NEEDHAM – Even in highschool soccer, the sport is totally one-sided in the direction of the offensive aspect of the ball – except you play Needham.
Needham didn’t make it simple on itself however outlasted Lincoln-Sudbury, 14-13, in a non-league slobber knocker of a sport. In an old-school, smash mouth type battle, the Rockets (2-0) posted their second spectacular residence victory over a top quality opponent.
Everything got here all the way down to the ultimate seconds as Needham dominated on protection a lot of the sport, however two touchdowns within the closing six minutes gave the Warriors (1-1) the chance to tie or go for 2 with 17 seconds left in regulation.
“We executed the way we wanted to. We wanted it to come down to the last possession right there and that was kind of the way the game had been going back and forth,” mentioned Lincoln-Sudbury head coach Jim Girard. “It was kind of a tale of two halves as they sort of dominated the first half, but I thought our defense played great in the second half.”
Girard went for the win with the sport on the road, however quarterback Cooper Tarantino’s go fell simply wanting the objective line as he was hit by senior Dave Curtis, after Curtis initially missed the sack, to protect the one-point victory for the Rockets.
“You just have to just keep going, just keep dogging out, so yeah, I mean our defensive unit is amazing out there and they carried us. I’m glad to be a part of it,” mentioned Curtis. “Man, just get gritty, don’t give up and have each other’s backs. That’s what coach has been preaching – it’s called ELO, love each other – so if you’re just playing for the guy next to you, you just gotta get down, get gritty, make that tackle, make that play, make that block, and do whatever you need to do to win.”
Needham quarterback Josh Morant tossed two touchdowns within the second quarter. The senior sign caller hit Ben Schreiber on play-action rollout to his proper for an eight-score after fullback Jake Reiser broke free for a 41-yard run to arrange the Rockets with a first-and-goal with 11:05 on the clock.
On the subsequent collection, Morant hit Tate Hoffmeister in stride on a display on the third play from scrimmage and Hoffmeister did the remainder with a 38-yard catch-and-carry after breaking a number of tackles down the sideline for the 14-0 Rockets lead with 6:50 left within the first half.
The Rockets’ protection solely allowed two yards of whole offense within the first half.
“We’ve got some amazing athletes and you know coach (Tony) DiCicco took it over from me this year and I think he’s done a good job,” mentioned Needham head coach, Doug Kopsco with amusing. “These guys are hungry, they love each other, they worked their butts off for four quarters. They really are one of the best defenses we’ve got around here in Needham.”
Lincoln-Sudbury lastly discovered the tip zone on a 14-play drive aided by two brutal penalties that ate up the ultimate six seconds of the third quarter and precisely half of the fourth quarter. Tarantino plunged forward on a quarterback dive on fourth-and-one and minimize the deficit in half, 14-7, with six minutes remaining.
On the subsequent Warriors possession, Girard determined to punt with 3:32 on the clock after a false begin moved the Warriors right into a fourth-and-eight from their very own 39. Armed with three timeouts, the decision seemed genius as Jake Leverone picked up a free ball within the backfield and the Warriors had been set with first-and-10 from the Rockets 26.
Five performs later, Charlie Barringer hauled in a fade route from nine-yards out however the Warriors got here up simply quick on the two-point conversion attempt.
Source: www.bostonherald.com
