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Sports
Zach attack too much for Wareham
By Adam T. Silva
Correspondent
Zach Choquette’s nerves of steel and dead-on precision propelled the Old Rochester Bulldogs over the Wareham Vikings, 23-22, with a 21-yard field goal with mere seconds left on the clock.
The thrilling comeback victory (ORR trailed 22-7 at the half) not only earned the Bulldogs their first Cranberry Cup in five years but also put them in position of winning the South Coast Conference if they can upset undefeated Apponequet on Thanksgiving.
But first things first. ORR was far too busy celebrating than to look ahead.
"Right before the kick, I just tried to keep my distance away from rest of the team and just tried to keep my focus," said a wide-eyed Choquette, after a barrage of questions and congratulations from the crowd. "Immediately after, I was just ecstatic. I’ve never done anything close to having a game-winner. I still can’t believe we pulled it off. I’m at such a loss for words right now."
With just over four minutes remaining in the game, the Bulldogs were down 22-14, trying to stop Wareham’s powerful offense from running out the clock. A tremendous defensive stand by the Bulldogs left the Vikings deep inside ORR territory. Richard Meunier then took a punt 48 yards for the touchdown, cutting through the thick David Hagan field mist like a knife through butter.
Old Rochester tried to tie it up with a 2-point conversion, but running back Travis Lowery was stuffed on the 1-yard line.
The Bulldogs weren’t quite finished yet. They recovered an on-side kick at midfield, setting up the game-winning drive.
Lowery ran for a yard, moving the ball to the ORR 48. Choquette then pulled in a 33-yard pass from quarterback Bryan Teefy, setting ORR for the game-winning field goal. Three Lowery runs later, Choquette took the field for a 21-yard chip shot with 12 seconds left.
"He just showed such composure and poise making that kick," said ORR head coach Henry Quinlan, with a look of shock and amazement still visible on his face.
Both teams were 5-1 in their conference coming into the game. Now ORR can win the SCC crown by beating Apponequet. "I couldn’t be more proud of these guys right now, all of them," said Quinlan. "We still have Thanksgiving, but I’m only thinking about what we just pulled off tonight."
Old Rochester drew first blood as Lowery caught a screen pass at the Wareham 45-yard line and reached the end zone with a row of blockers in front of him. The PAT was good. The Vikings did one better, though, as running back Patrick Murphy hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion put the Vikings ahead, 8-7.
With two and a half minutes in the first half, Murphy reached the end zone once again, this time with a 78-yard run followed by another two-point conversion. With only 20 seconds left in the half, Viking’s QB threw a "barely-any-time-left, let’s-go-for-it" bomb to E.J. Bennett. The one-handed grab at the 5-yard line would have been the play of the game if not for Choquette’s game-winning field goal. The Bulldogs had no intention of rolling over and playing dead. Lowery scored his 19th touchdown of the year, one shy of the school record, with a 49-yard run, breaking a tackle in the process, to cut the lead to 22-14. Meunier’s punt return cut the lead to 22-20 before Choquette’s last-minute heroics.
"We made mistakes and ORR continued to play well and didn’t make any mistakes," said Wareham coach Dan Nault. "They made plays and we didn’t, and they won." | | | |
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