LINCOLN, R.I. — Howley Bread Group (HBG), a franchisee of Panera Bread, announced that Ryan Perkins of Danielson was named its second quarter General Manager of the Quarter.
Perkins, the general manager of the Foxwoods café, was named the top GM among HBG’s 29 cafes located in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
“We could not be more pleased to recognize Ryan’s leadership at our busy Foxwoods café,” said David May District Manager, Howley Bread Group. “Ryan takes great pride in his job, and is an integral part of our management team.”
Perkins has more than 15 years’ experience in the full-service restaurant industry, holding positions across Connecticut, Rhode Island and North Carolina.
Ryan spends his time away from the café with his family, playing disc golf, and rooting on his favorite sports teams, the Oakland Raiders and the Boston Celtics.
WOODSTOCK — The first official day of the high school fall sports season saw mixed results for the Centaurs.
The girls’ soccer team put together just enough offense to score a 1-0 win over Plainfield while the girls’ volleyball squad lost a hard-fought battle to East Lyme, 3-1.
Woodstock Academy had plenty of chances to score against Plainfield in the season opener for both.
The Centaurs had to settle for one goal.
Fortunately, that was enough.
Aislin Tracey scored 51 minutes, 20 seconds into the match and the goal held up for the Centaurs for the win over the Panthers at the Bentley Athletic Complex Sept. 8.
“It was a nice assist by Linda (St.Laurent) and we worked hard as a team,” Tracey said.
St. Laurent saw Tracey breaking free of the Plainfield defense and led the junior nicely with a pass which she converted into the back of the Plainfield net.
It was one of 12 shots the Centaurs put on goal.
“It gives us something to work on, finishing the chances,” said coach Dennis Snelling. “Getting the chances is the most important part; controlling the play, controlling the ball and having more chances. Every team is probably in the same boat. We will get there.”
The Centaurs allowed only three shots on goal.
“It was good competition for our first game. We contained them really well and it was just a good team effort,” Tracey said.
Volleyball
Up on North campus, even some spirited support wasn’t enough to carry the Centaurs past the Vikings in a battle of Eastern Connecticut Conference volleyball heavyweights.
All four of the games were decided by five points or fewer, but the Vikings prevailed 25-20, 26-24, 21-25, 25-21.
Natalie Low led Woodstock with 14 kills while Caroline Eaton contributed 13. Hannah Wallet had 23 digs.
Madison Bell had 28 digs for East Lyme and Mya Delesdernier added 10 kills.
On Sept. 11 Lyman beat Woodstock Academy 3-0 in Lebanon. Libero Maddy Gronski had 17 digs and Caroline Eaton added five kills, but it was not enough as the Centaurs (0-2) fell to the defending Class S champion Bulldogs (2-0).
WOODSTOCK — Senior running back Kameron Janice rushed for 332 yards and four touchdowns to lead Woodstock Academy past Platt Tech, 46-22, in the high school football season opener for both at the Bentley Athletic Complex Sept. 9.
“It was really special,” Janice said of his performance. “I didn’t expect to get (four) touchdowns. I just did what my coaches told me and stayed disciplined and we came out strong and we won.”
Janice scored the first touchdown of the game and the first of three – Jaden Dennett had the other two — that gave Woodstock a 21-0 first quarter lead.
“Everything was going our way and that’s what you want to do, to get a jump on teams,” said first-year head coach of the Centaurs, Sean Saucier.
Janice added an 80-yard score late in the second quarter to give the Centaurs a 28-0 halftime lead.
But Saucier felt in his gut that the Panthers weren’t done yet.
Quarterback Keenan Little (6-for-14, 167 yards) found Jacob Tamburrino for a 39-yard score and then added a 63-yard run up the gut.
Janice countered with a 40-yard gallop, but a 1-yard dive by Little (11 carries, 121 yards) made it 34-22 with 8:05 to play.
The Panthers than buckled down defensively and Woodstock was faced with a 4th-and-1 at their own 42-yard line.
“I decided that we had to go for it and (offensive coordinator) Greg (Alexander) made the call. There was no doubt in my mind that their quarterback would have found the end zone so I didn’t want to punt,” Saucier said.
Saucier, like most, was surprised when Alexander called for quarterback Derek Thompson to pass rather than a Janice run.
Thompson (11-for-18, 145 yards) threw to the sideline and his pass was tipped by receiver Luis Miranda. Fortunately for the Centaurs, Caleb Feen (4 catches for 71 yards and two interceptions) caught the tip on the run and raced 58 yards for the insurance touchdown.
“It’s a great day, it’s a great feeling and I’m so happy for the kids,” Saucier said. “They started fast, which is something we emphasized, something they said they needed to work on from last year so that was nice to see. Platt put our backs to the wall, but at the end of the day, when we needed something special to happen, No. 4 (Janice) came through for us.”
For Janice, it’s a pivotal season.
“When I think of my future, this is the biggest year probably of my whole entire life. I have to show (college) coaches, my teammates, my family, what I can really do. This is a big year for me and it’s going to be like this every game,” Janice said.
The Centaurs remain at home for a 1 p.m. game at Bentley Athletic Complex on Saturday against Montville.
“I’m sure they are a physical, tough, (Eastern Connecticut Conference) team and we’re going to have to play super. We will watch the film, do our homework, we’ll prepare and we will be back out here on Saturday,” Saucier said.
Boys’ Soccer
Woodstock Academy opened its boys soccer season with an 8-0 win over St. Bernard in Uncasville on Saturday.
Newcomer Jacapo Ambrosetti, a senior, scored four goals for the Centaurs while Taerang Bae added a pair.
Jack Gelhaus (two assists) and Ethan Holcomb scored the other goals for Woodstock.
Joins Mustangs
Caleb Nero a point guard from Oklahoma will play his post graduate year for the Mustangs. The Oklahoma product is coming off a stellar senior campaign as his team won the 5A state championship and was named state tournament MVP. He originally University of Milwaukee, but a coaching change made Nero reconsider his options. He will now be able to go through the whole recruiting process as schools such as Ohio St., Butler, Virginia Tech and Georgetown are some of the schools to most recently reach out. Nero is expected to play a big role as the Mustangs.