Worcester Academy football rebuilt and looking to bright future stocked with local talent

While the history books will reveal that Worcester Academy coach Jeremy Bandy began his tenure in 2020, the entry will probably need to include an asterisk.

Because of the onset of the pandemic, the normal month-to-month flow of recruiting, preparing and playing games was disrupted.

While he would have preferred to be roaming the sidelines on Saturday afternoons, Bandy put the temporary freeze in on-field action to good use by putting his time into recruiting players.

When Bandy accepted the job at Worcester Academy – he also fills his days teaching history, economics and physical education at the school – the Hilltoppers roster had just 21 players.

His persistence paid off on multiple occasions, most notably in landing junior Parker Greene, a Princeton resident and standout lacrosse player at Worcester Academy who is a mere two games into his football career.

“I would see Parker around campus and he’s friends with a lot of the football team, so I just kept asking him to consider giving it a shot,” Bandy said. “I don’t think he even realizes how good of a football player he can be.”

“Recruiting has been the mission since Day 1 and it’s still a focus every day,” said Bandy, who is from Ohio, but became familiar with New England during his time coaching at Holy Cross and Harvard University.

Bandy quite literally combed the fields, classrooms and common areas in search of players to build out his roster and with a solid foundation now in place, he has expanded his recruiting focus, and has brought in players from across the United States and beyond, but still believes he can find what he needs close to home.

“There is so much football talent in Central Mass.,” he said. “If you stuck a pushpin into Worcester on a map and recruited even in a 150-mile radius, you’ll find an incredible amount of talent. For the local kids, though, we want to show them that there is no reason for them to leave Worcester.”

Bandy’s recruiting pitch, if you will, has been Worcester Academy's ability to develop its students academically, socially and athletically and prepare them for success in the next part of their lives.

Worcester Academy got a bona fide star late in the summer when former St. John’s receiver and Worcester resident Keith Sarkodieh enrolled.  He exploded for six catches for more than 100 yards and a touchdown last weekend to help the Hilltoppers beat Berkshire Prep and even their record at 1-1.

Bandy is enjoying his time in Worcester and the challenge of working with prep players that is a bit different than what he encountered as a college coach.

“I really enjoy the skill development and progress the kids make,” Bandy said. “In college, a lot of the time, you’re getting guys who are ready-made.”

The Hilltoppers are next in action Saturday at 2:30 when they host Austin Prep at Gaskill Field.

Brotherly battery at Algonquin

Algonquin Regional siblings Alex and Nicholas Klein spent some of their summer days relaxing on vacation, but the brothers didn’t exactly have many days off.

Alex, a senior kicker and punter for the Titans, entering his final year of high school, needed a long snapper to help simulate game-speed repetitions. Enter younger brother, Nicholas.

“Nicholas knew that this offseason was a big one for me and helped me train in any way he could,” Alex said. “He learned long snapping, a skill that is not popular at all, to help me become better as a kicker and get live reps.”

The work is paying off, as Alex has emerged as one of the top kickers in the area, consistently booming punts 50 yards.  While helping his older brother train, part of Nicholas’ duties sometimes entailed fielding punts, which has helped Nicholas become a dangerous and adept kick returner.

Nicholas is a sophomore and a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to football.

“This is my second year playing football, as I started playing my freshman year at Algonquin,” he said. "I never considered myself to play football when the season came around until the summer of high school when I signed up two days before the deadline. I knew I had to learn quickly, but I enjoyed it all throughout the season.”

Nicholas, in addition to his long-snapping duties on punts and field goal attempts, plays cornerback for the Titans.

Nicholas’ entry into the underappreciated and incredibly technical world of long snapping was a slow one.  When the brothers would go to practice at a field, Nicholas would simply throw the ball to Alex before his older brother blasted a punt.

“Over time, I would get sick of faking a snap, and I decided to try to actually snap it,” Nicholas said.  “Within some time, I began to improve a lot. At that point, we both knew that this may be my future next season. Given that our last long snapper transferred, the spot was open. All of a sudden, long snapping for fun became preparing for the season.”

The Klein brothers team up in another sport, although the roles are reversed.

Alex is one of the top pitchers in Central Mass. and, as luck would have it, has a catcher living in-house and always ready to get in some extra work.

Alex half-jokingly said he owns a lot of the credit for Nicholas’ development as a catcher.

For years, the younger brother has learned to catch pitches at a velocity that’s typically well above what pitchers his own age can deliver.

“We have only ever played baseball together for a few games (a fall ball league for players 14-18),” Nicholas said. “In these games, he would often start as a pitcher and I would start as catcher. This upcoming year, I hope to be on varsity and play my brother's senior year with him.”

The Klein brothers and their family have taken no moments for granted thus far.

“It is very special that we get to work closely together in sports one last time this year,” Alex said.  “We have grown up always playing sports together in our backyard or driveway, and one final year of being together is special. Our parents are very proud of seeing both of their kids on the same field on Friday nights. I want to play football in college next year, and I get to see my brother snapping at me in all of the videos I send out to coaches, and that is also special.”

Algonquin hosts Shepherd Hill at 7 p.m. Friday and will look to snap a three-game losing streak during which the Titans lost to tough opponents in Hopkinton, Catholic Memorial and Shrewsbury.

Domineck has rare feat for top-ranked Wachusett

The Wachusett Mountaineers are atop the T&G Super 7 large schools poll.

After losing its opening game to state championship contender Franklin, the Mountaineers have run roughshod over their last three opponents, outscoring Fitchburg, Minnechaug and Acton-Boxboro by a combined 147-12.

While star quarterback Tucker McDonald has been lighting up the scoreboard, the Mountaineers got a rare but impressive offensive performance from another playmaker in their win over Minnechaug.

Ben Domineck tallied points in all three phases of the game.  He caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from McDonald in the second quarter, then, in the fourth quarter, he returned an interception 22 yards for a score.  Dominick also kicked four extra points to cap off his memorable night.

Wachusett takes its 3-1 record on the road Friday night when it travels to Salem.  The Mountaineers opened the season with four straight home games, so the long bus trip will be the first of the year.

Contact Tom Flanagan at sports@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @tgsports.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Academy football rebuilt and looking to bright future stocked with local talent