Defense delivers in Old Rochester's comeback over North Middlesex in the Div. 5 playoffs
MATTAPOISETT — It wasn’t looking too good for the Old Rochester football team on Friday night as the Bulldogs fell behind 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
But Old Rochester senior Mateo Pina had faith and so did the rest of his teammates and coaches.
Spearheaded by a tenacious defensive effort that forced five turnovers, the No. 6 Bulldogs scored 28 unanswered points to pull out a thrilling 28-14 victory over 11th-seeded North Middlesex in the MIAA Div. 5 Round of 16 at David S. Hagan Memorial Field.
“It all comes down to keeping your head down and keep on pushing,” said Pina. “We knew we had the athletes. We knew we had the coaching. We knew we had everything to get it done and we did it.”
Old Rochester head coach Bryce Guilbeault agreed.
“It started off not great, but I told the kids, ‘We just had to settle down’ and they did,” Guilbeault said. “We had great resolve. They’re a resilient group. People doubt us, but our kids believe and that’s all that matters.”
The Bulldogs rode their defense to the comeback victory, forcing five turnovers, including three in the second half.
“I love our defense,” Pina said. “We did a great job of keeping them to zero points in the second half. That was a great comeback.”
Junior Jack Laconte had a pair of interceptions in the second half. The first set up a 27-yard touchdown run by Pina to put Old Rochester on top 28-14 with 9:53 left in the game. The second ended North Middlesex’s final drive and sealed the victory for ORR.
“It was time for someone to make a play and I’m glad it was me,” Laconte said. “At the beginning of the game, we made some mistakes. I’m just glad we came back in the second half and put it all together. I know my team and I know we can get it done.”
Guilbeault was pleased to see Laconte make clutch plays down the stretch.
“He’s a great kid. He shows up and works hard,” Guilbeault said. “He’s a team player. He’s just ready to go.
“Last week his role was diminished a little bit on defense because of what we were doing defensively and he didn’t pout. He came back and he had a great week of practice and he had a great game today. I’m so happy for that kid.”
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HOW IT HAPPENED
North Middlesex (6-3) took advantage of a pair of Old Rochester mistakes to take a quick 14-0 lead. A bad snap on a punt attempt by ORR led to a short field for the Patriots, who scored their first touchdown on a 10-yard TD pass from Michael Reardon to Cade Callahan. After a fumble by the Bulldogs on the first play of their next drive, North Middlesex capitalized with another Reardon TD pass — this time it was for 14 yards to Jackson Hendley.
Old Rochester got on the scoreboard in the second quarter on a 1-yard TD run by junior quarterback Gavin Martin to cap a 10-play, 56-yard drive to pull the Bulldogs within 14-7 entering halftime.
Old Rochester controlled the second half, scoring on its first three possessions on touchdown runs by Martin (3 yards) and Pina (1 yard and 17 yards). Senior Remy Wilson connected on all four PATs.
“Mateo had a great game on defense and offense,” Guilbeault said. “He’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s a leader. The O-line blocked well. Gavin did a great job of managing the game and making big plays with his legs. Devin (St. Germaine) had a couple of big runs and a couple of tackles in the open field.”
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WHAT IT MEANS
With the win, Old Rochester improves to 5-4. The Bulldogs will visit No. 3 Shawsheen Valley Tech (8-0) in the Div. 5 state quarterfinals at a date and time to be determined. ORR lost to the Rams 27-20 in last year’s state quarterfinals. “I’m proud of the whole team,” Guilbeault said. “I’m very happy. It’s always tough to win. We’re excited to go up to Shawsheen next week.”
COACHES CORNER
“Shawsheen is good. They’re returning everybody. It seems like they’re handling teams with ease all year long. It will be a tough opponent for us. We’ll start getting ready for them tomorrow. We’re excited to be moving on and we’ll keep fighting and we’ll see what happens. I like our guys. I believe in them.” — Guilbeault
NOTES
St. Germaine had an interception while sophomore Brody Hiles and senior Tyler Williams recovered fumbles in the game.
OLD ROCHESTER 28, NORTH MIDDLESEX 14
NORTH MIDDLESEX;14;0;0;0 — 14
OLD ROCHESTER;0;7;14;7 — 28
Scoring
First Quarter
NM: Cade Callahan 10 pass from Michael Reardon (Colin Taylor kick), 8:25
NM: Jackson Hendley 14 pass from Michael Reardon (Colin Taylor kick), 6:47
Second Quarter
ORR: Gavin Martin 16 run (Remy Wilson kick), 4:39
Third Quarter
ORR: Gavin Martin 3 run (Remy Wilson kick), 8:14
ORR: Mateo Pina 1 run (Remy Wilson kick), :58
Fourth Quarter
ORR: Mateo Pina 17 run (Remy Wilson kick), 9:53
Individual Statistics
Rushing — NM: Cade Callahan 3-(-4), Jackson Hendley 1-(-4), Michael Reardon 6-13, Corey Mills 10-64, Darien Crawford 1-(-1); ORR: Mateo Pina 25-122-2, Gavin Martin 19-86-2, Remy Wilson 1-(-11), Jack Laconte 2-3, Devin St. Germaine 13-47, Matthew Kennefeck 1-7.
Passing — NM: Michael Reardon 11-15-102-2-3; ORR: Gavin Martin 0-5, Jack Laconte 0-1.
Receiving — NM: Cade Callahan 6-62-1, Jackson Hendley 1-14-1, Brady Reardon 1-8, Corey Mills 1-13, Darien Crawford 1-0, Maverick Diekan 1-5; ORR: None.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Old Rochester football rallies to beat North Middlesex in Div. 5
