Norwich Game Recap

The Bridgton Academy Football squad left Maine this past Sunday and headed to Vermont to play Norwich’s Junior Varsity team. What looked to be a sure victory (leading 31-6 in the third quarter) turned out to be a closer match than the Wolverines would have liked, squeaking by with a 38-26 victory.

With nine minutes to play in the first quarter, Shane McMahon came hard off the edge on a corner blitz, causing the quarterback to fumble—Giovianni Clayborne was there with the recovery and danced his way around some would-be tacklers into the end zone. Leading 6-0, Coach Marcella made a bold decision and decided to call for a fake punt close to mid-field as the offense failed to convert on third down. Catching the Cadets by surprise, Michael Lamarque was left uncovered and Robert Carbone found him streaking up the field; after dodging the return man, Lamarque ran up the right sideline for the score. Tanner Boucher found Anthony Jimenez in the corner of the end zone for the two point conversion. The next series Norwich found themselves deep in their own territory and with fewer than eight minutes to play in the half when Ethan Sylvain stripped the ball from the running back and Joey Baldacchino ended up with the recovery. The next play Lewis Bailey took it in off the guard from the one yard line. Ahead by three scores, the Wolverines added to their first half total with a 32 yard field goal by Mitchell Ryder.

As the second half began, things started to get interesting. After a Norwich touchdown pass, the Wolverine offense answered back with a score of their own—a one yard touchdown run from Michael Wheeler. Up 31-6 with 6:53 to play in the third quarter, Norwich got the momentum back with two other quick scores. Though the Cadets tried to catch the Wolverines off guard with a surprise onside kick, Stephen Ferriter picked up the ball (before it traveled ten yards) and ran it into the end zone. Leading 38-19 Norwich kept coming back, scoring on a three yard touchdown pass. With just under two minutes to play, the Cadets were knocking on the door yet again, but Kevin Sledge came up with a big interception to seal the victory. Other key interceptions during the game came from Michael Lamarque, Patrick McGrath and Jarrett White.

The Wolverines were not terribly happy with their overall play, but are still happy with the win. After a lengthy phone interview, Drew Inzer (offensive line coach) had the following to say, “Basically the line played well—we played a lot of different guys in a lot of different positions. We played well enough to put some points on the board. All of our lineman stepped up today and were ready to play football. It was nice having Matt Gallery as captain, leading the team victory.”

The Bridgton Academy Football team will face a greater challenge this coming Sunday as they host Curry College on Sunday, September 28th.

Recap provided by Assistant Coach Patrick Shairs '02