RallyNorth.net

Heartbreaker for Witches as late Winthrop field goal wins it

Friday, October, 05 By Phil Stacey
Sports editor

SALEM | The worst part, said Scott Connolly, was having to go into the locker room after the game and face his team.

"I don't know what I can say to make them feel any better. They played their hearts out | but didn't get the end result they wanted," said Salem High's head football coach, watching his players walk off the field dejectedly after a Winthrop field goal on the final play of the game sent his Witches to a 3-0 loss at Bertram Field last night.

With the ball on the Salem 4-yard line and four seconds to play, Winthrop senior Nick Leonard boomed a long kick high and true through the uprights as the final seconds ticked off the clock, ruining the Witches' home opener and sending them to their third straight loss.

Incredibly, it was the first time Salem High has lost a 3-0 game since Thanksgiving Day 1940, when Beverly ended an 18-year winless streak against their arch rivals. That's a span of 67 seasons.

"I love these guys so much. They battled so hard for the full 44 minutes," said Connolly of his team, which is now 2-3. "I'm so proud of them. To lose in that way ... it's heartbreaking."

Salem had battled Winthrop (3-2) tooth and nail the entire way despite not having their two most skilled offensive players for most of the night. Senior quarterback Colby Boulay missed the game with a concussion suffered late last week against Swampscott, while junior tailback Melikke Van Alstyne got his ankle rolled on the game's opening kickoff and did not return after the three minutes were gone in the second quarter.

Still, the Witches didn't give an inch. Senior backup QB John Pegnato did a fine job running the offense, while Eugene Dala Cruz, Dan Reddy, captain Chris Al-Nabulsi and Chris Maxson took turns running the football to varying degrees of success.

The hosts' biggest offensive play came midway through the fourth quarter when, on a double jet reverse pass, wideout Kevin Holding found captain Matt Paine all alone for a 37-yard gain.

But Salem never got the ball any deeper than the Winthrop 29-yard line, and the visitors took over on their own 15-yard line with 1:53 to play. Behind the one-two running punch of Joe McDermott (28 carries, 136 yards) and Chris Beranger (12 carries, 86 yards), the Vikings got inside the Salem 5-yard line with four seconds left, setting up Leonard's game-winning kick.

"It doesn't get much closer than that," first-year Winthrop coach Sean Driscoll said after his team won its third straight after an 0-2 start. "Give Salem a lot of credit; they hung tough the entire game and refused to break. We kept going at them, but they wouldn't give us anything."

Connolly, whose team hosts Revere (3-2) next Friday, praised the play of junior defensive end Chris Dunston and sophomore inside linebacker Tyler Mason, both of whom chalked up numerous tackles on the night.

In addition, Maxson recovered a Vikings' fumble in the third quarter.