Stoneham rips ball, game away from Bellingham in Division 6 playoffs
BELLINGHAM – A chance to salt the game away literally slipped away.
Leading by two points at the start of the fourth quarter, Bellingham football lined up looking to add to its lead playoff lead on Friday night. Or at least chew some clock behind the running game of Dasha Domercant and Corey Perkins.
But after Domercant clapped his hands and took a shotgun snap near midfield, the ball squirted out of his grasp and into the grip of an onrushing Ty Baker, who was immediately tackled as Stoneham took over possession.
The turnover happened so fast that hardly anyone reacted.
“He just took it right out of his hands,” admitted Bellingham coach Dan Haddad. “I’ve just never seen that.”
The Spartans, the 15th out of 16 seeds in Division 6 and a team that rarely passes, eventually cashed in when Dylan Posey scored from a yard out to give the visitors a 26-20 victory.
The No. 10 Blackhawks turned the ball over three times, but seemingly had built a two-possession lead when Domercant ran down the right sideline for a 58-yard touchdown late in the third quarter with his team ahead 20-18. But players on both teams soon began walking back toward midfield, where a flag had been dropped. Holding.
After the teams switched sides to begin the fourth, Baker took the ball away and helped put the Spartans into the Final Four against Salem.
“We were just sloppy with the ball today,” Haddad said. “We’re not good enough to turn the ball over three times and expect to win the game. And that was the result.”
Stoneham’s running machine was hard to stop in the opening quarter, resulting in a pair of 1-yard scores by Mathew Tran for a 12-0 lead. Bellingham pulled within five points on Michael Labaki’s short TD run in the second quarter, but Kevin Gilmartin scampered 59 yards on a fake punt and the Spartans led 18-7.
Domercant hooked up with Anthony DaSilva for scoring passes on either side of halftime, the second one from 49 yards, to put the Blackhawks ahead for the first time, at 20-18.
But Bellingham did not score again.
After beginning the season with three losses by a combined five points, the Blackhawks ran off six consecutive wins, including last week’s playoff triumph at Maynard, to earn their first home postseason game in 21 years.
But the Blackhawks will be sidelined until their Thanksgiving game against Norton.
“It’s a tough loss because these guys had the potential of doing something really special,” Haddad said. “First loss in six weeks but that’s the way it goes.”
Haddad quickly reflected on a night that brought out a large student section to George Anderson Field for the program’s first home postseason game in a generation.
“This was a great atmosphere and that’s what really matters. It was a playoff atmosphere, it’s a beautiful night,” he said. “I just wished we performed better.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Bellingham football falls in first home playoff game in 21 years
