McKenna giving Sabers a spark

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Staff photo by JOE MARCHILENA Souhegan's Shaun McKenna drops back on defense during a game earlier this season.

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Staff file photo by JOE MARCHILENA Souhegan's Shaun McKenna goes in for a layup during last year's Division II semifinal game against Portsmouth.

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Staff file photo by JOE MARCHILENA Souhegan's Shaun McKenna drives to the basket during last year's semifinal game against Portsmouth.

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Staff photo by JOE MARCHILENA Souhegan's Shaun McKenna grabs a rebound over Portsmouth's Ben Landry during the first half of Friday's game in Amherst.

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Staff photo by JOE MARCHILENA Souhegan's Shaun McKenna drops back on defense during a game earlier this season.

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Everything was in place for Shaun McKenna.

After spending the better part of nine months waiting and working toward the start of the basketball season, the Souhegan High School senior was one week away from what he thought would be a special year.

But when he woke up the morning of Dec. 9, McKenna didn’t feel well. He was nauseous and dizzy, but because the Sabers were supposed to scrimmage at Kearsarge that night, he went to school. He didn’t make it through the day.

“Probably by about third period, I basically almost passed out,” McKenna said. “I went to the nurse and said ‘I’ve gotta go home.’”

Once he went home, things only got worse.

“I went home sick,” said McKenna, whose mother is a nurse. “She was listening to the symptoms and said if it moves to the right side of your stomach, then let me know. In the middle of the night, I woke up and it was (on the right side).”

The next day, McKenna went to the doctor and found out he had appendicitis. His appendix came out, and although he was sent home from the hospital the same day, McKenna was told he wouldn’t be able to return to the basketball court for a month, maybe longer.

“I was waiting all football season, watching them have the time of their life, and then it came to our season and that happened,” he said. “I was just heartbroken.”

So were his teammates.

“I think the day we found out Shaun had appendicitis, it hit us pretty hard, but we’re capable of rallying around him,” said junior point guard Brandon Len, who, like McKenna, is a team captain. “He gave us so many things, and that really made other guys step up.”

Souhegan coach Mike Heaney goes to the same gym as McKenna, and there weren’t many days during the offseason that the coach would go and not see his player.

“The tough thing for him was that I’m not sure too many kids worked harder in the offseason than Shaun,” Heaney said. “He ended last year on such a great note, playing really well in the final four as a junior. He was really focused this summer, lifting weights, running, shooting the ball. He was ready for a monster senior year.”

While not playing was tough, trying to be a captain from the sidelines added to McKenna’s frustrations.

“I think I lost a lot of connection with them on the bench,” he said. “I can’t get up in anyone’s face and motivate them to do what I think they need to do. I think getting back on the court really helped me get in touch with them.”

The Sabers opened the year with wins in their first two Division II games, but lost two of three in the Chick-fil-A Holiday Tournament. McKenna watched each game from the bench, and made his season debut Jan. 3 against Milford, scoring eight points in Souhegan’s win. In a 91-81 victory over Coe-Brown last Friday, McKenna had 22 points to go with seven rebounds. The Sabers are off to a 6-0 start in the division and host undefeated Portsmouth (7-0) Friday at 6:30 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s semifinal.

“He’s about as complete a player as they come,” Len said. “He can rebound, he can defend, he can score. He’s a great athlete. Obviously, Shaun brought so much stuff to the table, it was difficult to replace him. We’re a better team with him.”

And the Sabers might be a better team because of McKenna’s absence. Heaney had to find ways to replace his senior captain’s production, and that meant giving playing time to several players who may not have received as much if Souhegan had been at full strength.

“It was tough for Shaun to have to go through what he went through, but as a coach, you have to find the positives, and that is we learned a lot about Tyler (Ford) and Tim (Beliveau) in those spots,” Heaney said. “We came out of it better as a team. We saw things that they do well and things that they need to work on, always with the idea that, some of things that they don’t do well, Shaun does really well. When we need to rotate him out, we have these guys.”

Although he still doesn’t feel he’s back to 100 percent, McKenna is glad to be a part of the rotation again.

“It’s nice to get back,” he said. “I’m ahead of schedule. I thought I was going to have to take it easy those first couple of games I was back. I didn’t feel any of it, and it felt like it never happened.”

And now McKenna’s senior year – and Souhegan’s season – is back on track.