2016-2017 FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Paula Cavanagh The price of gas was $1.35. The president was Ronald Reagan. The year’s Best Picture was Chariots of Fire. That year in question was 1981, and it also happened to be the last time Pilgrim field hockey hoisted the state championship trophy. That is, until this past season, when Paula Cavanagh willed her squad to glory. The Pats snuck into the postseason as the No. 7 seed and dispatched each opponent they faced en
route to a Division II title. Chariho and Tiverton were obstacles along the way, before No. 1s e e d e d Lincoln School gave Pilgrim all it could handle. The Lynx carried a 1-0 lead and heavy shots-on-goal advantage into the break. “The message [at half] was ‘Don’t play like you’re afraid to lose, play like you want to win,’” Cavanagh said after the win. “For the first half, we were playing a lot of defense and
when that happens, you can’t win a game if you play defense, but you can win a game when you play defense but you also play the best offense you can. If you’re playing like you’re afraid to lose, then you can’t win; but if you play like you want to win, then you can do it.” With her team facing a 1-0 deficit, senior captain Cavanagh knew it wasn’t time to panic. She was calm, cool and collected as she potted the game-winner with four minutes to go, shocking the Lynx at rain-soaked Roger Williams University. “I remember it going
out to Karly [Evans], and
[she] hit it in, and then I
just picked m y
head up and went for the corner like I was supposed to do,” Cavanagh said. “Everyone was there doing their job if it were to miss. It was a great moment. Exactly what we wanted to do.”
That was all Cavanagh did that year: She played like she wanted to win, and her numbers showed it. Cavanagh scored often, notching 13 goals, but she was far-and-away the team leader in assists with eight as well. Pilgrim field hockey represented the first real success of the Warwick consolidation process, with former ’Canes such as Kayla Morin filling crucial roles, but Cavanagh tied it all together. “She was great at the
end of last year before we went into summer league, she was interested in making sure we had the Vets girls playing with us, made contacts with them, included them in everything and making sure especially that the seniors really felt welcome,” Pilgrim field hockey head coach Stephanie Shields said. “They were included in all the things the seniors would take care of, planning a car wash, the pasta dinners, and really once the season started they really clicked.” She also stepped up for the lacrosse team as it made the jump to Division II. Pilgrim finished with just a 310 record, but it could have been worse if Cavanagh didn’t jump out of the net and lead the team with 28 ■ CAVANAGH - PAGE 24
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Kwity Paye Kwity Paye, who concluded his Hendricken career as one of the top high school football players the state has ever seen, is the Warwick Beacon Male Athlete of the Year, as well as the Football Player of the Year. Paye was a force for three consecutive seasons on both sides of the ball for the Hawks’ football program, emerging as the top football player in the state for the last two seasons. On offense in 2016, Paye carried the ball 44 times, averaging nearly
15 yards per rush and scoring a teamhigh 1 3
rushing touchdowns. His physical style of running proved to be the perfect counter for Matt DiTondo’s speed and elusiveness out of the backfield. Paye’s primary position was defensive end, though, and he dominated opposing offenses, even with advers a r i e s drawing up plays to go away from Paye’s side of t h e field. H e l e d t h e Hawks in total tackles (65), tackles for loss (12) and sacks (4.5).
He notched his third varsity state title on Dec. 3, 2016, in Hendricken’s overpowering 4828 victor y
over rival La Salle. P a y e shined on the state’s biggest stage, scoring four touchdowns as the Rams’ defense had no answer for the 6foot-4, 240-pound fullback. For his efforts, Paye was voted in by his peers as an
Under Armour AllAmerican. Paye didn’t only shine on the football field, though. The Hendricken senior stood out for the Hawks’ t r a c k a n d field program during the winter and the spring. P a y e helped Hendricken capture the indoor track title with his performance in the shot put, earning second place at the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Indoor State Championship at the Providence Career and
BOYS’ COACH OF THE YEAR
GIRLS’ COACH OF THE YEAR
Rick Angeli
Stephanie Shields
Bishop Hendricken golf, hockey
Pilgrim field hockey
Technical Academy in February. Hendricken held off second-place Central and third-place La Salle for the crown. In the spring, Paye teamed up with Ethan Pezzullo, Desmond Bernal and Russell White to earn second in the 4x100 relay at the RIIL Outdoor State Championship at Brown Stadium, helping the Hawks to a second-place team finish. “Kwity was so famous from football he didn’t even have to do indoor or outdoor track, but he completely dedicated himself to making our team better,” Hendricken head track coach Jim Doyle said. “He was a big part of our team’s accomplishments.” Paye will now move on to play football for national power University of ■
PAYE - PAGE 20