This season, Bo Botelho took over the Franklin St. Mary’s ninth and tenth grade CYO basketball team and was able to accomplish something that hasn’t been done for over a decade. Under the guidance of Botelho and his assistant John Langis, Franklin went 10-1 on the regular season and then went on not only to capture the MetroWest Championship, but also to take home the State and New England trophies. 

Once the Coaching staff saw the roster for the first time, they knew that they had a special group of athletes.

“In basketball, you have to know what you are trying to do. I knew that we had a great team, and a championship was what we’re playing for,” Botelho said. “I told the kids at the beginning that if we are going to be playing for the championship, even playing time was not going to happen; in tight games, the starters were going to see more time. Everyone bought in.”

On the court, the Franklin players were a family, and as a  coach who played basketball, Botelho had a good idea as to who was good at what. The coach’s philosophy, which he stressed from day one, was that he wanted his players talking loudly on defense while playing hard against the opposition. When the team was on offense, he wanted his team to be quiet and have his point guard push the ball up court.

The Franklin athletes all bought in on day one, and the coaching staff knew that this team had everything they would need to be successful. Franklin’s only blemish on their season was a two-point loss, the only game their center didn’t play in, and a game Botelho believes they wouldn’t have lost if he was in the game. 

The Franklin contingent would need to continue with their great game play and win three games to capture the MetroWest CYO Championship. First up was St. Edwards Parish out of Medfield, and Franklin would begin their streak of wins with a 75-45 win with Bryce Botelho hitting on six of his nine three-point shots to end up with a season high 30 points.

Colin O’Brien came off the bench to score 11 points to give Franklin the boost they needed to take out Natick Catholic Community 60-53, and in the finals against St Martha’s of Plainville, it was a trio of players that got Franklin into the win column with the first of its three championships. Botelho played the entire game, while Colin Stacey, who sat out the first half due to an injury, came in to play hurt in the second half. Martin took over for Matt Lord who got into foul trouble; he’d have to cover the opposition’s big guy and did so with impressive results as Franklin walked away with a hard fought 42-39 victory.

With three games down, Franklin would now enter into the State Tournament. Taking part in the Semi-final game against St Martin’s of Dorchester, things looked as though the Franklin season could possibly come to an end. Trailing 39-37 with a mere eight seconds on the clock, Jack Langis dribbled down the court, split the defenders and scored while getting fouled. He would knock down the free throw, and Franklin walked away with a 40-39 win to advance into the State Championship game against St Agatha of Milton. 

The State Championship tilt showcased Botelho once again, knocking down six of his nine three-point shots giving him 26 points in the 75-59 win. Playing in a small venue, it was relevant that 15 tenth graders, all friends of the team, drove to the game and pumped up the squad by being loud throughout the game.

Franklin now had two championship trophies and had won five straight games. St. Mary’s would only need two more victories to capture their third Championship of the year, the first time the program would do it in many years. 

Once in the New England Tournament, Franklin would dispatch of St. Elizabeth Seton of Bedford, NH 75-57. New Hampshire team had no answer for Franklin’s big man, Matt Lord, who was able to pull down 20 rebounds in the win, pushing Franklin to the brink of yet another Championship.

Much like the previous game, the Final game of the New England Tournament against St Brenda’s/St Martha’s (combined team) of Providence Rhode Island didn’t really get in the way of Franklin, recording the trifecta as St Mary’s took home the Title with another convincing win 66-43. Franklin was originally down 9-2 in the early goings, before Coach Botelho took a timeout telling his kids to stay positive and make some adjustments on defense. Franklin would go on a 64-34 run following that timeout. 

“Of our seven games, we could have easily lost three or four of them,” the Coach noted. “But this team went out and put forth a complete team effort by playing great defense and making great passes.”

St. Mary’s CYO would average 58.9 points per game, while only allowing its opposition to score 42.9 points. Bryce Botelho, by far the team’s best ball handler and dribbler, would lead the team with an average of 14 points per contest, while Jack Langis, the team’s Swiss Army knife, was right behind him with 11 points. Sitting at nine points per game were Colin Stacey (top defender and best overall player) and Matt Lord (a beast in the paint with rebounds and blocks). Luke Mulvey, a good rebounder and a good passer for a big guy, would add six points per game rounding out the starting lineup. 

Colin O’Brien and Malay Bhatt would contribute with an average of four points per game. Botelho and Langis would lead the team in assists while Lord, Mulvey and Stacey would be tops in rebounds. Stacey owned the most steals and Lord lead the team n block shots. 

Rounding out the players for the three-time champion St. Mary’s CYO are Krish Sachdeva, Srihaas Tadapaneni, Luke Longboardi and Robert white. Along with the rest of the team they all played unselfish basketball, worked hard and did what was asked of them en route to the successful Franklin CYO season. 

The tenth-grade players will all be moving up to the 11th/12th grade team next year and are already looking to run it back.