'This is a defining moment' South High rallies to edge Grafton in thriller

WORCESTER — Offensively, the South High football team was stuck in the proverbial mud on its lavish turf field through the first 32 minutes of its measuring-stick game with Grafton.

The Colonels had committed multiple penalties and a turnover while punting on their other three possessions when they took over on their own 25-yard line trailing, 7-0, with 3:31 left in the third quarter, a margin that was manageable thanks to a stout, physical and playmaking defense.

“You can’t look back,” fifth-year Bob LaRose said. “And as a whole, we don’t. If the kids get in trouble, we move. That’s how it works here, we move on, we move on. And it clicked tonight because we came back twice.”

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The comeback Colonels saw junior quarterback Ransford Adri rush for two touchdowns and a conversion and saw senior defensive back D’Andre McLeod make a goal-line interception as time expired to seal a 14-13 win over the Gators before an elated home crowd at the Maureen Binienda Athletic Complex.

The Colonels, ranked sixth in the T&G Super 7 large schools poll, moved to 2-0. The No. 2 Gators dropped to 1-1 following their first loss in a meaningful regular-season game ‒ they rested the starters in a setback to Millbury last Thanksgiving with the Division 4 state final coming up ‒ since 2019.

“This, for us, is a defining moment,” LaRose said. “But these kids know. And that was a physical game. That was the most physical high school game I’ve seen in a long time on both sides. But we have Hudson next week, so there’s no days off.

“I couldn’t be happier with where we are and where we’re sitting. It’s a testament to all the people at the school, my assistant coaches. I didn’t call any plays, they did. It’s a testament to them to get the kids prepared and ready to play.”

The Gators, who lost a pair of fumbles that were recovered by seniors Anderson Amparo and Lexi Estrada at the Grafton 49 and South 6, respectively, got on the board first when senior quarterback Jake Mayerhouser connected with junior Brendan McMahon for a 6-yard scoring strike with 3:36 left in the third.

Senior Shabd Murty, a first-year kicker, converted the extra point to make it 7-0.

That initiated a terrific trio of counterpunches in which Adri ran it in from 3 yards out and added the conversion to take an 8-7 lead with 8:03 to play, Mayerhouser connected with junior Jake Robertson for a 15-yard TD to go up, 13-8, with 5:03 left and, finally, Adri won a 2-yard race to the right pylon to make it 14-13 with 24 seconds remaining.

“We ran the ball, we passed the ball ‒ we did what we had to do,” said Adri, who connected with Amparo, McLeod and James Christie for some huge gains while senior Ayden Pugliese moved the chains on the ground.

The Colonels ran 19 plays that accounted for 74 yards on their first four possessions. Their final two possessions resulted in TD drives of 13 plays and 75 yards and 11 plays and 70 yards.

The road pavers/pocket protectors rotation included Lexi Estrada, Aiden Gonzalez, Aidan Morrow, Jayden Pridgen, George Rios, Julio Salinas and Chris Winfield.

“Our O-line blocked, our receivers made plays ‒ big plays ‒ everyone wanted it,” said Adri, who generated 150 yards of total offense. “Everyone wanted this win.”

The Gators, thanks to terrific field position following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on South, started their final drive at the 50. An 11-yard run by Mayerhouser (9 of 12, 139 yards, 2 TDs), a 23-yard catch by senior Nick St. George and a personal foul on South put the ball on the 8 with 8 seconds to play.

Following a timeout, the Gators opted to run a play rather than attempt a field goal.

“We went with what we thought was our best option to win the game,” coach Chris McMahon said after McLeod stepped in front of Robertson to snatch the ball ‒ and the victory ‒ away from the Gators.

“It was just a lot of emotions,” McLeod said of his interception. “I know we’ve been working for this pregame, we’ve been premeditating it. I know we needed a big play and I stepped up big time.”

The Gators, who mustered 239 yards of offense on 45 plays, got a strong effort defensively from senior Riley McCann and an interception from St. George.

But, in the end, three turnovers were too much to overcome.

“The kids played hard, but we just didn’t make enough plays at the end,” McMahon said. “In the end, that’s what it comes down to. When you’re playing good teams and you don’t make plays and you turn the ball over, this is the result.

“But it was a great high school football game. Our kids are disappointed; we’re all disappointed. But we’ll bounce back, we’re resilient.”

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: South High rallies to edge Grafton in thriller