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Missed PAT dooms Methuen

Friday, September, 12 By Mike McMahon
Staff writer

METHUEN — Down a point with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Methuen’s Sean Cairns got his fingertips on a Dan D’Arcy pass in the end zone on fourth and goal to give the Rangers a chance to pull out their second victory of the young season. But outside of a 15-yard hookup between quarterback Matt Bartlett and receiver Pat Phillion, the Methuen offense was unable to move the ball, falling to Concord-Carlisle 14-13.

“We had a nice stop, but there were other parts of the game where we didn’t make stops when we needed to,” said Methuen head coach Pat Graham, whose team fell to C-C last season 29-7. “I think it showed that our defense can come up big in a pressure situation. Times like that test you, and our defense came up with the stop there, but like I said, we needed stops at other times to, and didn’t get it.”

“I didn’t say much after the game, but I told the guys I thought they played hard. We have some stuff to work on, no doubt about that, but I wasn’t unhappy with the effort.”

After leading 7-6 on a Mike Bartlett two-yard run, the Rangers fell behind 14-7 after D’Arcy torched the Methuen defense for a 14-yard run midway through the third quarter, and then tossed a pass to Jay Stephens for the two-point conversion. Just under three minutes later, Bartlett scored what could have been the tying touchdown, but Methuen missed the extra point wide to the right.

“I can’t stand watching that team walk off our field celebrating,” said Bartlett. “We had our chances. This was a game that we could have won. We had every chance to win this game, it was in our hands, we just didn’t do it. It’s frustrating.”

Bartlett was a horse for the Rangers’ offense, rushing for 162 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns. Of Methuen’s 39 plus-yardage snaps, Bartlett touched the ball on 26 of them. In the second quarter, he dragged five C-C defenders 15 yards down the field en route to a 20-yard pickup.

“Mike’s a big strong kid, said Graham. “He has a lot of different ways he can attack a defense. He’s really strong, so he can go through guys, up the middle, but he can also cut to the outside.”

Bartlett was also taking direct snaps out of a shotgun.

“It’s different,” he said. “It can be easier to see holes sometimes, but I’m playing quarterback in that spot. It’s something we’ve used in practice and in games from time to time. It doesn’t matter to me if I am taking a snap or taking a handoff, I’m going to do whatever I can to get my job done; it’s just a different look.”