'Proud of this team': West Bridgewater High football goes down in Div. 7 quarterfinals
WEST BRIDGEWATER – In a postgame meeting with his players, head coach Justin Kogler acknowledged that, though seeing the opposition hoist a trophy on their midfield logo stings, there were plenty reasons for him to be proud.
As noted, the No. 3 West Bridgewater High football team dug out of a 1-2 start and won six in a row heading into Friday night's Division 7 Elite Eight matchup against No. 6 Amesbury. The prior two losses came to South Shore League acquaintances, and proven playoff contenders, Norwell (26-14) and Rockland (27-23).
“I’m proud of this team,” Kogler said after the playoffs-ending 34-18 loss to Amesbury. “Losses to Norwell, Rockland and Amesbury – I mean, listen, I won’t be surprised if (Amesbury) is at Gillette.”
No. 6 Amesbury has to get past No. 2 Cohasset in the semifinals (time/date TBD) for that to be a possibility, though.
On Friday, the West Bridgewater defense was stuck out on the field for Amesbury's 18-play marathon of an opening drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes and spanned 59 yards. It was punctuated by a 1-yard rushing TD by sophomore QB Justin Dube at the 2:41 mark of the first quarter.
“That’s what their offense does. You watch it on film, they do it every week," Kogler said. "They continue to move the ball three, four, five yards at a time and they make it hard. They have guys that are fast kids, track kids, and when they get out in the open, they’re gone.”
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Two of those players were Michael and Max Sanchez, each senior running back finished with two touchdowns. Max Sanchez's 79-yard TD one play after a West Bridgewater fumble propped Amesbury's cushion up to 34-12 at the end of the third quarter.
“We played hard. It was a tough matchup. The style of play really didn’t suit our strengths. We had some turnovers and that really hurt us," Kogler said. "We had three turnovers, two in the red-zone area or close to (it). That was the difference. In high school football, you turn the ball over and that’s what happens.”
Breakout sophomore running back Ty Holmes found the end zone from 4 yards out on West Bridgewater's opening drive to even things, 6-6, at the 10:41 mark of the second quarter. He finished with an unofficial total of 89 yards on 13 carries. He accounted for five touchdowns in the team's 42-21 win over Diman two weeks ago.
“Ty’s been great," Kogler said. "He runs the ball very well. He sees the hole. He’s quick. He runs hard. He’s only 160, 165 pounds but he runs like he’s 180 pounds. He’s had a great season and if he continues to work hard, he’s going to have a great career.”
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Senior quarterback James Harris snuck in for a pair of TDs at the goal line, from 1 yard and 3 yards respectively. He rushed for 64 yards on 10 carries.
Harris leads a senior class that also features receiver Luke Destrampe, receiver Miguel Pleasants, receiver Sam Salter, running back/linebacker Christian Packard, linebacker Matt Murphy, defensive end Nate Frechette, and linemen Ben Neilan, Aidan Burke and Chris Flipp. The group of 10 will play its last game against Southeastern on Thanksgiving at 10 a.m.
“Very impactful. Great senior class. Great kids," Kogler said. "I love coaching them. It’s going to be sad to see them go. They’ve done everything they could do to keep this program strong.”
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: West Bridgewater High football falls to Amesbury in Elite Eight
