Grafton shows off depth as Gators tune up for postseason with win over Shepherd Hill

GRAFTON — The Grafton High football team is headed to the Division 4 state tournament for the third straight season.

The Gators’ success this fall has been due, in large part, to seeing different players step up each week, be it on offense, defense or special teams.

“It’s the essence of a team,” 10th-year coach Chris McMahon said after his surging squad defeated Shepherd Hill, 42-12, on Friday night at Richard Egsegian Memorial Athletic Field to improve to 6-2 with its fourth straight win.

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“We don’t necessarily rely on one guy. We have guys we could rely on, but there are a lot of kids we want to distribute the ball to, get in on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, and they’ve shown the ability to make plays.”

Against the Rams, who fell to 5-3 and saw their three-game winning streak snapped, the Gators scored touchdowns on their first six possessions as junior Finn Gilmore continued to be the poster boy for persevering and making the most of one’s hard-earned opportunities.

The 5-foot-11, 178-pound running back received seven carries, which he parlayed into 50 yards, in the first four games of the season. But he carved out a role on special teams, becoming a punter for a team that didn’t have one, and stepping in at safety due to an injury.

“Just grinding as hard as I can every practice; put in that work,” Gilmore said. “The start of the year we didn’t have a punter, that’s where it all started. I put in the work there and from there just picking away, moving my way up the depth chart as best I can.”

On Friday, Gilmore rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries — all in the first half — to boost his totals to 447 yards and six TDs on 54 carries over the past four games.

Gilmore, who has excellent vision and breakaway ability at the second level, scored on runs of 32, 3 and 6 yards and picked up five additional first downs while also ripping off runs of 29 and 23 yards.

“We tell the kids, ‘What you do at practice matters,’ ” McMahon said. “And we saw it at practice and we’re like, ‘We’ve got to get this kid in the game,’ and from there he’s been great.”

Junior Owen Belanger (31 yards) and senior Nick St. George (4 yards) also reached the end zone as six players recorded at least one carry during an offensive outburst in the opening 24 minutes that saw the Gators amass 293 yards on 29 plays — all but one of them a run — while taking a 35-6 lead.

It all started with a dominant defense that came up with fourth-down stops on the Rams’ first two drives, handing the offense the ball at midfield both times.

“We understood who we were going against, and we knew for us to have a shot we needed to keep the ball,” first-year Rams coach Steve Ide said. “So we were certainly aggressive at the beginning, knowing that giving the ball back to them is not a great recipe. Took a couple chances there.”

The Rams were limited to 51 yards on 22 plays, all of them runs out of their trademark double-wing offense, in the first half. They scored on an 82-yard kick return by junior William Sirleaf in the second quarter before senior Drew Aubin rushed for a 5-yard TD with time winding down.

“We knew watching film they’re a bunch of big dudes, and I give credit to them,” said Austin McCormick, who teamed with fellow junior defensive tackle Chase Dimond to help the Gators consistently control the line of scrimmage.

“But we knew as the defense, especially on the line, we had to be the most physical, dominant beasts out there on the field. We just had to blow up the plays.”

Dimond seconded the emotion.

“The load they put on us, double teaming us all the time with a huge offensive line,” he said. “We know if we just do our jobs, stuff them up, take on double teams, don’t get pushed back, don’t get pancaked, then our brothers behind us and beside us will get the job done.”

The Gators played their reserves on offense and defense in the second half, which began with an 82-yard kick return for a TD by senior Wesley Williams and freshman kicker Ryan Davis converting his sixth extra point in as many attempts.

Now the Gators are on to postseason play as they’ll host a first-round game here next Friday. Their seeding and opponent will be revealed around 1 p.m. Sunday when the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is scheduled to release the 16 playoff participants in each of the state’s eight divisions.

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

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Grafton gets ready for postseason by running past Shepherd Hill