By Nick Pantages
@nick_pantages22
The three-peat, or winning three championships consecutively, is one of the hardest things to accomplish in team sports. However, after its 77-74 double overtime win over Holyoke at the Hoophall Classic, Pope Francis Prep’s quest for a third straight Western Mass. Class A Championship is in full swing.
The Cardinals won their first championship in 2023, beating West Springfield, before beating Springfield Central in 2024. After defeating Holyoke, who had an identical 8-0 record coming into tonight’s battle, Pope Francis now improves to 9-0.
Offensively, the Cardinals are led by their dominant backcourt duo of Sam Bringham and Ryan Vedovelli.
Vedovelli is the team’s leading scorer, and has been a key contributor to both of the Cardinals’ previous titles. As a senior on the team now, his goals are simple – finish the three-peat.
“I want to win another Western Mass. Championship and make a deep run in the state,” Vedovelli said.
Bringham is a shorter guard, one who can score from all three levels. He proved he was a dynamic high school player at his old school, St. Mary’s (Westfield, Mass.), where he scored over 1,000 points in just two seasons. He chose to transfer from Westfield down the road to Pope Francis in Springfield, and has quickly proved his worth.
“I played at a smaller school, and I kind of wanted to just set myself up for success, so I decided to come to Pope,” Bringham said. “I love the team, great kids, great coach. It was a little bit of a slow start, but then I figured out my role, and we are 9-0 now so we’ve been cooking ever since.”
Both Vedovelli and Bringham put their talents on full display in the win tonight. They finished with 26 and 24 points, respectively, with both of them connecting on some clutch buckets. Despite playing just nine games together, the duo projects as potentially one of the best in the state, and have found promise in their partnership..
“We both know we can hit shots, and we are just looking for each other,” Bringham said. “If I’m driving, I know if I kick to him, he’ll make the shot and vice versa.”
In a back-and-forth contest, the game was knotted at 56 with the clock about to expire in regulation following a furious comeback from Holyoke. Bringham took a tough, contested mid-range jumper to try to win the game in regulation, but missed, and as the second chance effort also fell off the rim, the game needed an extra period .
After a flurry of and-ones and 3-pointers Holyoke found itself with a three point lead and 5.5 seconds left. Bringham brought the ball up, and after passing halfcourt, hit his defender with an in-and-out dribble before crossing over and pulling up from about eight feet behind the high school 3-point arc. His three was nothing but net, sending the game to a second overtime, where Pope Francis was able to eke out a three point win.
“I started off slow today too, I think I was scoreless in the first quarter, so just keeping confidence,” Bringham said. “They were face-guarding [Vedovelli] so I figured I might take the shot, deny the screen, let it go…Bang.”
For a team that has been so dominant in Western Mass., the level of competition on day one of Hoophall has helped the Cardinals prepare for some big games later on in the season.
“It’s definitely a big [win],” Vedovelli said. “Holyoke’s a really good team, and it showed today. They battled with us, it was a great game, back and forth all game, and that was a battle. Definitely a good statement win.”
Another element of the win tonight that may prove helpful for Pope Francis later in the season was the hostile environment inside Blake Arena. With games delayed by almost an hour, the gym was filled with Pope Francis and Holyoke fans, but also Springfield Central and Putnam Academy supporters, who filed in waiting for the following game to start.
The gym was deafeningly loud at points, vibrating the wooden bleachers whenever either team scored. The intensity of the game was something new to Bringham, but will have him and Pope Francis prepared for anything.
“This was definitely different for me because I come from a small school, but I loved it honestly,” Bringham said. “I love the hype, I love the crowd.”
With this game marking the halfway point of the regular season for Pope Francis, its perfect 9-0 start has the Cardinals set up to try and crown themselves Western Mass. champions for the third straight year.
Photo by Shane Baron/The Student