By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
It was a happy homecoming for the varsity football team. After playing on the road for four straight weeks, Nantucket returned to the island Saturday with a 28-6 victory over Mayflower Small opponent Holbrook/Avon.
The Whalers improved to 3-4 overall this season and 1-1 in the Mayflower Small. Nantucket will hit the road again for the next two weeks with meetings against league foes Old Colony this Saturday and Tri-County the following week.
Against Holbrook/Avon (3-3 overall, 3-1 league), the Whalers were playing against a comparable opponent. Their main concern leading up to the game was the threatening Bulldog passing attack. When game time rolled around, the Nantucket defense was swarming the ball all over the field, keeping the Bulldogs out of the end zone until late in the third quarter. On offense, Nantucket dominated, scoring four times and not punting once.
“Overall I felt that the kids played a total offensive and defensive game and that’s what they are capable of doing when they play as a team. We have not been consistently playing both sides of the ball. We knew they were going to throw the ball and we knew they could run against us. But overall our guys played with a lot of emotion like I haven’t seen all year,” head coach Vito Capizzo said.
Holbrook sophomore quarterback Josh Savoy leads Division IV with 11 touchdown passes this season. Nantucket made a few shifts in the secondary – including shuffling Geddes Paulsen and Josh Butler alongside Josh Holdgate and Blair Jannelle and kept Savoy from throwing into the end zone all game. Defensive ends Eric Rogers and Delroy Lawrence (two sacks) and middle linebacker John O’Mara kept the pressure on throughout the game.
“We moved people around trying to find the right combination and we only got burned once. I have to give a lot of credit to my staff because they scouted them very nicely and we put guys there that we felt comfortable and they felt comfortable,” Capizzo said. “They threw the ball very well and I thought our kids responded pretty well.”
Savoy managed to throw for 152 yards on nine of 17 passing attempts including burners of 35 and 46 yards to receiver Steve Colombo. Nantucket’s Joe Bopp picked off the only interception of the game in the fourth quarter. Anthony Valero, Erin Osona and Rogers each had a fumble recovery.
Paulsen controlled the Whalers offense, completing eight of nine passing attempts for 103 yards and a touchdown while running the ball 14 times for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
Andriquez Farmer scored two touchdowns, a 10-yard reception from Paulsen and an eight-yard run off the option in the third quarter. Delroy Lawrence continued to be a strong target for Paulsen this week with three catches for 58 yards. Tomas Smaliorius and Josh Holdgate also had receptions. In the absence of Mark Dwyer, who was suspended for disciplinary reasons not related to football, John O’Mara carried the ball seven times for 26 yards in addition to blocking duties for Paulsen.
Despite the dominant victory, Nantucket continued to struggle with turnovers, fumbling the football four times and losing twice. The Whalers also racked up the penalties on Saturday, with four holding penalties and two offsides calls among others.
Home sweet home
The Whalers played a game of field position early, deferring the ball to the second half and taking the wind. After forcing the Bulldogs to punt on their first possession, Nantucket took the ball in Holbrook territory.
Paulsen opened the Whalers first offensive possession with an incomplete pass – his only one of the game. The Whalers then picked their way through Bulldog territory. From the outset it was clear that Holbrook/Avon was struggling to defend against the option. On the fifth play of the drive, Paulsen faked the pitch to O’Mara and kept the ball, cut up-field through the defense and into the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown run. O’Mara ran the sweep to the right for the two-point conversion and the 8-0 lead.
Holbrook threatened on the ensuing possession. Savoy hit Colombo for a 35-yard completion to set up the Bulldogs on the Whalers’ 26-yard line. But on fourth down the Whalers made their most heads-up defensive play of the season. Savoy sent a lateral pass to Jeremy Gallagher, who dropped the football. Anthony Valero picked up the live football and ran to the Bulldogs’ 15-yard line before the defense caught up to him.
It took the Whalers eight plays to get into the end zone, but Paulsen connected with Farmer for the 10-yard touchdown strike and the 14-0 lead at the half.
Hunter Day recovered the opening on-side kick after half-time and set the Whalers up for an eight-play, 49-yard drive into the end zone. Farmer took the call on the option pitch to the left side and scrambled eight yards for the touchdown.
Holbrook responded with its only score of the day. Savoy hit Colombo for 46 yards on the left sideline followed by a 37-yard dash off tackle by Vlad Saintine to put six points on the board. The two-point conversion ultimately fell incomplete.
Nantucket would add one more touchdown on a quarterback sneak by Paulsen and the two-point conversion from Paulsen to Evan Hourihan for the 28-6 final.
On tap . . .
The Whalers will travel to Old Colony on Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. Old Colony comes in with a record of 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the Mayflower Small. The Cougars are coming off a 50-20 victory over Mystic Valley, an independent program with a record of 1-6 overall, and a 38-6 league win over Diman. Old Colony opened the season with four straight losses to Holbrook, West Bridgewater, Tri-County and South Shore.
The Whalers will look to eliminate turnovers and penalties that have plagued them all season and continue with balance on both sides of the football.
“It depends who shows up and avoids mental mistakes. Holding, offsides, those things have to be eliminated. They have hurt us all year and eventually they will hurt us again. If we can clean up all that we will be fine,” Capizzo said.
Reach Allison Goldsmith at sports@inkym.com |
