Five takeaways from a youthful Dec. 18 in Massachusetts high school sports

If you read nothing else this morning, make it AJ Traub’s emotional story on the Espinal family joining the Saugus/Peabody wrestling team to honor their late teammate Freddy Espinal Jr., who died from a heart defect in September .
There was a fresh feel to Wednesday’s high school sports action, which wrapped up the first week of the winter season across Massachusetts.
1. They’ve got next
It was a night for middle schoolers to shine. Nobody stood out more than sixth-grader Emma Doucette, who opened the scoring with 55 seconds left in the second period to spark St. Mary’s to a 3-1 upset of No. 5 Archbishop Williams.
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But she was far from alone. Seventh grader Amelia Paes scored for Arlington Catholic during a 2-1 win over Bishop Fenwick, eighth graders Sofia Cleary and Chloe Rabazzi both tallied goals in Burlington’s 5-2 win over Lexington, and eighth-grader Jaxson Fleming made 19 saves to record his first career shutout as No. 19 Catholic Memorial downed No. 18 Franklin, 3-0.
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2. Hundred club
Two hockey players punched their ticket to the 100-point club on Wednesday. Drew DuRoss had 2 points in Dracut/Tynsborough’s 4-1 win over Haverhill to reach the mark, while Martha’s Vineyard senior Nate Averill hit the century plateau with a third-period assist from behind the net in an 8-2 win against Dennis-Yarmouth.
3. The day’s scoring leaders
The day’s leading scorer was Bedford’s Charles Demeo, who lit the lamp five times in the first two periods while taking down Cambridge, 8-2. Demeo had a hat trick before the first period was over. Four-goal games came from Xaverian’s Jackson Morser in an 8-1 win over Duxbury, Tewksbury’s Tyler Bourgea in a 12-2 win over Newton South, and Monomoy/Mashpee’s Casey Huse in a 9-3 win over Nantucket.
Wednesday’s hat tricks came from: Somerville’s Chris Cassesso (5-0 win over North Reading), Natick’s Sam Hubbard (4-3 win over Framingham), Oliver Ames’ Shaun Teehan (4-4 tie with Abington), Hingham’s Caroline Doherty (6-0 win over Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake), Penny Saich of Norwell/Scituate/Abington (in a 6-1 win over East/West Bridgewater), and Natick’s Jordan DiGiandomenico (6-1 win over Framingham).
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Among games reported to the Globe, the night’s only 30-point basketball scorer was Emerson Davis, who had 31 for Brooks in an 80-38 win over Groton. Junior Fope Ayo had 25 points and 16 rebounds for the Austin Prep girls in a 69-59 win over Proctor, Xavier Landrum stacked 25 points and 17 rebounds for TechBoston in a 67-54 win over Brooke Charter, and Travis Johnson pulled down 16 rebounds for Taunton in a 73-60 win against North Attleborough.
4. Otto Graham Award
The Otto Graham award is given annually to the top senior football player from 17 South Coast schools, including the entire South Coast Conference, plus two independents (Dartmouth, Bridgewater-Raynham), two-thirds of the Big 3 (New Bedford, Durfee) and teams from the Mayflower (Bristol-Plymouth, Diman, Old Colony, Wareham), Hockomock (Taunton), Catholic Central (Bishop Stang), and South Shore (Middleborough).
In one of the least surprising results, Fairhaven star Justin Marques received the award at Greater New Bedford on Wednesday night. Marques led Fairhaven to four South Coast Conference Gold Division titles and a 38-10 record in his four seasons, propelling the Blue Devils to the 2023 Division 6 state championship, and a return trip to the 2024 Super Bowl. He finished his senior year with 1,907 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns, giving him a state-record 110 touchdowns for his career and 5,514 rushing yards.
The three finalists were Marques, Apponequet’s Brody Joly, and Old Rochester’s Gavin Martin.
5. Here and there
Canton girls’ basketball coach Brandon Wilbur got his first win at the helm, a 43-29 victory over Sharon powered by 15 points from Alyssa Wong. Wilbur is a physical education teacher in the Boston Public Schools … Medway junior Dylan Costa set a school record for the indoor shot put (45 feet, 4 inches).
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Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.