By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
Despite posting its highest offensive point total of the season, the Whalers lost again Saturday, 44-28 at home to Mayflower Small League leader Holbrook.
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Photo by Jim Powers
Football action versus Holbrook, Saturday afternoon, Oct. 18, During the second half of play. The Whalers ended up losing their second league match-up 44-28. |
Nantucket fell to 0-5 on the season (0-2 Mayflower Small) and is scheduled to host Mayflower Large Southeastern Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the continuing search for their first win of the season. The Hawks are 1-5 this season and 0-2 in the Division 3A league.
The Whalers are looking for a little consistency on the field. The passing game has been successful the last few weeks, while the running game has stalled. The defense will show signs of strength and skill for three downs, but give it up on fourth and short.
Head coach Vito Capizzo has been preaching consistency to his small squad all season, but with 17 players or less playing all 40 minutes, there is inevitably going to be a letdown at some points in the game.
“Most teams that get behind like we do, they kind of give up. I thought our kids never gave up. They came back and came back and came back. We just didn’t score enough points,” Capizzo said.
The Whalers defense managed to stop Holbrook from scoring on only two of eight possessions.
“The opposition has been averaging over 40 points a game and I will tell you right now, we are not going to win too many games when you allow 40 points or more,” Capizzo said. “The problem is our middle linebackers and two tackles are there, but not doing the job they are supposed to be doing. We are there, but we are reaching, we are not wrapping and that’s why they had a total of 335 yards (rushing).”
Quarterback Chris Welch was successful through the air against the Bulldogs’ secondary, connecting on eight of 17 passing attempts for 138 yards and three touchdowns. The senior signal caller gave up one interception late in the first half.
Troy Sullivan was on the receiving end of all three touchdown passes and hauled in four catches for 97 yards in the game. Matthew Marrett caught one ball for 22 yards and Josh Butler had one catch for 16 yards as well as a kick-off return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Needing to play catch-up early, the Whalers’ running game was nearly non-existent, totaling 44 yards on 16 carries.
“We tried to establish the running game and mix it up with the passing game, but when you are down 32-12, I had to make some changes,” Capizzo said.
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Photo by Jim Powers |
The Holbrook running game, however, was running on all cylinders. Captain Jeremy Gallagher picked apart the Whalers defense for 161 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries. Sophomore Fabrice Joseph took the bulk of the carries (19) for 91 yards as the Bulldogs ran for 335 total yards on the ground.
Offensive attack
Holbrook struck first on its first possession of the game. The Whalers defense forced the Bulldogs into a third-and-10 situation, but a short screen pass from quarterback Josh Savoy to Gallagher was good for 35 yards and set up Holbrook in prime scoring position. Three plays later, Savoy connected with Kevin DeSouza on a quick pass to the right. The senior receiver did the rest, dodging Whalers defenders nine yards into the end zone. Savoy rushed off-tackle for the two-point conversion to put the Bulldogs on top 8-0.
The Whalers offense fought back on the next possession. Capitalizing on a Holbrook facemask penalty on the kick-off return, Nantucket started near midfield and on the fourth play, Welch hit Sullivan on a slant from the right flank. The junior receiver split the defense and sprinted 38 yards for the touchdown. Nantucket failed to convert on the two-point play and trailed 8-6.
Holbrook had its way with the Nantucket defense on the ensuing possession which carried into the second quarter. Savoy engineered a 10-play, 80-yard drive which culminated in a 25-yard quarterback scramble on fourth and inches for the touchdown. Savoy hit DeSouza for the two-point conversion for the 16-6 advantage.
After a three-and-out by the Whalers, the Bulldogs broke away following a kickoff return to inside the red zone. Gallagher opened the lead with a five-yard run up the middle. Holbrook added another conversion for the 24-6 lead.
The Whalers stayed in the game with a 10-play, 66-yard drive to cut the lead in half at 24-12. Welch connected with Sullivan for his second touchdown of the game, a 21-yard grab in the end zone over the defender.
Holbrook kept its distance with a score on its final possession of the half to lead 32-12 at the break.
The dagger came on the first possession of the second half. On the second play of the opening drive, Gallagher rolled through the Whalers’ defense 85 yards to pay dirt. The Bulldogs led 38-12.
Welch and Sullivan connected on their third touchdown of the day late in the third quarter – a 35-yard pass into double coverage – to bring the score to 38-20. After Holbrook added another touchdown in the fourth quarter, Butler took the ensuing kickoff and returned the ball 80 yards for the touchdown.
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