By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Casey Santos twists away from Southeastern’s Ben Jorge to score a 29-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The ensuing two-point conversion gave the Whalers their only lead of the game. Nantucket lost 49-28 to the Mayflower Small defending champions. |
The Whalers defense allowed the most points in head coach Vito Capizzo’s 42-year career Saturday as they fell 49-28 to the defending Mayflower Small League champion Southeastern on the road.
The loss to the Hawks was the Whalers’ first since 1975.
Nantucket has prided itself on a nearly impenetrable defense for decades. But that signature defense is struggling to find its identity this season, as the pieces of the puzzle have not yet fallen into place.
The team, which fell to 1-3 on the season, will look to make some personnel changes to shore up the defense before opening Mayflower Large League play against Blue Hills on Friday.
“Our defense has carried us all of these years. The defense has been the number-one key for our success and this week unfortunately I didn’t have the personnel on the field,” Capizzo said of Saturday’s game.
The Hawks (2-3) scored on seven of eight possessions in the game and ran for 438 total yards.
“We had a bad day and they took advantage. Everything they ran, they scored,” Capizzo said. “They just kept coming at us and we just couldn’t stop them. We changed defensive schemes, but again it comes down to personnel. You have to play 40 minutes of ball. They controlled the ball, and both sides of the line of scrimmage.”
The game turned into an offensive explosion as the Hawks led 25-14 at the half. The Whalers pulled within three at 25-22 when Ethan Farrell returned the opening kickoff in the second half for a touchdown, but the Hawks would not let up. And while Southeastern was able to score quickly and often in the second half, its defense stepped up to stop the Whalers on key four-and-out possessions in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks ran the wedge for much of the game and broke free with big touchdown rushes of 78 yards, 71 yards and 63 yards.
“The line surge was so tremendous from Southeastern, they just pushed us back. We rely on our linebackers and corners and they were nowhere to be found,” Capizzo said.
The only time the Nantucket defense stopped Southeastern from scoring was a fumble recovery by Michael Miller with under one minute remaining in the game. Southeastern quarterback John Deneault attempted only one pass, which fell incomplete as the Hawks did not gain a single yard in the air.
Despite the struggles on the defensive side of the ball the Whalers’ offense kept the game close until the third quarter.
“Offensively, I have no complaints. I am happy the way we moved the ball, I am happy the way we are throwing the ball,” Capizzo said. “We moved the ball when we had to, but we couldn’t stop them.”
Quarterback Geddes Paulsen connected on six of 11 passing attempts for 114 yards, including one touchdown and one interception late in the game. Robert Anderson hauled in three catches for 75 yards and Casey Santos caught one ball for a 29-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Fullback John O’Mara compiled 60 of the Whalers’ 99 total yards on the ground and caught one pass for 10 yards.
Hawk-eyed
It took Southeastern a total of three plays in the first quarter to put 15 points on the board. On the second play of the first possession, Hawks running back Gary Monteiro, who compiled 272 yards rushing in the game, ran 78 yards for the touchdown and then on the first play of the second drive, ran the same play 71 yards for the score.
The Whalers managed to get on the board in between the quick touchdowns. After a shaky start with a fumble on the first handoff of the game, Paulsen connected with Anderson on the screen pass for a 28-yard pick-up and then with Santos for the 29-yard touchdown strike.
Following the Hawks’ second score, however, the Whalers fumbled the ensuing kickoff and handed the ball back to the Southeastern offense. After a 10-play drive, Ben Jorge (104 rushing yards) took the honors with a two-yard rush for the 22-8 lead with six seconds remaining in the first quarter.
With time winding down in the half, the Whalers compiled a 10-play, 80-yard drive to pull back within striking distance. Farrell took the handoff in the fullback slot for the three-yard touchdown. The senior co-captain brought his team even closer to overcoming the deficit with an 80-yard kickoff return to open the second half.
Nantucket’s special teams pinned the Southeastern offense inside the 10-yard line on the next possession, but the Whalers’ defense still could not stop the Hawks’ march down the field as they added another touchdown to the scoreboard.
Paulsen rushed for a two-yard touchdown with nine seconds remaining in the third quarter, but at 33-28 it would be as close as the Whalers would come to defeating the Hawks.
Jorge sprinted 63 yards on a misdirection run on the first play of the next drive to score before the end of the quarter and after a Whalers punt, Monteiro ran a double-reverse on a fourth-down play from the 29-yard line to go up 49-28 with five and half minutes to play.
Blue skies ahead
Capizzo and his staff are putting the loss behind them as quickly as possible and looking ahead to the first Mayflower Large League game of the season set for Friday afternoon at Blue Hills.
“We have to re-group now. That was a non-league game. Now the league games begin. This is what really counts. As far as I am concerned the game on Saturday is history,” Capizzo said.
With the holiday on Monday and the rainy weather to contend with, the Whalers will have a short week of practice before the game on Friday to make personnel changes necessary to challenge Blue Hills.
“I think in order to beat Blue Hills we are going to need speed. Last week we tried size because of the wedge. This week we are going to have some major personnel changes,” Capizzo said.
The Warriors finished last season with a record of 11-1 overall and a Mayflower Large League title. Blue Hills will come into Friday’s game with a record of 4-1 overall with convincing wins over Old Colony, Lynn Tech, Bishop Connolly and Holbrook/Avon. Blue Hills’ only loss came at the hands of South Boston, 6-2, in the third game of the season.
On the Road Again...
Directions to Blue Hills:
From Hyannis take Route 6 West toward Boston. At the rotary take the second exit onto Route 3 North and follow for 42.5 miles. Merge onto I-93 South via exit 20 on the left toward I-95 Dedham. After six miles take exit 2A Route 138 South toward Stoughton. Turn left onto Randolph Street. Blue Hills Regional Tech High School is at 800 Randolph St., Canton, Mass. |
