Ravens Roundup: December 2024 | News | Portsmouth Abbey School, Rhode Island

Stanley Dunbar Named Varsity Football Head Coach 

A native Rhode Islander has been named Varsity Football Head Coach at Portsmouth Abbey School.

In a press release on December 18,  Athletic Director Chris Milmoe announced that Stanley Dunbar would be taking over the football program from former Head Coach Elliot Moffie.

Dunbar is currently the defensive coordinator and assistant director of admissions at Suffield Academy in Connecticut. Before joining Suffield Academy, he successfully served as the head coach at Westerly High School and Coventry High School in Rhode Island. He is also the founder and director of Breakthrough Elite Football, the largest amateur football organization in New England, which hosts camps, clinics, leagues, and showcases for football players in the offseason. 

“When we began the search for our next football head coach, we were inundated with applications from across the country,” said Milmoe. “Coach Dunbar’s experience and deep ties to Rhode Island made him stand out. As a man of faith who desires to use football to help young men grow in knowledge and grace, he will usher in the next era in Portsmouth Abbey football. We are thrilled to have him join our community.” 

Portsmouth Abbey is a New England Prep School Athletic Conference member and competes in the Evergreen League.

Fall Sports Awards 2024

Cross Country

Field Hockey

Gontarz Girls Field Hockey Trophy: Layla Grilli ’25and Kate Verderber ’25

MIP: Anna Hutton ’27

Captains Elect: Mabel Harlan ’27 and Megan O’Connor ’26

Overall Record: 11-8-1

EIL Record: 7-4 4th place in EIL

EIL All League: Layla Grilli ’25, Kate Verderber ’25, and Anna Hutton ’27

EIL All League HM: Jayden Elias ’26 and Mabel Harlan ’27

All NEPSAC: Kate Verderber ’25

All NEPSAC HM: Layla Grilli ’25

Football

John M Hogan Football Trophy: Logan McManus ’25

Coen MIP Award: Wolfe Waters ’28

Captains Elect: Zach Chatterton ’26, Jack Hamilton ’26, Brycen Wagner-Pont ’26

Evergreen Record 0-8

All NEPSAC: Logan McManus ’25

All NEPSAC HM: Kian Murphy ’25

Boys Varsity Soccer

Williams Franklin Sands Memorial Soccer Trophy: JP Devaney ’25

Captains Elect: Liam Caldwell ’26 and Keynan Musingo ’26

Overall Record: 16-3-5  

EIL Record: 8-0-2 Won EIL Championship, EIL Tournament, and was the NEPSAC Runner Up. Placed 2nd in NEPSAC

EIL All League: Gabe Devaney ’25, JP Devaney ’25, Luca Mestrandrea ’25 and Keynan Musingo’26

EIL HM: Luca Donadio’26 and Drake Almeida ’26

All NEPSAC: JP Devaney ’25, Gabe Devaney ’25 and Luca Mestrandrea ’25

All NEPSAC HM: Keynan Musingo ’26 and Luca Donadio’26

Girls Varsity Soccer

Hannaford Girls Soccer Trophy: Aralyn Bradshaw ’25

MIP: Dylan Galbreth ’25

Captains Elect: Jessy Rivera ’26, Jenny Rivera ’26, and Tessa Reid ’26

EIL Record 7-5-1

EIL All League: Ella Liuzza ’25, Jenny Rivera ’26 EIL HM: Tessa Reid ’26

Class-C Record 7-3 Qualified for New England Tournament

NEPSAC Jr All-Stars: Jessy Rivera ’26, Jenny Rivera ’26, and Tessa Reid ’26

All NEPSAC: Ella Liuzza ’25 and Aralyn Bradshaw ’25

All NEPSAC HM: Dylan Galbreth ’25 and Jessy Rivera ’26

Boys Golf

Coaches Award: PJ Forbes ’25

MIP: Luke Harkins ’26

Captain Elect: Jay Keenan ’26

Overall Record: 12-3

EIL Record: 9-3

Volleyball

Coaches Award: Gwen Canuel ’25

MIP: Charlotte Spencer ’26

Captains Elect: Elle Martin ’26 and Charlotte Spencer ’26

Overall Record 11-10 Qualified for NEPSAC EIL Record 7-4

EIL All League Elle Martin ’26

EIL All League HM Gwen Canuel ’25

All-NEPSAC: Elle Martin ’25

All-NEPSAC HM: Cammie Cotten ’25

JV Awards

The Portsmouth Abbey JV Award is given to the athlete who best demonstrates the spirit of Abbey Athletics. The award recognizes hard work, individual improvement, sportsmanship and a willingness to do what is best for the team.

Boys JV Cross Country: Jack Zelden ’28

Girls JV Cross Country: Rebeca Sada ’27

JV Field Hockey: Brigid Dowd ’26

JV Football: Michael Biehn ’27

Boys JVA Soccer: CJ Mitchell-Chenoweth ’28

Boys JVB Soccer: Karl Frankovich ’28

Girls JV Soccer: Abby FitzGerald ’27

JV Volleyball: Georgia Johnson ’26

Gabe Devaney’25 Earns Boston Globe Fall All-Scholastic Honors

Gabriel Devaney ’25, son of Stephen and Stephanie Devaney of Portsmouth, was named to the Boston Globe All-Scholastic Team for boys varsity soccer. He will be featured in a special newspaper section published on January 12. A defender for the Ravens, Devaney, along with his brother John Paul, also earned All-EIL and All-NEPSAC honors.

Winter Sports Begin with Wins and Work

The Ravens have entered the winter season with exciting wins, and all student-athletes are working hard to succeed during holiday tournaments and league competitions commencing with the new year. Boys and girls basketball and boys and girls varsity hockey will compete in tournaments from December 20-21. The schedule is available on the school website and in the parent portal.

For the first time in more than 10 years, the boys varsity ice hockey team won over Tabor Academy with a score of 3-1. The Raven wrestlers secured EIL victories over Landmark School and Lexington Christian Academy, and the girls varsity basketball team also won over Landmark in EIL play. Not to be outdone, the boys varsity basketball team had spectators on the edge of their seats with a 61-60 win over Chapel Hill Chauncy Hall.

The squash teams have also been quite busy. Alix Holling, the new girls varsity head coach, has her team training hard, and Moises Gavilianes ’27 represented the School at the U.S. Junior Open Squash Championships in Philadelphia earlier this week.

Look for more team updates in the January issue of “Musings.”

Sara DeSousa ’23 Returns to Referee

Raven standout Sara DeSousa ’23 returned home to campus recently to serve as a referee for JV ice hockey. She played field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse as a three-sport student-athlete at Portsmouth Abbey. She is now a Division I field hockey team member at Bryant University.

Margot Appleton ’21 Shatters Own Record in Boston Earlier This Month

After earning All-ACC, All-Southeast Region and All-American honors during her final cross-country season for the University of Virginia, Margot Appleton ’21 shattered her school record in the women’s 3000-meter run during the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener for indoor track at Boston University on December 7.

Racing against top finishers from the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November and some of the best collegiate and professional athletes nationwide, Appleton surpassed her previous record of 8:57.53, crossing the line for a new personal best of 8:46.23, finishing fourth overall and third among collegiate athletes.