper by Richardson for six more points.
It took just four plays, including a 34-yard run by Austin Amlaw, to make it 27-0 on a 1-yard dive by Trevor Savoie with 9:45 left in the first half.
Richardson then hit Saracina down the left sidelines for a 30-yard score.
Richardson completed 5-of-8 passes for 76 yards and rushed for 60 more yards.
he second half was short due to running time on the clock. But Richardson did find the end zone on a 25-yard run in the third quarter.
Gabe Luperon-Flecha added the final touchdown on a 1-yard dive in the fourth quarter.
Sam Clark finished with 38 yards on the ground for the Centaurs, Sam Clark added 34 as the Centaurs had seven different players run the football.
“That’s what I was most happy about from the offensive perspective. We were able to run the football and rotate guys through. We have a true by-committee backfield. We have to keep guys fresh, keep guys rotating with a lot of them playing both ways. It was good to see that and see the O-line getting some push and we have to keep building off that,” Elliott said.
There was also something in it for Elliott.
It was his first career win as a head coach.
“It feels a little too soon. It feels like I should be helping the kids pick up and someone else should be answering the questions.” Elliott said.
The Centaurs play their first home game of the season Sept. 24 when they host Windham at noon at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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