Make room North High. Doherty is reloaded and ready for battle.

Tahlan Pettway (left) & Prince Dukuly (right).

What has become a lopsided inter-high league in recent years, anticipated matchups are hard to come by on both the girls and boys sides in Worcester. Last season, North High boys and South High girls dominated inter-high play in a routing of local competition, despite North falling to Franklin in the city tournament. In short, Franklin was their kryptonite, being the only team to defeat them in the regular season (twice) before North (20-3) fell to the to-be D1 champs BC High (25-0) 76-48 in the sweet 16 of the state tournament.

This season, the city may have a legit contender to challenge North High, especially if they want to be better prepared for a state title run compared to last year. In their way will be Doherty Memorial High School's boys' team who are off to a hot 4-0 start and are showing they are battle tested, resilient, and not backing down from any competition. The Doherty Highlanders have taken down two elite Central Mass teams: Fitchburg and Wachusett; both being come from behind wins.

If we take a look at last year, North defeated Doherty by 26 points in each game, the latter game at North being the most heated of the two. But this year Doherty is reloaded with a team of guys who mesh well, and North has added the best guard in the city to their squad, Tahlan Pettway, and Amir Jenkins, Amaren Minor, and Khari Bryant. Doherty has added freshman standout, Josiah Reyes, and Prince Dukuly.

Some early criticisms

One of the most common criticisms of North (2-0) is that "they don't play anybody". While this may be true to an extent, its not exactly their fault they are significantly outclassing the rest of Worcester. However, their schedule last year was not sufficient enough to prepare them for Eastern Mass teams. This year they have notably added contenders like Newton North, Lawrence, and St. Mary's (Lynn) to their regular season schedule. However to date, chemistry is still a puzzle for them to work on before those latter games.

Does Doherty have a legit shot at beating North?

The guard matchups can go toe-to-toe as both teams are loaded with talented guards. Doherty has: lefty guard Jamel Walker, who just scored 21 points against Fitchburg, Josiah Reyes, coming off of a game winner 3 vs. Fitchburg. Prince Dukuly, who is probably the shiftiest guard in Worcester, and Josh Romeo who is the most athletic out of their ball handlers.

North has: Ty Tabales, who has played more of a 2-guard shooter role this year compared to last year, Amir Jenkins, a surprisingly productive scorer, and Tahlan Pettway, the most lucrative scorer, although he has sacrificed that output on his new Polar Bear team.

The difference maker is in the bigs. Doherty mainly relies on Azeir Mcclain-Hines, a stretch-forward, to do the heavy lifting down low, while North is significantly bigger and more athletic in Teshaun Steele and Joe Okla at that position. This game will be a true test for the Doherty coaching staff to see if they can make this year's matchup more competitive with North than last. They are set to meet for the first time on January 4, 2023 at North, 630pm.

Who do you foresee winning North vs Doherty on 1/4/23?

• Change Image

  North High
• Change Image

  Doherty