Boys Basketball Team Have Championship Hopes

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March 17, 2025
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Jillian Slotnick || SPORTS EDITOR

The Varsity Boys’ Basketball team had a strong start to the 2024-2025 season with a streak of seven wins and a first-place finish at the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Tournament.

They qualified for the state tournament with a 14-7 win-loss record and have a strong core of seniors who led their team well throughout the season: Owen Foley, Salvatore Concemi, Jack Cooper, Cameron Gath, and James Flagg.

David Fazio, the longtime coach of the boys’ basketball team, made a point to give credit to this year’s seniors, praising their effort and dependability. “I think the one thing that we have this year is that our seniors are great leaders,” he said. “They always come to work in games and at practice. They show up every single day. They work hard, have great attitudes, and try to do everything [they’re] asked to do. I’m so proud of [them].”

Additionally, the team won against many of their closest rivals in the first seven games of the season. A majority came during the Commonwealth Motors Tournament: 74-68 against Beverly, 65-60 against Central Catholic, and then 63-59 against Methuen to close out the final. Although Andover was already a stand-out team, their performance in the tournament demonstrated their talent and depth, allowing it to be showcased at the state-wide level. At that point, they were ranked second in Massachusetts, although their ranking has now dropped.

Even though the season has been difficult for the team since their win in the Commonwealth Motors tournament with seven losses and seven wins, they are still hopeful. Jack Cooper, a senior and three-year team member, said, “This upward momentum has been kind of started through our energy in practice. We bring positivity and great vibes during each practice, which brings up the team morale and we all buy it: the game and the game plan. Just our overall energy is where this momentum and streak is coming from. We could definitely still make this into a championship.”

Building on their past successes, the team was focused on consistency and refinement as they approached the final stretch of the season. Despite setbacks, they remained committed to strengthening their gameplay and making the most of their year. According to Cooper, each practice and game is an opportunity to sharpen their skills needed for a deep playoff run. Their recent performances have shown glimpses of their full potential and now with playoffs upon them, they are confident that they have peaked at the right time.

The team is continually improving and they still have a great chance to make a run in the state tournament. “We had a great start,” said Fazio, “We won the Christmas tournament in the month of January, [but at that point we still hadn’t] been at our best yet, which is good because we [were able to work on] some things.” According to Fazio, it is better if a team reaches their peak at the end of February, when playoffs start: “We’ve got to get back to improving day in and day out.”

The team has already made it through the first round of the playoffs with a victory against Boston College High School and faced Braintree this past Tuesday.

Andoverview

EDITORIAL: Where is the Line Between Inspiration and Cheating?

March 30, 2026

At ANDOVERVIEW, we believe academic dishonesty is a notable issue. Students are often scared to ask teachers for help, don’t have time to complete the work, or are simply lazy, so they ask AI to do the work for them.

We do not exclude ourselves from this phenomenon. To our knowledge, ANDOVERVIEW has never allowed AI to change the truths that we report, but we know for certain that there have been drafts put forward by students for publication in the past years that have relied on AI. We acknowledge that the problem with AI usage is schoolwide (in fact, nationwide); now, as part of the student body, we want to raise awareness and help solve this problem.

Cheating causes an uneven playing field between those who use AI or cheat in any way, and those who do their work honestly. Academic dishonesty also hinders teachers’ ability to understand how much their students truly retain what is being taught.

We at ANDOVERVIEW believe that within each class at AHS, teachers need to provide a defined line between what constitutes cheating and learning.

Much of cheating today revolves around AI, and many teachers seem to have a different policy regarding it. Students must figure out which rules apply where. Academic integrity in one classroom may be considered a violation in another. Although a schoolwide policy is existent, it is lengthy while simultaneously being unclear at times. More specificity is necessary within the policy to ensure that coursework isn’t a stressful guessing game for students.

So, what are students to do? At ANDOVERVIEW we believe students who use sources for ideas—not as a replacement for their own work and effort—need a solid line to tell them if what they are doing is considered academic dishonesty. We need a policy, we need a line, and most importantly we need consistency.

Until that consistent line is drawn, students must recognize that if, in their eyes, an action comes anywhere near that blurry boundary, they should stop. Reflect on if it is truly worth it risking your reputation and potentially your future. If not, we urge you to choose a different path. Academic integrity starts with each individual student.

Articles

Steve Zrike Appointed MA Secretary of Education

February 12, 2026

Avery Slaughter || ONLINE EDITOR

Steve Zrike was appointed Massachusetts Secretary of Education by Governor Maura Healey on February 10. He will assume the position on February 13.

Zrike will succeed Patrick Tutwiler in the role. As Secretary of Education, Zrike will oversee the Executive Office of Education, which is responsible for managing pre-elementary, K-12 and higher education across the state.

“My responsibility is to the children of the Commonwealth,” Zrike said. “I just want to make sure that that is clear–that at the end of the day, the job is about improving the student experience in our public institutions across Massachusetts.”

Zrike is currently the superintendent of Salem Public Schools. Previously, he also served as superintendent of both Holyoke and Wakefield. He has held various other positions in school districts across Massachusetts.

“I feel like I’ve had a lot of experiences in a lot of different types of communities,” Zrike said. “I’m going to rely on the different relationships and different experiences I’ve had across all those places. Of course, I have a lot to learn, and I’m excited to get started with better understanding the many different types of education programs that exist across Massachusetts.”

An Andover resident, Zrike began his career in education as a fifth grade teacher in Andover Public Schools. Prior to this, he received education at Dartmouth College and attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

“Andover was an amazing place for me to start my career,” Zrike said. “I learned a lot from the people that I worked with. I’ve carried that experience with me since.”

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Boys Basketball Team Have Championship Hopes

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