Weymouth stars, Homecoming royals pass milestone
Some schools can go years without seeing a generational basketball player pass through their ranks. Those who record 1,000 points are usually remembered forever.
Weymouth High School has two of those athletes. Classmates Edric Louissaint and Megan Doyle each attained the lofty milestone.
When the two hoopsters joined the illustrious Wildcats scoring club, they attached themselves to a very slim list. Louissaint and Doyle became just the fourth and fifth athletes to shatter the mark from the town. This dates back to when Weymouth was divided into a two-school system.
That’s just on the court. Off of it, both Louissaint and Doyle are viewed as high school heroes. They excel in the classroom, and serve as role models for their fellow students.
On top of it all, the two stars were just named Homecoming King and Queen, respectively.
Having served as both the boys and the girls basketball head coach at Weymouth in separate stints over the past two decades, Jim Dolan knows a thing or two about program history. In fact, he has coached both players.
“Edric is certainly right up there with some of our best players,” Dolan said of Louissaint, who averaged more than 20 points a game. “He’s a two-time AllStar, but what’s crazy about this story is that Megan and Edric are the two best kids in the school. They really are. They’re just great kids, great teammates, great leaders.”
The stretch of recent success for the two seniors actually started during a hard-fought loss for Weymouth’s boys basketball program on Jan. 30. Louissaint registered career point No. 1,000 in a heartbreaking 64-60 defeat at the hands of Bay State Conference rival Walpole. The long bus ride home was dejecting.
For a brief moment, the senior thought things were about to get worse when it reached the team parking lot. As Louissaint began to clean things up before leaving, he was told to come to the gymnasium, where all of his coaches and teammates had silently congregated alongside the school’s athletic director, Rob O’Leary.
“After the game, we all got told that we had gotten in trouble,” chuckled Louissaint. “We all walked into the gym and I was confused, because I saw the athletic director there.”
It then hit the senior. He had just accomplished school history. His friends swarmed over to celebrate. Suddenly, the sting from earlier in the evening was gone.
“It all surprised me,” said Louissaint. “And it was a great moment.”
Given the camaraderie and the bonds that the two athletes have developed in recent years, it should come as no surprise whatsoever that Doyle found herself looking to match the feat. She would have an opportunity a few days later.
“It’s pretty cool,” laughed Doyle. “When Edric got (the milestone), I was like: ‘Oh, now it’s my turn.’”
Even said, Doyle knew she was approaching the mark during a bout with Newton North on Valentine’s Day. However, as she stepped to the free throw line early on Senior Night, the standout had no clue that she was literally on the cusp. She sank her first attempt to hit the milestone, and kept preparing to shoot her next.
After releasing her second, the crowd, and her team bench let out a roar. Moments later, the game was paused briefly for a ceremony to commemorate Doyle’s latest career accomplishment.
“It was kind of a full-circle moment that I got to do it in front of all my friends,” said Doyle, who averaged nearly 21 points and 12 rebounds a game. “It’s really special because it’s senior year. This is the last year, and I’ve been playing with these girls since I was literally 5-years-old. To be able to go through this whole season with them was really special.”
Led by Doyle and her teammates, the Wildcats would turn in their latest victory later in the evening, an epic 68-58 win over the Tigers. A perfect punctuation to an unforgettable night.
During his high school coaching tenure, Doug Kirby has witnessed just about every type of player imaginable, dating back to his days as an assistant with Scituate’s boys program, through his later days as a head coach at Plymouth South.
Now at the helm of Weymouth’s girls basketball team, Kirby views Doyle in a class with the elite.
“I believe she is a generational athlete,” said Kirby. “She’d be good at playing pinochle if you put a deck of cards in front of her. She would study the game, she’s just a really good kid, and she’s smart. She leads our team in a way (that stands out). … I’m very proud to have had her on our squad, and I’m going to miss her incredibly. A lot, after this state tournament here.”
Loussaint and No. 26 Weymouth (14-7) will host Barnstable in the opening round of the Div. 1 boys basketball playoffs Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, Doyle and the seventh-seeded girls squad (18-4) will have a bye to the Div. 1 Round of 32 in their field.
“It’s funny,” Dolan laughed. “Having done this for a while, it’s that success breeds success. We’ve had a good year with football, both boys and girls soccer. With girls cross country, both hockey teams in the tournament. Both basketball teams in the tournament. I think there’s been a real upsurge in support from the student body, and the staff. Both of those kids? They’re easy kids to root for.”