Tantasqua Regional High School - Tantasquan Yearbook (Sturbridge, MA)

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JIM GRIGNON-. co-captain-“Whiz Kid”, super leader, HR champ ballplayer, pitcher, loser of many baseballs, speed to burn, torn pants, dirty hat award, tops under pressure, loves that right field swamp, breaker of records, gets hotter when the weather does, Border Confer- ence All Star, MVP, “Just one more time and Jim Grignon will be instantly voted the greatest athlete ever to grace the corridors of the Brookfield Rd. school and elected mayor of Sturbridge.” be- cause- “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape; You don’t spit into the wind, You don’t pull the mask off the lone ranger and you don’t mess around with Jim.” “Nice Rip, Pig” “Rip City’ “Gimme The Good Balls” “ 7 SONOS Wet ies ae ee KEVIN LABONTE - “Gig”, superath- lete, quickness personified, bad ball hitter, clutch man, ready smile, coach’s dream, Sue’s man, “Cool”, greatest ground coverge, power boy, Border Conference All Star, ‘Labonte Cranks’, “Just one more time for Ke- vin Labonte, who crushed the ball all season long to snap his playoff mini- slump and hammer Drury into sub- mission.” “I’m goin’ta rip.” “I bit my- MARK GRIFFIN - co-captain- “Pig” by teammates for eating seven main dishes in 15 minutes, “stone glove’ until the pressure was on, foot stamp- er, head knocker, temper champ, great RBI man, great arm, chief bleep man. “He picks up RBI’s like pennies, known by girls at other schools as 26, now 10, on third base ... the one who’s cute. “Just one more time around for Mark Griffin, to sprawl in front of a liner, scramble up, and throw a runner out from across the diamond.” -will probably stomp him- self up to his neck in stonedust one of these days. ‘‘Whatta my doin wrong?” “Ss gece i 24 BRIAN KAITBENSKI’’Kip”, long body, big heart, green trucker, one handed, good arm, nap taker, “eyes’’, ‘‘SUPER slider”, great cookout host, 3 A.M. bus driver, a competitor. “Just one more time for senior Brian Kaitbenski, the most unselfish Warrior, to come out of the game around the fifth in- ning, perch on the bench, and yell his guts out for his teammates. ‘I can’t see.”

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DAN BOONE-“Dan”, swift, our ‘Booneshot’, missed bus, good bat, Jim’s tackling dummy, up from minors, next years stealer. ‘Just one more time and maybe the local sportswriter will realize that that little jitterbug that goes in to pinch run really has the improbable name of Dan Boone.’’“’I can’t be- lieve it.” BOB GREGORY- “Bob”, runs waved in champ, low ball pitch- er up from minors, super smile, good bat, anxious for next year. “Just one more time for Bob Gregory, who has spent his playoff in the third base coaches box, to frantically wave another runner home, then dive on top of the celebration in back of home plate.” “We're going to do it, Coach.” THEY’RE NOT.” road.” y ... Al Walker, asst. coach, giant with heart as big, good insight, stabilizer, loser of keys, taker of keys, farmboy at heart, 4, truck driver, great help and friend. “I don’t have 5 your keys.” “I think Jim- , my’s ready.”’ ‘‘WE’RE STATE CHAMPS AND Walt Luce, ‘Walt’, transportation, gourmet, | globetrotter, leader, cards, cards, great sup- porter, good friend. “I 7 think this is a better . a fiery new coach in Mike Dube, juice maker, “667-Black-Toledo”, great memory, loser of keys, great pacer, pre- dictor, verbal errors, ‘I said we would be in the states. I told them before the sea- son started, when we were on our way back from a doubleheader at Falmouth, that if we put it together, we’d be in the states ... we’ve got kids with tremen- dous pride - great competitiors. We lost only when we failed to do things. Hey, we've been looking to get here all season long, and here we are. We’re out to win five - one at a time.’”’ JUST one more time and Mike Dube can rip off the baseball shirt, throw it into the pond in leftfield and proclaim that he’s got better things to do than stand in a funny colored suit, yell numbers that mean nothing and tell jokes. Dube has just one more chance to plead for “Juice, gimme some juice out there.” Dube said it last night, a little after six, just before the Warrior bus flew home from Quincy. “It’s been one hell of a playoff series.’” Just one more time now ... They'll believe Dube now ... YY) ie ed) io UO Oo — (ae) 5 GE U oD) on @x jams

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PAUL GRIGNON - Paul, su- per arm, hair, bench leader, nice hat, super quick, de- sire personified, clutch, great 2nd half, next year’s co-captain, a rock behind the plate, “easily the best catcher in the Border Con- ference.” Border Confer- ence All-Star. ‘‘They’re get- ting to know Paul, ‘the oth- er Grignon’, too.” “Just one more time and Paul Grig- non might be recognized for what he has been - one of the two or three top ballplayers in the clutch and a quiet, stabilizing force. The earthling on a club of wide-eyed space cadets.” “Yup.” “C’mon you guys.” CRAIG HUTCHINSON- “Hutch” “Big Red”, gutsy pitcher, big play man, boy who grew, helmet distance award, quiet fierceness, man who did it when it counted’ most. ‘Just one more time and maybe the local sportswriter. will real- ize that Hutch is not a sen- ior, although he has the ability, coolness and leader- ship of one.” “Just one more time and the heady Hutchinson can go back to work on his manuel on how to play shortstop. Two of the plays he has made could be photographed to put in every ‘how to’ book.” “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, blotching grounders and throwing wildly to the plate ... then you can pitch. Ex- cuse me Rudyard Kipling, but Craig Hutchinson, Tan- tasqua’s tempestuous red- head, is ready to join the ranks of men.”’ ‘‘Me, Coach?-Now?” “I couldn't get over the barbed wire.” CHRIS GRUBERT- “Runna”, sur- prise, head first slider, Sun God, cool shades, good man, play by play with a stick wrapped in tape. “Where’s the sun?”, ‘Party Down.” JOHN FERRARA - “Johnny”, acci- - dent prone, ball mouth, super pure hitter, nice heel, strategic re- turns to base, clutch man-bat and glove, nice lip thanks to Saint, next year’s co-captain, “Just one more time and John Ferrara cari say, -“Feets, do yo’ thing and run like a madman around the bases with no one there to disturb his jaunt.” “Just one more time and Ferrara will not be remembered as the sea- son’s “Unsung Hero’’. Not with a .400 playoff batting average and 8 runs batted in.” “Really, Coach?” “1 know, Coach, | know.”