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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Football action at Tri County Saturday. Zatrick Pinkney pulls down #14 with Teddy Fales (65) and Curren Huyser (68) in the fourth quarter.
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By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
The announcement came over the public-address system after the game: Tri County had defeated the Whalers on the football field for the first time ever Saturday afternoon.
For three quarters, Nantucket played a sound, well-executed game against the Cougars. But things fell apart in the fourth quarter with three straight turnovers as the 0-7 Whalers fell 31-6. Despite the defeat, the effort was not lost on the coaching staff.
“We finally came to play like we are capable of playing. The kids moved the ball, they played decent defense. They came to play. You could tell it was a different team altogether,” head coach Vito Capizzo said. “We were in the game. That’s what I was so pleased about. The kids now, I feel that they have more confidence, even though we got beat. The kids played football the way it should be played.”
The Whalers will look to put it all together for a full 40 minutes Saturday when they visit Old Colony in search of their first win of the season. The Cougars are 1-8 this season and sit just above Nantucket in the Mayflower Small League standings. With West Bridgewater and Mayflower Large League champion Martha’s Vineyard remaining on the schedule the final two weeks of the season, Saturday’s game against Old Colony stands as the best chance the Whalers have to pick up a win this season.
“If we play the same type of a game this coming Saturday, then we can beat Old Colony. West Bridgewater is going to be tough and then we have the Vineyard,” Capizzo said. “We are playing for fun now. There is no pressure whatsoever. There is no way we can win the Mayflower League Small. So I said ‘go out and have some fun’ (against Tri County). And I think they did for three quarters and then they just got fatigued.”
The Whalers were playing without three starters due to injury or disciplinary reasons, limiting substitution options even more than in previous games, leading to fatigue late in the game. The game was tied 6-6 at the half and the Whalers trailed only 12-6 at the start of the fourth quarter before the wheels fell off.
Close call
The Whalers had opportunities to take an early lead, driving into the red zone three times in the first half, but scoring only once.
The Whalers took the ball on the opening possession and displayed a balanced attack with Michael Molta picking up yards on the ground and two completions from Chris Welch to Rasheed Smith, one for a 37-yard pick-up on a screen pass. Nantucket drove to the 20-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs following two attempted passes in the direction of Troy Sullivan.
The Cougars responded with an 80-yard drive on seven plays to put the first points of the game on the board. Quarterback Lucas Mistler took the honors on a 17-yard option to the left to stake Tri County to the 6-0 lead.
On the Whalers third possession of the half, Welch led a six-play drive, alternating runs by Smith and passes to Sullivan. The final 22-yard pass over the defense to Sullivan in the end zone put the Whalers on the board.
Sullivan picked off a Mistler pass in the red zone on the next possession as the defense kept things close and the two teams were deadlocked at 6-6 at the break.
The turning point came in the third quarter with the Whalers trailing 12-6. Nantucket had a first-and-goal from the five-yard line, but four straight running plays went nowhere and they turned the ball over on downs.
“We were moving the ball on the ground very well and we felt we could punch it in. Unfortunately, we ran into a stone wall there. Our offensive line did not block very well on that series. They had been blocking real well prior to that, but for some reason we had a let-down on the offensive line and our backs were getting double-teamed,” Capizzo said.
After a defensive stop on the Cougars’ ensuing possession, the sound football the Whalers had displayed for three quarters crumbled in the next five minutes. Nantucket fumbled the punt return, a kickoff return and threw an interception as Tri County piled up the points with good field position.
“I thought we did a great job in the first three quarters and after that the momentum changed completely, especially after they punted and we dropped that ball,” Capizzo said. “After that we went backwards instead of forwards.”
Welch connected on 10 of 18 passing attempts for 161 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Sullivan led all receivers with five catches for 74 yards and a touchdown before being benched in the fourth quarter for questioning the coaching staff. Smith caught three balls for 42 yards and also led an improved running game with eight carries for 51 yards.
Molta filled in for junior Jamie Viera, who was sidelined by an injury. Molta was key for the Whalers early in the game and totaled 31 yards on 11 carries.
“I was real pleased with the way Molta ran the ball and Rasheed. We know we have the weapon with the passing game when we are on. The offensive line has got to be the key and I thought the offensive line did a great job,” Capizzo said.
The offensive line of Mack McGrath, Dillon Crosby, Curren Huyser and Zatrick Pinkney, with Joe Bopp at tight end, were key for the Whalers.
Mistler did most of the work for the Cougars against the Whalers, running 21 times for 224 yards and two touchdowns, while completing two of seven passing attempts for 28 yards and an interception. The Cougars rushed for 330 yards on the ground.
Middle linebackers Bopp and Teddy Fales eliminated the big gain up the middle.
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